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Covid-19, Delivery food bag

Our response to The COVID-19 Crisis

By Update No Comments

Like all restaurants across the world, we have been monitoring developments with the spread of COVID-19 very closely. The necessary adjustment were made and accustomed to the needs of containing the virus.

Responding to Covid-19

To ensure we abide by recommendations and promote social distancing, we closed our dine-in area. We remain committed to serving the community and ensuring our employees’ livelihood by offering food delivery and pick up. You can call us to place your order at 204-221-1636 or 204-295-7155. Delivery is available for certain part of the city directly by calling us.

Covid-19, Delivery food bagWe continue our partnership with Uber Eats and Skip The Dishes but have unfortunately terminated our contract with DoorDash. Our opening hours were modified to 12 pm to 6 pm. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve unfortunately had to lay off some of our employees which saddens up deeply.

Sanitization

Other changes we’ve implemented are adding a glass panel between the kitchen are and the counter. While we always maintain our restaurant in tip top shape and spotless, we’ve increased the cleaning and sanitization frequency. In addition, only one employee works the kitchen to minimize contact and contamination. We will continue to intensify our food safety protocols to uphold the highest possible hygiene standards and strive to provide a fast, fresh, personalized and most importantly safe experience.

Helping The Community

On March 25, we wanted to extend our help to the Grace Hospital where we offered the Emergency Ward (nurses, doctors, cleaning personnel) free wraps. The overwhelming reaction and messages we received were so heartwarming and unprecedented for us. Seeing these overworked people being so grateful for such a small act of kindness towards them brought us to our knees. We were thrilled to be a part of their day and let them know that we support them through this crisis as they are the true heros!

In addition, we donated some wraps to the residents of Heritage Lodge to help out in this time of need. With seniors being the most vulnerable, extending our help to them is our way of letting them know they are in thoughts and prayers.

If you are a senior, healthcare worker or a person with disabilities, or know someone that is, we are offering 50% off your first order nadn free delivery on subsequent orders.

Thank You to Our Customers

Without our customers, we wouldn’t be here without your support. Many people have stepped up on social media to let us know that they are supporting us to keep our staff employed and our doors open. We are ever so grateful for you, for being there and keeping us in your thoughts.

Please stay safe and take care of yourselves and each other during this difficult time. We hope this COVID-19 crisis will be over soon to be able to dine with you once again.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and leave us a review on Google Business, Tripadvisor and Yelp.

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Arab Street Food Manakeesh with cheese

Arab Street Food Inspiration to Get Your Mouth Watering

By Newsletter No Comments

Our food takes inspiration from the very core of traditional Arab street food. We start from scratch every day to bring you enduring Arabic flavours. We believe in supporting our local suppliers, community, and serving the freshest food to you.

Shakshuka with potatoes and breadArab Street Food

Haven’t quite yet had your fill of Arab Street food yet? Well, the Arabian food is our offer to get you adventurous with our part of the world. In Arab countries, food is a big deal, nourishing, and aromatic. It is almost a fiesta of flavours, colours and textures. If you have never eating Arabic style, you are in for a treat!

Our Name

Yafa Café is a small shop with a lot of heart. We named the café after our youngest daughter, Yafa. Yafa was named after a Palestinian coastal city which for millennia, was significant for trading activities. Yafa Café seeks to bring you a taste of the vibrant atmosphere ever-present in Downtown Jerusalem, Beirut, Baghdad, and Cairo, all right here in Winnipeg. It is our mission to be a place of comfort and kinship. We fulfil this mission by sourcing our ingredients locally, supporting local charities and cultural initiatives, as well as supporting local artisans. In that spirit, we welcome you to our shop.

Arabic Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  At Yafa Café, breakfast is served all day. With so many rich cultures and traditions in Manitoba, we thought it would be fun to shed some light on the basic breakfast foods in the Arab world. Don’t skip breakfast. It’s the best meal of the day, especially at Yafa Café. Here’s what generations of Arabs have eaten for breakfast and continue to do so with a hearty appetite:

  • Egypt has a unique breakfast of choice called Foul Mudamas:
    • This treasured delight simmers in huge copper pots over low charcoal fires, made with fava beans, chickpeas, garlic, and lemon.
    • You’ll see the dish topped with olive oil, cayenne pepper, and Tahini sauce.
    • Sometimes, it’s topped with a hard-boiled egg, and diced veggies.  
  • Palestinian breakfast consists of:
    • Zatoon (olives), arous (bride) labneh, hummus, and falafel, alongside with olive oil, fried eggs, and fresh apricot jam, made from the bountiful harvest of the villages.
    • It also stars za’atar manakeesh, with a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds, baked on top of this delicious flatbread.  
  • Algerian breakfast features:
    • Qahwa (Coffee) or mint green tea
    • Combined with delicious pieces of bread, “Chrik-Costantinois” stuffed with chocolate chips and flavored with orange zest, msemmen bread with honey, and anything in between. 
  • In Tunisia:
    • Shakshuka is a dish of poached eggs in tomato, onions, and chilli sauce, spiced with cumin, a favorite item on Yafa’s menu.  
  • Iraqi breakfast is:
    • Samoun, anoval-shaped bread loaf with gaymer (thick white cream). 
  • In Yemen, breakfast is the most important meal of the day:
    • It consists of a fried egg with onion and tomatoes or mouton liver with spices, in a stew of foule with brown beans, tomato, onion, and chilli
    • In addition, a large pancake-like bread called el megasgas is included.  
  • In Kuwait, breakfast is called Rayoug:
    • The Balaleet is a sweet vermicelli pasta served with a fried egg, which is very popular.
    • Bajilla (jumbo beans) and nakhi (chickpeas) are eaten with Iranian bread and are also great eaten with tea with milk.

Arab Street Food Manakeesh with cheeseChemin de l’amour

You may have seen this beautiful motif in our restaurant. As you can tell, we believe in the power of eternal love! For the team at Yafa Cafe, the delicious pairings of our food can never be separated.

Across all cuisines, there are timeless duos, but we certainly believe we have some of the most delicious combinations of all. Our fresh sage or mint tea is served with honey and walnuts, baklava or with za’atar manakeesh which are perfect together. Our chicken shawarma is served with our garlic sauce for an absolute treat! 

Makloubeh and rice were made for each other. What else would you want to dip into your hummus with pitta bread, baked fresh right from the oven? Our chefs out great care into everything they cook. In the kitchen, they make sure that they get the best ingredients and prepare and cook them properly, so that the one who eats their food will genuinely enjoy the meal. Cooking is love in action. The sense of fulfillment from knowing that others appreciate what you do is unlike anything else.

Team Member Inspiration

Khalidah Abbas was born in Baghdad. She became a Yafa Café team member since its inception. Khalidah enjoyed cooking at age 7. Her first foray into cooking happened when her mom took a well-deserved break, sitting down to rest. She pulled a stool up to the stove and started cooking some eggs. Guided by her mother’s teaching, she did not leave the kitchen ever since. From those first days in the kitchen at home to professional kitchens, Khalidah enjoys creating traditional dishes that are close to her heart that combine all her memories.

“Each job has its own vibe. When I’m prepping the menus, I like to present food that really wows the taste buds of our guests, conveying the joys and love of Arab cooking. It feels so good and so rewarding to feel proud of your work, of the people around you and to have a successful day at work.” Thank you, Khalidah, for your hard work.

Pay it Forward

At Yafa’s Kitchen, we started a Pay It Forward Movement, where people enjoy a meal that’s already paid for — and are invited to continue the chain of generosity. In the process, people learn the transformative power of gratitude. A customer donates into the jar, which is documented in a binder. Then, someone that is homeless or less fortunate can come into the cafe and cash in for their free meal, manakeesh, or drink using the funds the previous customer has paid for. 

News Release – Grand Opening

By Events, Update No Comments

Winnipeg, Manitoba, a new café has opened its doors in Winnipeg.

Yafa Café Arabic Street Food Ltd., owned and operated by Rana and Sarah Abdulla, is set to be home to a stunning new café, loved and renowned for its architecture, its art, its great service, and, for its superb food and coffee.

Yafa Café, offers state of the art modern facilities with its Arabic ambiance, for a vibrant experience. Customers enjoy greater space, more comfortable seating, a large outdoor decking space for the summer months.  It is fast becoming the go-to meeting place for coffee-loving Winnipeggers.

Rana Abdulla, the owner said “when people experience the Café, they aren’t just enjoying great food and drink in a fantastic Arabic style setting, but they also witness how we are boosting our culturally diverse city.  We have items and styles of cooking people have never seen that will draw all kinds of customers and businesses with prices that are competitive and affordable.  This is an addition to Winnipeg, not new to Winnipeg, it’s great news for everyone”.

The café is located few blocks from Polo Park on the corner of Berry and Portage and minutes away from the Assiniboine Zoo. “You can’t get a better location than that,” said Abdulla, who believes that the café’s setting, décor and healthy exotic menu will bring curious and discerning people into the eatery, and that the quality of the food and ambience will bring them back again and again, with their friends.

The owners describe it as a café and community workspace that aims to foster a vibrant culture of appreciating culture and diversity.

The entrance reflects a thoughtful reuse of an old building dating back to 1911 and the interior introduces a creative design for maximum speed and efficiency of service while shining a bright light on Arabic street food, reimagined and poised to assert itself as the best food.

­­­Read about us in the Winnipeg Free Press:
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/food/let-your-tastebuds-travel-468670953.html

Read about us in PressReader:
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/winnipeg-free-press/20171127/281805694243528

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