I'm back with another food review! I feel, one of the most underrated food is Middle Eastern food. It's not commonly found in JB, so I was so excited to find Zaituna Restaurant @ Taman Tasek! My family and husband loves this cuisine too (we even celebrated Christmas with Arabic food), so this was truly a treat to discover. Trust me, it's so delicious that after I went for the review, a few days later I went back again to eat with my husband 😆
Dubbing themselves as "The Best Arabian Food in Johor Bahru", Zaituna Restaurant is designed to look like an establishment in Turkey, with the brick designs and copious use of gold decorative items. There were so many families here on both times that I went. a testament to how popular this restaurant is! It can be hard to find a table, but it's worth the wait. If not, you could always opt for food delivery via their website.
We ordered quite a lot of food for 4 pax, or should I say, the portions are so generous - much more than we expected!
Hummus with Diced Lamb | RM14.00
Hummus topped with marinated, finely-chopped lamb meat, garnished with pine seed.
Let's start off with appetizer. My family absolutely loves hummus, we always make it at home with chickpeas, but definitely can't compete with this 😆 The Zaituna hummus was so smooth and creamy! This is my first time having meat on hummus, and it's delicious! The lamb was not gamy, and having meat on the hummus makes it easier and more filling to eat when we dip the pita bread in.
Zaituna Dulang (2 Org) | RM41
This is their signature platter that contains Nasi Arab mix (mandi, maklouba, kabsa) and 2 types of lamb & chicken meat. There were 4 of us, but we know that we wouldn't be able to finish the 4 pax set (RM65), and we were right, cos this portion was huge. The sauces it came with were spicy & fragrant, pairs well with the rice! Highly recommend getting this, the lamb was my fave cos it's so tender and falls off the bone.
Shish Tawook | RM18.00
2 skewers of minced chicken breast, seasoned with saffron and Arabic spices, chopped parsley, capsicum and onion.
Tbh, the chicken was flavourful but a little dry for our liking. Try it with the different sauces and see which is your fave ;) Btw, all sets comes with bread and fries on the side so it's really filling!
Lamb Shuqaf | RM24.00
2 skewers of tender succulent lamb cubes, grilled to perfection
We love lamb, but the lamb cubes wasn't our favourite - their regular lamb meat is better.
Meat Shawarma Plate | RM24.00
Fresh-from-the-spike shawarma meat, served with vegetables, mixed pickles and tahini dip
I actually had this on my 2nd visit with my husband, but this is worth a shoutout. We both LOVED this - the shawarma was perfectly grilled, not dry or gamy at all and so addictive. We almost couldn't finish the rice, but the meat is a must-eat. Perfection 👌
Arabic Tea Pot | RM14.00
Of course, hot Arabic Tea in a pot is a MUST-HAVE whenever we eat Middle Eastern food. We just love how fragrant the tea is. The tea has a mild spice & minty scent and is not sweet, but you can add your desired amount of sugar by yourself. The tea actually helps to combat the full feeling and is a great palate cleanser.
Desserts galore 😍 I feel this is the best attraction of Zaituna - every diner I saw got up to go pick their sweet treats at the end of the meal, and I don't blame them.
My sis loves Turkish sweets, so we really had to control ourselves from taking too many lol.
Kunafa | RM9.00
This is the signature dessert of Zaituna. It's my first-time trying Kunafa, and I love the soft, creamy cheese soaked in attar syrup, topped with the slightly savoury, crispy pastry (I believe it's called kataifi) on top! It's not too sweet and as someone who doesn't really eat sweets, I can finish a whole piece by myself.
Baklava | RM2.00 or RM3.00 per pc
This is truly Baklava heaven for anyone who loves Middle Eastern cookies & desserts 😍 Can't decide my favourite haha. I don't know their individual names, but they're all seriously too pretty to eat 😍
Oh yea, there was a few birthday celebrations while we were there and the Zaituna crew makes a whole fanfare of it with music and instruments like drums & tambourines and a special chant. The birthday boy/ girl then gets to cut the cake with a SWORD 😹 It's pretty epic and so fun to watch.
Now that I've discovered Zaituna, the next time someone asks me where to go eat in Johor Bahru, I'll bring you here 😉 If Middle Eastern food is something that you've not tried, definitely give it a go because you'll love the experience. The rich flavours and textures will blow you away, and not to mention, the people there are so good-looking and friendly 😆 I'm craving their food again after writing this post, will definitely go back again!
Find out more about Zaituna Restaurant مطعم زيتونة:
ZAITUNA RESTAURANT
Address: 27, Jalan Glasier, Taman Tasek, 80200 Johor Bahru, Johor
Tel: 07-213 3577
Operating hours: Sat - Thurs: 11am - 11pm/ Fri: 2pm - 11pm
Disclaimer: Even though the review is sponsored, it has not affected my opinion in anyway. The review is based on my honest personal taste and preference after trying out the food and services.
The restaurant looks so nice !
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