Trixie Navarre

Eating local cuisine in any country is one of the best ways to understand a culture, as well as being a delicious way. For myself, trying different dishes in Jordan was my first time to eat traditional Middle Eastern foods inside its native homeland. I am a fan of various Middle Eastern dishes, but in Jordan I tried foods that I had not been offered in the States. 

It made me even more food curious to visit other parts of this region, and try more traditional Middle Eastern dishes. Partaking in meals made with local ingredients, while sitting amongst people of these ancient lands, created a cohesiveness of culture and tradition.

I dined on various dishes while visiting Jordan, some where a hit and some where a miss. By the end of the trip, I could not stand to look at pita bread for months because I had eaten so much of it. All in all, my food experience in Jordan was incredible, and educational. I know yours will be too, enjoy!

~ Always be Food Curious ~

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Kanafeh or Kunafa

This sweet number is a prized dessert in Jordan. If you are lactose intolerant or if you are allergic to nuts, you may have to step aside. Kunafa is a deliciously wicked dessert made with thinly shredded dough (phyllo like), layered with cheese, and topped with pistachios. A sweet rose syrup is drizzled on top, and then the dessert is typically served warm.

Prior to visiting Jordan, I had read about this delicious dessert, and was looking forward to trying it. I was surprised and happy to see it on the table while we were dinner guests at my friend’s colleague’s home. Wonderful hospitality, and a delightful dessert all in one night.

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Falafel

It goes without saying that falafel has been adopted into many country’s cuisines as a vegan staple. I know there are many people who have not tried falafel, but to try it once might change your approach to Middle Eastern, or vegan food.

Falafel is a simple dish traditionally made of ground chickpeas, and fried until golden brown. It is crispy and delicious, and is typically served with pita bread. There is another variation you should also try, and it is falafel made with spring onions, then topped with sesame seeds. The green onion falafel is favorite of mine because it adds a nice flavor to those crispy little chickpea balls.

Some of the best Falafel can be enjoyed at the Oldest restaurant in Amman, Hashem Al-Amir (see below for information on their Hummus)

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Hummus at the oldest restaurant in Amman

Eating hummus in Jordan was life altering, or at least it was for me it was. The texture of Jordanian hummus is creamier, and you can taste the freshness of each ingredient, from the chickpeas to the olive oil. Compared to what is offered to us in America, it cannot be compared due to the local ingredients being authentic to the region.

You can find the best of the best hummus at Hashem Al-Amir in Old Town Amman. Hashem is not a white linen, fine dining establishment, but an outdoor café with a view of the sidewalk. This is the oldest restaurant in Amman, and is a favorite with everyone in the region including Royalty. Dining at Hashem is an excellent way to start off your Jordanian experience- sitting with locals, tourists and friends, as you listen to sounds of the city.

Do not forget that you will be eating the best hummus in the… world. There I said it.

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Turkish Coffee

Whether this black thick caffeine elixir served in a brightly colored papered cup sitting on a handmade bench, or a china white cup and saucer during a family dinner, you will find Turkish Coffee everywhere. For coffee drinkers who like it strong this will be a staple of yours while trekking through Jordan, I know it was for me.

In my opinion, the best part of drinking Turkish Coffee was the hospitality that went with it. I had it served to me in stores by local business owners curious about the country I am from. I had Turkish Coffee after a beautiful lunch at a local family’s home in Amman. I had it while chatting with a local café owner outside Kerek Castle, sitting on a stool after he told me to sit, and have a smoke. Then as I sat in a hotel lobby with another traveler, a family pulled out their on-the-go Turkish Coffee kit, and offered us a cup.

The hospitality of Turkish Coffee in Jordan, and the memories that went with each cup, I will forever cherish. I hope your cup of Turkish Coffee finds you with fond memories of Jordan.

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A Hospitable Private Dinner

The people of Jordan are some of the most hospitable, and most welcoming that I have met while on my travels. Where ever you go people say, “Welcome to Jordan!”, and they also give you Turkish coffee or tea.

