First up was a common Lebanese Mezze – the Tabouleh salad(RM12) which is made up of chopped parsley, tomatoes and cucumbers with a drizzle of lemon juice and olive oil. The salad was refreshing although I found it a tad too sour for my liking. Also, people who are new to Lebanese cuisine may not like the large amount of parsley in this salad.
We tried another salad – The Tarbush Salad (RM13). This salad sat very well with everyone as it had a creamier dressing. This signature salad is made up of cucumbers, tomatoes and white radish and topped off with toasted Lebanese bread. The white radish gave the salad a refreshingly sweet taste and much welcomed texture. Meanwhile, the crunchy bits of Lebanese bread definitely sealed the deal in this salad!
And to round of the appetizers, the Tarbush Hommus (RM12) was a must order for me. Somehow I just love the taste of this delicious chick pea and sesame paste dip – creamy and healthy too! Wonderful when eaten with the accompanying Lebanese bread. Other appetizers that caught my eye for the next visit include the Mutabal (grilled eggplant dip) and Hommus Meat (hommus topped with sauteed lamb)
For the mains, we ordered the Grilled Spring Chicken (RM24) which is served with their excellent garlic sauce.
I did find the side of fried rather odd though, but they were nevertheless very delicious especially with the garlic dip. However, the spring chicken although well marinated tasted rather dry, perhaps left on the grill slightly too long?
We also tried the Tarbush Mixed Grill (RM35) which is a combination of lamb chop, lamb cubes, Shish Tawook (skewered grilled chicken), Shish Kebab (skewered minced lamb) and Grilled Arayes. Again this platter came with garlic dip.
When I asked the waitress what Grilled Arayes was, she described it as kind of like a Lebanese pizza but with the filling on the inside. Upon arrival, I found that it was indeed Lebanese pita bread stuffed with the meat (lamb) filling. Most interesting! Out of all the different types of meats on this platter, I enjoyed the Shish Kebab and Arayes the most. The lamb Shish Kebab was tender and flavorful. The lamb chop tasted good too but lost some points for being over-grilled (notice how charred the meat is?)
We being Chinese and our usual ‘fan tong’ (rice bucket) selves, just had to order a rice dish. So we had a plain Briyani rice (RM7). Tarbush offers a variety of grilled meats to go with the Briyani rice (such as lamb, chicken etc) But we chose the plain one for fear of having too much meat. The briyani rice was lovely! Long-grained rice steamed with lots of herbs and spices.
One thing to note is that lamb features quite a bit on their menu. But fret not for they do have some chicken dishes, grilled fish, grilled prawns and even fish and chips!
Tarbush’s desserts which I didn’t get to try since we were too stuffed from the mains & appetizers. The dessert above I believe is the Baklawa.
Overall, I am thrilled with Tarbush. I could probably just visit them again and eat a whole bowl of hommus by myself! lol
Tarbush in Penang is located next to The Ship at Batu Ferringhi. Address: Lot 4134 Section 1, Batu Ferringhi, Penang
For more gorgeous photos of Tarbush and more Lebanese food, hop on over to this great review.
wow… the interior is nice and also the foods. Salads and also the grilled stuff. Yummy!
yeah really need to order the salad together with the grilled meats…otherwise too meaty!
read this in Star Metro previously and wondering whether Tarbush has been in Penang all along.
thanks. is it spelled hommus or hummus? tasted that in a buffet spread once, not bad.
very flavourful Lebanese food.
i think it can be spelled both ways. i’m more used to the ‘hummus’ spelling though the menu here spells is ‘hommus’ 🙂
When talking about Hummus, I am thinking of DON’T MESS WITH ZOHAN! XD
This is soooo EXCITING for Penang!! Nothing gets me more worked up then tabbouleh, hummus, the whole Middle Eastern works! And the location is gorgeous! I didn’t think there was any more land available along that stretch!
yay!! i found me another lebanese food fan! we should go together the next time you’re back. i also didn’t think there was anymore land there…and i can’t remember what used to be on that plot of land before tarbush!
Interesting menu…thanks for sharing this new outlet.
yup definitely something different to the penang food scene. if you like lamb, you’ll like this place 🙂
is it beside The Ship? I’ve seen this place .. but never thought of trying. thanks for sharing .. now with an idea of how the food is, i can consider going.
hi duckie! i think it’s worth trying to see if it suits your tastebuds. they do have a menu online on their website too so you can have a look at that for more ideas on what they serve.
Been to Tarbush at KL once, not really fancy the food there 😛
yeah i guess it’s really not for everyone. after trying it out, my parents still didn’t really like it although my brother and i did!
great place and i love parsley!
then the tabouleh would be perfect for you! really a lot of parsley! but a bit too sour for me though.
Wow! another new cuisine to try out!
yeah! but a lot of meat…so not sure you will like it or not. but can try la. 🙂
have never tried lebanese cuisine before!
very nice environment and food looks very unique!!
i just noticed after leaving tarbush that there is another lebanese restaurant right opposite. i think cos there are more tourists up in batu ferringhi. want to try that place next…. but need to cari kaki first. 😛
Lebanese food is new to me. I am very impressed with their interior decoration especially the imported tiles. 😉
i love the tiles too!! but my mom pointed out that it may be difficult to clean the table tops cos of the crevices and uneven surface. she has a point so hopefully they clean them thoroughly!
is there a dress code for this restaurant?
it looks fancy.
what are you suppose to wear there?
hi jessica! i didn’t see a dress code posted up in the restaurant. i guess anything smart casual would be fine. we were in jeans, bermudas and t-shirts. i was wearing my flip flops! i think in general, penang’s pretty laidback and casual when it comes to dress code.
i like tarbush but naab wil alws be my fav 😉
ooo i’ve heard abt naab..real fancy place! haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. would love to someday. 🙂
Sighs… With that kinda view, everything just tastes that lil bit better, yes? 🙂
They are here to stay! Mediterranean food style? Nice salad and dips.
My first exposure to Lebanese cuisine is when I was studying Ainstralia. I fell in love with “Tak Boleh”. I love it as it is or spread it all over my Donna Kebab and Shish Kebab….Yummy
I will go visit the restaurant and get my fix of Tabouleh soon
Hi Lingzie
Thanks for leaving a link to my blog post on Tarbush at the end of your review. I was really excited when Tarbush finally opened and jumped at the first opportunity to try the food. I am very sure that I will be back to Tarbush for many times to come whenever I need a fix for Arabic and Lebanese cuisine 😉
As for the other Lebanese restaurant you saw i.e. Fruit of Lebanon, the food was quite good and worth a try as well (see my review at: http://my-food-fetish.blogspot.com/2009/03/fruit-of-lebanon-restaurant.html) 🙂
Hi there,
I’m really thrilled by the photos you took of our Tarbush Penang. Please drop me an email coz there are a few things that I would like to communicate with you.
Regards,
Nura