Kuala Lumpur restaurant brings Palestine’s rich flavours to Malaysia – with an extra kick
Yafa Restaurant was set up to showcase Palestinian food and hospitality, with a little extra spice to cater to Malaysian tastes
A large mural stands at the entrance of Yafa Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur’s charming Taman Tun Dr Ismail township. In bold, graffitied letters inspired by art on the West Bank barrier – which divides the Israeli state from the western Palestinian territories – a slogan reads: “Make hummus not walls”.
Step past into the patio area and you will be greeted by the vibrant scents of cinnamon and wild thyme; walk a little further in and you will see wallpaper featuring pomegranates, oranges, poppies and patterns of the Palestinian keffiyeh in shades of olive.
Yafa Restaurant, which opened earlier this year, transports the rich flavours of Palestine to the Malaysian capital. The name references the ancient Palestinian port city of Yafa, known in English as Jaffa and located in modern-day Israel.
“My dad was one year old when the first Nakba happened,” says co-founder Ahmad Hallalo, referring to the 1948 mass expulsion and displacement of Palestinian Arabs when the Israeli state was established.
His father, originally from Yafa, migrated to Gaza before earning a scholarship to study in Lebanon and finally settling in Abu Dhabi to raise his family.
Hallalo’s journey eventually took him to Kuala Lumpur 17 years ago. It was here he met Zara Ahmad Riza, a Malaysian native, and their 13-year marriage led them to co-found the restaurant as partners in both life and business.