True blue Lebanese food at Byblos

Crispy on the outside and packed with a delicious fava bean-chickpea filling on the inside, the Falafel is a delight from start to finish.

I’ve seen Lebanese-Australian football legend Abbas Saad on television many times, always in a suit and tie, with his back ramrod straight in his football pundit’s chair, rattling off all sorts of footie facts I don’t know anything about.

When I finally meet him in person, he is casually dressed, has an arm draped around an armchair, a bright smile etched across his face and is speaking my language: food!

The co-owner of brand new Lebanese restaurant Byblos Cafe & Lounge, Abbas has plenty to be proud of. The restaurant is the culmination of a three-year plan of his and primary owner Dani Maurice (also of Lebanese origin) to open a bona fide Lebanese eatery in Malaysia.

Byblos (named after the oldest city in Lebanon) exudes chic sophistication but in the same vein, doesn’t feel hoity-toity or too big for its boots. Fronting the manicured green lawns of the Royal Selangor Golf Club, just off the busy Jalan Tun Razak, it’s the sort of place where detaching from the hustle and bustle of modern living can seem all too easy on a lazy afternoon when the sun streams in and you’re polishing off a plate of delicious falafels.

This laidback ambience is exactly what Abbas and his partners were going for. “There’s no noise, you don’t smell any car fuel, so it’s a very private place with a very homely design. So people can feel very comfortable just sitting here and enjoying themselves and enjoying their food,” he said.

The restaurant looks gorgeous and maintains a rustic, down-to-earth appeal as well.

And the food is another element of his homeland that Abbas is keen to show off.

“This is all authentic – it’s our history. And everything that we do here is Lebanese. It’s traditional Lebanese food,” said Abbas, referencing mouth-watering dishes like hummus and tabbouleh.

The kitchen is helmed by seasoned Lebanese chef Pierre Chahda, who has chalked up years of experience working in Lebanon as well as Lebanese restaurants in Malaysia. According to Abbas, the decision to hire Pierre was almost a no-brainer.

“If you want to open a Lebanese restaurant, you’ve got to have a Lebanese chef! You’re not gonna get authentic Lebanese food with somebody else from another country,” he exclaimed.

The Lebanese team leading the charge at Byblos. From left: Co-owners Dani Maurice and Abbas Saad, and restaurant manager Shady Chamoun. Photo: The Star/Brian Moh

To ensure total authenticity, Abbas and his partners also import ingredients like cumin powder and coriander from Lebanon. Even produce like eggplant gets imported from the motherland!

So given all this information, you can’t help but set your expectations a little higher than usual in the food department. And thankfully, the food at Byblos hits the post nearly every time.

Take the Hummus (RM15) for instance. The mashed chickpeas mixed with tahini paste and lemon juice, and topped with olive oil is silky smooth, with chickpea undertones that are welcoming and delicious.

The lemon juice adds acidity and the olive oil drizzled on top gives it a rich send-off. It’s a hummus that is both bold and retiring – offering punchy flavours without overpowering the palate.

The Moutabal (RM15) is a dip that you’ll either love or hate. The star player in this offering is the minced eggplant, which is mixed with tahini paste and lemon juice and topped with olive oil. The concoction is slightly sour and has a tinge of the slimey quality so evocative of eggplant. But if you set aside preconceived notions and dig into it with an open mind, you’ll discover plenty to enjoy with each mouthful.

All the dips are served with fluffy, homemade Lebanese bread, which you can – and should – use to mop up everything in the bowl.

Crispy on the outside and packed with a delicious fava bean-chickpea filling on the inside, the Falafel is a delight from start to finish.

If you’re after a light, flavourful Lebanese salad, Abbas raves endlessly about the restaurant’s Tabbouleh (RM25) which is composed of fresh parsley, tomatoes, onions and burgul wheat topped with lemon, olive oil and spices. This is a fresh, bright salad that is light and summery, with zesty flavour spikes that enliven it and give it additional vibrance.

The falafel is probably one of the most ubiquitous offerings in Lebanese cuisine and is often very hard to resist. While some versions of falafel are made up largely of chickpeas, Byblos’ Falafel (RM18) features deepfried minced fava beans and chickpeas, served with tahini sauce and condiments.

Fillled with minced eggplant, the Moutabal is a slightly sour dip that gets better the more you eat it.

Velvety smooth and luscious, the Hummus is a delicious introduction to Lebanese cuisine.

The little parcels have a beautiful crisp crust and the fava bean-chickpea mixture is delicious! Essentially you’ll take one mouthful, discover a revelatory new flavour experience and after that, it will be near impossible to keep your hands away from the rest of the falafels. In fact, your meal companions will probably have to fight you to get the crumbs!

Grilled meat is extremely popular in Lebanese cuisine, which is why Byblos serves up a huge Mixed Grill (RM49). This is basically an assortment of grilled beef tenderloin cubes, marinated chicken breast and minced lamb served with hummus, garlic sauce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and French fries.

The grilled beef tenderloin is soft and succulent, with a smoky char on the outside. The marinated chicken breast is tender as a petal and the minced lamb is bursting with flavour. All the meats are reasonably nice on their own but are best when paired with the hummus or garlic sauce served on the side, as these dips take the carnivorous offerings to whole new dimensions.

The Tabbouleh is a fresh, bright and zesty salad.

Interestingly, Byblos also offers premium Lebanese wine as well as shisha for customers to enjoy with their meals.

“Everyone loves to smoke shisha. I don’t smoke cigarettes but I love to indulge in shisha, just for the taste of it,” said Abbas.

Ultimately, Abbas says he hopes Malay-sians will enjoy the authenticity of the Lebanese food on offer at Byblos, which features recipes which are reflective of what his mother and grandmother have been making for generations.

“We just wanted to bring the beauty of our country’s food to the people of Malaysia,” he said.

Byblos

The Hive at TREC

436 Jalan Tun Razak

54000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: [phone]

Open Sunday to Thursday 11am to 3am; Friday and Saturday 11am to 5am