So, it was not surprising that my friend’s former colleague asked us over for a family dinner. We were very fortunate to be invited to this lavish Jordanian meal with every food that I wanted to try.

We were served our meal on their best china and crystal, a formality that I have not seen since I was young. My mother used to bring out the good china and silver when it was a special occasion. In this case, we were the special occasion- how wonderful was that?

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Zarb

This traditional dish was one of my favorite meals in Jordan, and is noted as their National Dish.  We first tried it as a group when we spent a cold night in the Wadi Rum desert, while sleeping in goat haired tents. This hot meal of chicken, lamb, and root vegetables was warming and comforting on that chilly desert night. We sat throughout the goat haired tent walls, and around the fire while enjoying this hearty Bedouin cooked meal.

Zarb is cooked underground with flaming hot coals on top, and is similar to a Hawaiian Imu or underground oven. This delicious meal consists of lamb or chicken, rice, onions, and carrots. This style of cooking creates fall of the bone meat with moist and flavorful rice, due to the juices and onions. I highly recommend this dish while in Jordan.

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Maqluba

A very special Jordanian meal, Maqluba is the traditional dish that is served upside down. In a large pot meat, spices, rice, and vegetables are layered, then it is slowly cooked. The slowness allows the natural juices of the meat to absorb into the rice, and vegetables, which creates a flavorful one pot meal.

The ‘show’ happens when the large heavy pot of warm, and tender ingredients is turned over, upside down. Then all the “Oooohs” of excitement are said, with a possible applause. It may take a couple of people to turn the pot upside down, but the hard work is worth it. Especially when watching the layers of rice and meat fall out onto a large serving dish.

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Shawarma

Shawarma is one of my favorite Middle Eastern dishes, even when served in the States. It is a traditional Middle Eastern street food comprising of thinly shaved lamb or other meats, and wrapped in a pita.

I skipped the camel burger for shawarma, true story! My fellow travelers went out for camel burgers but I was not feeling it. A couple of days prior, I rode a camel at sunrise and felt that I had bonded with it. To me eating a camel would be like eating a horse, so shawarma it was. Another traveler that I had met accompanied me to the best shawarma stand in Amman. The German traveler I was with said he would get the first round and graciously paid for it.

Standing there, I heard numbers being read out it in Arabic and my hungry grin turned into a wide eyed sulk. I turned to the German guy and asked “Do you know how to say (whatever number) in ARABIC?” We both stood there watching the men behind the counter shave off shawarma and call out numbers. I held the ticket hoping for a stranger to help and my sorrowful face paid off. A gentleman next to me looked at my receipt and told me when our order was ready. We then sat and ate our shawarma. Now I am not sure if this really was the best shawarma in Amman but it was the best shawarma I have eaten, to this date. If there is better shawarma somewhere in the world, I am so there!

The “Best Shawarma in Amman” is at the takeaway stand Shawerma Reem

• Address: Jabal Amman, Second Circle, Amman| Phone: (06) 464 5725

By the way, I never paid for a second round of shawarma! 😉

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Jordanian Sweets

Tell that sweet tooth of yours that you love it and will find a local bakery in Jordan. There is a plethora of bakeries in Jordan serving up delicious sweets to bring back to your hotel, eat on the bus or my favorite- walking around, and eating it out of a plastic bag. In any country I visit, I cannot help but stop at a bakery window and smell the sweetness. On occasions my sweet tooth takes control and I walk in. I am sure you have found yourself in the same situation.

In Jordan, you will find your fill of baklava, kanafeh, and sticky honey desserts. You cannot go wrong with what you choose. Ordering is not hard even if you do not know the name of what you are choosing. We just simply pointed, and put up how many fingers of the sweets we wanted. If you are food curious, it is a fun surprise to taste what you chose from a Jordanian bakery.

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Arak

Do not take this drink lightly as it is one of the strongest alcoholic drinks that I have encountered! I admit, there have been times that I have not been able to hold my liquor. Although that was after multiple glasses, lack of food, no water, and basting in the hot sun.

