Zam Zam Arabic Restaurant

There are 2 types of cuisines I simply can't get enough of.

Arabic and Japanese.

I was craving Arabic food a few days ago and I managed to coax the family to try this new Arabic restaurant in Shah Alam last Thursday night. I know all the best Arabic restaurants are located in KL city centre but that's like 40 minutes from our house and we only go there once in a while when we really have to. The traffic jam in KL is always horrendous unless you're driving around at midnight, so... yeah it ain't happening!

I heard about a new place which just opened up in Shah Alam. It's called Zam Zam Arabic Restaurant. The place looked nice from photos and they serve over 200 authentic Arabic dishes, of course I had to try it out.


Casual dining downstairs


Formal dining upstairs

Fattoush: Roasted pita bread salad with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, mint, olive oil and lemon juice

Wara' 3ainab / Mahshi: Loooove this. I always crave it especially during Ramadhan. 
I bought a massive 1 kg tin of wara' 3ainab last year so I could have it for suhoor everyday.

Shakshouka: Tried it for the first time. Don't be deceived by the photo because it was yum! Who thought a mix of eggs, tomatoes, onions, green peppers and  spices would turn out so good? 
Perfect for a cold winter's day. 
Note to self: Must learn how to make this.

Vegetable soup: Light and tasty

Chicken Mandy: A family favourite so we ordered the family version! We also ordered the lamb mandy, which is my favourite actually, but I was so engrossed in eating I completely forgot to take a photo of it. 

Chicken mandy with laban (yoghurt) on the side

 Arabic chai with peppermint

Baklava: Really, really sweet but I love me some baklava anytime

Basboosa: It was a little on the dry side but delicious nevertheless.

Cream caramel pudding: Not an Arabic dessert but I think they added an Arabic twist to it by putting some cardamom in it. It was very creamy and satisfying. 

I have no complaints about the food at this restaurant but the service wasn't top notch. The food didn't take a long time to arrive but the waiters, who were all Arabs by the way, were so busy they wouldn't have given us the menu or taken our order unless we actually called them out. We had to be quite "aggressive" to get their attention. Otherwise, the ambience was nice, food arrived quickly and everything was very affordable. The chicken mandy for 3 people was only RM 54!

If you live near Shah Alam, and you like authentic Arabic food and don't want to go all the way to KL city for a taste of the Mediterranean it's worth giving this place a shot. 

Zam Zam Arabic Restaurant
Oasis 9,
Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah F 9/F,
Section 9,
Shah Alam, Selangor.
(They do catering as well)

Comments

Yunne Osman said…
where is oasis 9? i lived in shah alam (section 10) for 11 years but never heard of such place. new place you said, but where exactly sha? i'm not good in remembering street names heheh. is it somewhere near shah alam mall? how nice the place looks. and the food too! why do all the good things come when i move out of shah alam? haih LOL!
ezura evenstar said…
wow glad u post bout this...always wonder how the food taste...live very nearby but still havent got the chance to try it...now its under my must-try-list !!

Thanx Sha ^_^
RS said…
you're posting this up while I'm here in the UK counting pennis before considering what I want to eat. How cruel. Hahaha. Kidding. =p I'm on a diet anyway!
syieranuar said…
ahh drooling nyaaa. it makes me hungry reading your post sis :( haha
hatim a.r said…
how many dessert did u eat??haha but everything look awesome,ive to try it some day
ashieBee said…
eh sha, last dec i went there to celebrate my dad's birthday. tu i mcm, eh familiar la tmpt ni ;)) the food was nyums BUT susahnyeeeee nak communicate with the worker. last time we went, only 1 person can speak english. the rest, they claimed they only speak arabic.

**hugs**
Zara A said…
Wow! The food looked so tasty. I only had arabic food once when I was at an arabic restraunt in London when I was 13. I've not had it since then. I wish there were some more interesting restaurants around in my city. Tooo many Indian cuisines, haha. I've never tried Japanese.
There are lots of foods that I have yet to try. I tend to have more Indian, Italian & Mexican food so therefore thats my fav.
RS said…
typo. I meant penniEs. looking back at my previous comment, that sounds soooo wrong. oh god....
Fida Islaih said…
Nice photos! I'll say they are all yummy!!

