Yafa restaurant brings Palestinian food to Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16, 2026 — Yafa, a restaurant tucked into a quiet corner of Kuala Lumpur's Taman Tun Dr Ismail, is among the first eateries in the Klang Valley to focus entirely on Palestinian food. Malaysian Zara Ahmad Riza and her Palestinian husband, Ahmad Hallalo, opened it in early 2025.

The restaurant takes its name from Yafa, a historic Palestinian port city once called "the bride of the sea." Zara describes the project as a tribute to the family's heritage and a way to share Palestinian cuisine, calling it "my way of doing activist work through food."

The story behind Yafa restaurant

The name carries personal weight, as Ahmad's late grandmother was among those forced from the city. According to the account, Yafa was the largest city in Palestine, and after the 1948 declaration of the state of Israel, more than 90 percent of its Palestinian residents were displaced; the area is now part of modern-day Tel Aviv.

Zara says Ahmad's father was a year old when the family fled by boat to Gaza, later moving to Abu Dhabi, where Ahmad grew up. His grandmother kept the keys to her ancestral home until she died, "never able to go back," Zara says.

A menu rooted in family recipes

Zara built the menu from recipes her Palestinian mother-in-law taught her over months of visits to Kuala Lumpur. Starters include a watermelon and feta salad with mint, olive oil and crushed pistachio, made with Palestinian-style feta that is creamier and saltier than Greek versions, and hummus of chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon, with an optional green chilli dip.

Flatbreads, or manakeesh, come topped with zaatar — a wild thyme blended with sesame, sumac and salt — or with mild, milky Akkawi cheese. The couple visit the restaurant daily to check that dishes meet their standards.

Signature Palestinian dishes

The standout is maqluba, a dish of meat, rice and fried vegetables such as eggplant cooked together and flipped upside down to serve. Traditionally a large communal dish, Yafa offers smaller portions and steams the rice in a style modeled on Malaysian nasi kukus, served with a yoghurt condiment and sahawiq, a spicy sauce of chillies, coriander, cumin, cardamom, lemon, garlic and olive oil.

Another staple is musakkhan, roast chicken with olive oil, onions and sumac served over taboon bread, sometimes regarded as a Palestinian national dish. Zara says the owners are already planning to expand within the Klang Valley. "I want to expand so we're working on something now," she says.

Yafa operates at 7 Lorong Datuk Sulaiman 7, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, from Tuesday to Sunday, with details posted on the restaurant's official Instagram.

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