Last week, we were invited to the grand opening of this brand new restaurant that goes by the name of ZayZafoon, and located at the Bawabat Al Sharq mall in Mafraq. The name was intriguing enough and we were more than curious already.
The ambience is very subtle and resonates an old-world traditional Arabic charm. The restaurant was suitably decorated for their opening and as we entered, we could already hear the strains of soft Arabic music; an orchestra setting up to play for us.
My husband and I both love Arabic food and since there are sufficient vegetarian varieties as well, we always eat to our heart's content. When eaten in moderation, Arabic food can be very light on the stomach because there is plenty of heart healthy olive oil that is used. Another advantage is that the vegetables are left in their raw form and some healthy ways of cooking are implemented such as steaming and grilling.
The appetizer course was already laid out on our table with warm and fluffy Arabic bread to accompany. Tabbouleh, Hummus, Fattoush, Moutabel, a dish with chickpeas and a delicious garlic dip - these were a few.
The food was very flavourful and extremely well presented, pleasing to the eye. There were a few more appetizers on offer, of which I had not clicked a picture. Kibbeh, cheese spring rolls, Arabic sambousek - these were tasty too though the spring roll was a tad dry and rubbery. They had main courses of fish and lamb, both of which we had to decline because as I said we are vegetarian and sadly they didn't have a vegetarian main course.
We were awaiting the desserts but even after 15 or 20 minutes of setting the plates, there was no sign of it. We noticed that people around us were starting to leave, or head towards the outdoor sheesha place; so we thought there would have been some logistical issues. We were quite looking forward to savouring some dessert though.
All in all, it was a nice experience and we do recommend that you hop on to this exclusive restaurant to taste a bit of Arabia and sink into the experience.
Bon appetit !
- Urmila -
The ambience is very subtle and resonates an old-world traditional Arabic charm. The restaurant was suitably decorated for their opening and as we entered, we could already hear the strains of soft Arabic music; an orchestra setting up to play for us.
My husband and I both love Arabic food and since there are sufficient vegetarian varieties as well, we always eat to our heart's content. When eaten in moderation, Arabic food can be very light on the stomach because there is plenty of heart healthy olive oil that is used. Another advantage is that the vegetables are left in their raw form and some healthy ways of cooking are implemented such as steaming and grilling.
The appetizer course was already laid out on our table with warm and fluffy Arabic bread to accompany. Tabbouleh, Hummus, Fattoush, Moutabel, a dish with chickpeas and a delicious garlic dip - these were a few.
The food was very flavourful and extremely well presented, pleasing to the eye. There were a few more appetizers on offer, of which I had not clicked a picture. Kibbeh, cheese spring rolls, Arabic sambousek - these were tasty too though the spring roll was a tad dry and rubbery. They had main courses of fish and lamb, both of which we had to decline because as I said we are vegetarian and sadly they didn't have a vegetarian main course.
We were awaiting the desserts but even after 15 or 20 minutes of setting the plates, there was no sign of it. We noticed that people around us were starting to leave, or head towards the outdoor sheesha place; so we thought there would have been some logistical issues. We were quite looking forward to savouring some dessert though.
All in all, it was a nice experience and we do recommend that you hop on to this exclusive restaurant to taste a bit of Arabia and sink into the experience.
Bon appetit !