Warak dawalie (the stuffed grape leaves) are one of my many favorites!
Sahira said…
My favorite dessert is basbousa! And that chandelier is just *WOW* lol.
♥Soso♥ said…
every time I see food, I get hungryy
food looks loveli

www.hiddeninstyle.blogspot.com
Esra said…
YUMM!

I have to say I LOVE arabic food, and it always surpises me when non-arabs like it too because I'm so often told that it's so 'bland' in comparison to other exotic/spicy foods.

I'm so glad you like it - bil 3afeya!(to your wellbeing)
aev said…
their lamb mandy is soooo delicious ♥!
Faye said…
Salam,

do check us out :)

http://devillived-boutique.blogspot.com/
Nina said…
That looks incredible. All the third-world cuisine restaurants here are broke-down, disgusting, filthy places. I've tried "Arabic" food, but they were just hybrids of the real deal.
Amnah said…
Yum!!! That place looks great. Looks like a lot of time and effort went into it. Love the plates! Just like the ones in restaurants in Palestine. The food really looks amazing.

Haha @ the unattentive Arabic waiters. Must be a pride issue.
wow...! look at those lanterns and golden light engulfing the restaurant...
middle eastern food is one of the yummiest, if not the best =P!
wish there are a zam zam restaurant in the UK!
sue. said…
u make me hugry dear...
Shahirah Elaiza said…
Yunne: It's sorta near Plaza Massalam. It's really easy to find because of the sign lol

ezura evenstar: Yeah, you should try it out at least once but have fun trying to communicate with the Arab waiters lol

RS: LOL I just realised what you wrote. Don't starve yourself! Just eat in moderation and in small amounts but frequently.

syieranuar: This post makes me hungry too =(

hatim: We actually wanted to order more but they weren't available. Btw, there were like 5 of us ok! lol

ashieBee: Our waiter could speak English. It was just hard to get their attention, darn it. They were just so busy and they had to keep running up and down cos the kitchen's downstairs.

Zara A: YOU'VE NEVER TRIED JAPANESE? *faints* lol I think you're more of a Mediterranean food kinda girl that's why ;)

Fida Islaih: Yeah they're ah-mazing!

Sahira: I think my fave is baklava or kunafeh but basboosa is my next pick. It's really easy to make too.

soso: I know, it's amazing how photos can affect us.

Esra: Arabic food is BLAND? No way! Western food maybe but I like them as well. Just not as much as Middle Eastern food. Yums.

aev: Yeah, I like their lamb mandy as well.

Aminah: Oh man that's such a bummer =( I hope you guys get a nice authentic Arabic restaurant there soon!

Amnah: LOL @ the pride issue. I think you got that right. Arab men. Typical. But I really enjoyed the food... well I always enjoy authentic Arab food no matter what =)

Sorlisa: It's also the most rich and fattening type of cuisine I think LOL.

sue: I make myself hungry by looking at these pics too, so you're not alone don't worry.
gnola said…
why not cuba d'arab cafe anjung 7, sebelah UNISEL seksyen 7 shah alam. pada saya setakat ni adalah yg terbaik dan harga berpatutan. nasi mandy RM50 boleh makan 4-5 org. mandey lamb d'arab cafe menggunakan kambing tempatan dan nasi mandey di zam zam adalah kabsah rice di d'arab cafe anjung 7. kabsah roasted chicken, Lamb kabsah, lamb hanith, royal arabic, mandey lahhm adalah menu yg patut dicuba di d'arab cafe dgn harga yg amat berbaloi- baloi selain parking yg tak perlu dibayar siang atau malam. Pelayan tak usah risau coz semuanya blh berbahasa melayu dan yg paling penting citarasa org tempatan. komunikasi mmg tiada masalah. D'Arab Cafe Anjung 7 bukan saja menyajikan Nasi Arab,tapi macam macam ada dgn harga menu dari RM3 to RM25. teh arab RM1.50. dimiliki sepenuhnya oleh rakyat tempatan, tukang masak saja dari arab. CUBA DULU BARU TAHU.....