By: Tam Nguyen, Staff Writer
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I strolled around the vibrant neighbourhood of Hastings-Sunrise while on my way to meet Tamam and Sobhi Al-Zobaidi, co-owners of Tamam: Fine Palestinian Cuisine. Squeezed among tax offices and banks was the restaurant and its big, yet simple yellow sign. The spacious interior was decorated with acrylic artworks painted by Mrs. Al-Zobaidi and Palestinian flags on the wall.
Mrs. Al-Zobaidi welcomed me with a hot anise teapot. On the stove behind us, a cook prepared a boiling pot for rice, cabbage, and a quintessential Palestinian dish: mujaddarah. It was such a pleasure to sit down with both of them and talk about who they are and how their restaurant gives back to the Palestinian community here in Vancouver.
Formerly a visual artist, Mrs. Al-Zobaidi, whom the restaurant is named after, worked in a kids theater back in Palestine. Regarding her magnificent acrylic artworks on the wall, specifically the triptych artwork consisting of “Noontime in Jerusalem” (2019), “Friday in Jerusalem” (2021), and “Full Moon Over Jerusalem” (2023), the self-taught painter noted that her artistry “started developing a taste” after lots of practice.
With training experience in culinary arts at Vancouver Community College, Mrs. Al-Zobaidi cooks with fresh ingredients in reasonable amounts to avoid wasting resources. “People eat food fresh everyday,” she said, also noting that it’s a way of feeling “like you’re eating at home, too.”
To Mrs. Al-Zobaidi, food brings a great sense of community, as it is a “celebration of gathering people together.” The restaurant has a diverse menu, including dishes like chicken kebab and grape leaves, though they specialize in mujaddarah and freekeh. “These are very Palestinian dishes,” Mr. Al-Zobaidi shared.
The conversation turned to Mr. Al-Zobaidi. He completed his master’s degree in film at NYU back in the ‘90s and has been writing and publishing articles about Palestinian culture in both Arabic and English since then. His experience of working and living in various NYC neighborhoods, from Brooklyn to Greenwich Village, made him feel as though “the whole city was like an art gallery.”
“There’s no discussion, no hesitancy, no suspicion. They like the food, then they open up to you. They open up to the story of your food, and your food starts to tell the story. This is how food connects.” — Sobhi Al-Zobaidi, co-owner of Tamam Fine Palestinian Cuisine
Mr. and Mrs. Al-Zobaidi’s story of founding the restaurant started when they arrived here in Vancouver and “noticed how absent” Palestinian culture was in the Lower Mainland. “No art, no food, no fashion, no literature, nothing,” Mr. Al-Zobaidi shared. This is what drove them to open Tamam. Ever since the restaurant opened, they learned that “food is really powerful, a vehicle that carries and transmits culture.”
For Mr. Al-Zobaidi, food is more powerful than even film and art. Not because of the complex nature, but because “people eat, and they love the food.”
“There’s no discussion, no hesitancy, no suspicion,” he said of people trying new cuisines. “They like the food, then they open up to you. They open up to the story of your food, and your food starts to tell the story. This is how food connects.”
Looking around the place, I could see Mrs. Al-Zobaidi decorating the restaurant with cozy lights and wooden furniture to create an atmosphere where it feels like the restaurant is “delivering the culture” to diners, as she puts it. She noted how this medley of cultural goodness is combined “so you can see what is Palestine, what is Palestinian food, what is the cuisine, and what it is coming from.”
In light of the genocide still ongoing in Palestinian occupied territories, Tamam aims to raise $100,000 in aid to send to the Palestinian community. They have been hosting multiple lunch fundraisers on Sundays, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., where they serve mujaddarah by donation. Up to the present, they have reached $95,000 and are planning to host another fundraising event at the end of September this year.
When the UBC encampment was still up and running, Tamam restaurant joined the Meal Train team where they cooked for the whole encampment every Wednesday. The UBC encampment sent their deepest appreciation to Tamam for the nourishment they provided with care and love.
“It wasn’t just giving food for us,” Mr. Al-Zobaidi shared. “It was a mutual support, because we felt not only were we supporting the students, but we felt supported by the students.”
In this way, Tamam’s “food becomes like a love letter” — one that delivers the true message of community.
