Zarak, a modern Afghan restaurant coming to Vancouver, embodies hope for Afghanistan
From the same team behind South Surrey’s popular Afghan Kitchen, the forthcoming spot is a dream for Kabul native Hassib Sarwari
Hassib Sarwari’s dream to open an Afghan restaurant in Vancouver will soon come true, with Zarak’s launch happening this fall. Photo by Afghan Kitchen Group
HASSIB SARWARI WAS 16 years old when he left his home country of Afghanistan for Canada over a decade ago. In the fall of 2017, he opened Afghan Kitchen in South Surrey, proudly serving dishes that he grew up eating with his family in Kabul, all made using his beloved mother’s recipes.
As the Taliban’s takeover of the war-torn country continues at a shocking pace, Sarwari is embarking on an even bigger dream: the opening of Zarak in Vancouver this fall.
The forthcoming restaurant takes its name from the Afghan term for gold flakes, says Winnie Sun, Sarwari’s partner at Afghan Kitchen Group. It will offer a modern and elevated Afghan dining experience—and so much more.
“The space embodies hope for Afghanistan,” Sun tells Stir. “Despite its history of turmoil, we are reminded of the beautiful aspects of the country.
“Afghan Kitchen has already challenged the status quo of Central Asian restaurants by introducing Afghan flavours to a wider audience,” she says. “In the past few years, we have introduced Afghan dishes to thousands of guests who’d never tried Afghan food before. We hold so much passion about the tradition and history of Afghanistan, and we can’t wait to share it with the city of Vancouver through Zarak’s narrative of hope, elegance, and humility.”
Bolani is a type of Afghan flatbread. Photo by Afghan Kitchen Group
To bring his first restaurant to life, Sarwari travelled to China and Afghanistan to source its furniture, cutlery, plates, glassware, and chandeliers. He came back with authentic embroidered vests for staff uniforms. In the project’s final stages, Sarwari gathered some 25 family members to help paint the walls.
In 2019, he was named Surrey Board of Trade’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2020, Afghan Kitchen was featured on the Food Network, which paid special attention to his mom’s chicken kebab and mantu (beef dumplings).
To design Zarak, which is expected to open in October, the team enlisted Simcich & Uhrich Architects.
“Our walls will replicate Afghan mud houses with a rich pink hue that’s not found in many other parts of the world,” Sun says. “Houses in Afghanistan are also constructed with exposed bricks, which we will display as dividers.”
Then there are Zarak’s references to kites.
Flying kites is a common hobby in Afghanistan, Sun says, even considered by some to be an art form. It was banned by the Taliban from 1996 to 2001.
“As Khaled Hosseini writes in The Kite Runner, ‘There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood,’” Sun says. “Flying kites is a reminder of that childhood for Hassib…and we felt it an important aspect to incorporate in the restaurant of our dreams.
Zarak will expand on and refine the South Surrey establishment’s menu, which features items such as chilled eggplant dip; aush, a tomato noodle soup with beans and topped with yogurt (“an Afghan cure for sick days”); and kololi, which are subtly spicy hand-made vegetable-flour patties in a vegetable sauce served with cumin rice. Sabzi is a humble dish of slow-cooked spinach with cumin rice. Afghan chicken is a bone-in chicken thigh cooked for hours in a garlic-tomato gravy that comes with Afghan rice.
There will be a window giving a peek into one part of the kitchen, so diners will be able to see items like aushak, or Afghan dumplings, and bolani, a type of flatbread, being prepared. Pan-fried and stuffed with potato, herbs, and spices, bolani is served with Afghan chutney and yogurt.
“Zarak, like Afghan Kitchen, will still be mum’s recipes,” Sun says. “We won’t stray away from the integrity of our existing dishes, but we will also see Zarak as a test kitchen for new recipes that use Afghan spices but may not traditionally be Afghan dishes, such as brunch items, sliders, et cetera.”
Zarak will be located at 2102 Main Street. Rendering via Afghan Kitchen Group
Expect new takes on cocktails currently served at Afghan Kitchen using spices such as cardamom, saffron, pistachio, and rosewater. Local beer on tap, B.C. and international wines, mocktails, local coffee, and Afghan tea will also be available.
Zarak will initially be open for lunch and dinner then will introduce brunch on weekends.
“It’s been a long, difficult, but rewarding journey since we opened Afghan Kitchen South Surrey four years ago,” Sun says. “Afghan Kitchen was the story of a little boy in his sandals roaming the streets of Afghanistan, hoping to bring his mum’s recipes to Canada. The same story will unfold at Zarak, but on a bigger scale in the city of Vancouver. This space at Zarak is his dream.”
Where there are dreams, there's hope. And for Afghanistan, there has to be hope.
Dishes like pan-seared eggplant at Zarak are derived from Hassib Sarwari’s mom’s recipes. Photo by Afghan Kitchen Group
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