One drink of Arak had me wanting to go back to the hotel and pass out immediately. I wanted to pass out because I was tired of trying to hold myself together from this milky white concoction. If you have seen me try and hold it together, you know that it is better if I just pass out.

Arak is a hardcore alcoholic drink made from grapes and anise. I had to drink this watered down because the alcohol content is high, up to 63% alcohol volume. If you have not tried Arak and you are in Jordan, just make sure you are close to a bed or have a sober friend to take you back to your hotel.

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Warmed Baklava

Although I mentioned baklava in Jordanian Sweets, having it served warmed deserves its own entry. No lies, I love baklava and have eaten it more times than I care to admit. How could one simple task of serving it warm, and drizzled with honey be such a shift in how I look at this delicious desert? I do not know, but it was a definite shift in my baklava consciousness.

I tried it warm in Madaba at a local kebab place, and shared it with a friend. I thought “Well this is fancy, served on a white plate with a fork.” I then understood why it was served plated with a fork. Warm baklava drizzled with honey is moist, sticky sweet, and it melts in your mouth. To be truthful, this has spoiled my palate on room temperature baklava, and I cry to myself wanting it warmed up.

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Bedouin Tea

This is not your ordinary tea, as it is more of a communal experience than drinking the tea itself. Like my memories of Turkish Coffee, partaking in Bedouin Tea was about taking a break and socializing with those around you.

Typically if you enter a house or tent, you will be served tea as a form of hospitality. While in Jordan, I had Bedouin Tea while visiting Qusair Amra, and the local Bedouin brought us into his tent then made us tea. Other times I was in the middle of the dessert and had the tea served after being made over a little fire. Hopefully you will find yourself sharing Bedouin tea with friends and locals in the middle of the desert, or inside a goat haired tent.

Bedouin Tea is an herbal mix prepared with sugar and made over a little fire. Although it sounds as if Bedouin Tea may be similar to traditional tea served with sugar it is different. The process of the tea making and the smoke from the little fire givevs it that special flavor.

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Kebab or Kebap

No matter how you spell it or pronounce it, this common dish is served in various styles around the world. Only because it is straight up delicious! For Westerners, it is like a flavorful minced meat hamburger, in an elongated shape, and then cooked over an open fire. Although the majority of us have tried kebab, eating it in Jordan takes on a whole new meaning. It comes down to the local ingredients of the fresh meat used, and the country’s own spices.  The kebabs in Jordan are juicy, the meat tastes very fresh, and it is full of wonderful flavor.

You can have your kebab as street food wrapped in a flat bread or as a main dish with fries, and a salad. Either way, kebab in Jordan is a must have.

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Manakish

Almost every country has their own version of pizza and Manakish is Jordan’s, but healthier. Okay, it does have carbs due to the pizza shaped bread, but it is topped with thyme, sesame seeds, and other spices.

To have a more cholesterol filling Manakish experience, you can have it topped with meat and cheese. As for myself and a few of my table mates, the simple form of thyme and sesame seeds was a delicious choice.

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Mamoul – Arabic Cookies

Although I grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles with many ethnicities around me, it took a trip to Jordan to discover Mamoul. I am actually upset that my Middle Eastern friends never handed me a cookie over the years- JK (not really). These delicious cookies are filled with dates, nuts and, sometimes figs.

So how I came upon Mamoul in Jordan is a cute story in itself. My friends and I hopped a taxi in Amman with me sitting in the front. The hospitable driver started to hand out these packaged cookies after saying, “Welcome to Jordan!”. All four of us really enjoyed them, and he gave us more. We enthusiastically said, “Shukran! Shukran!” in our American accents. Then he even took a selfie with us in the taxi.

The hospitality of the Jordanians wanting to share their culture and food was everywhere. It was all very heart warming and memorable.

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Arabic Bread and Laughing Cow Cheese

Helpful Tip: If you have access to a grocery store prior to your trek into Petra, purchase  foods that you can easily pack for lunch/ snacks. Many of us bought deli meat, chips, granola bars, fruit, water, and Laughing Cow Cheese.

We pulled up to a SAFEWAY and several of the Western Hemisphere travelers exclaimed in unison “SAFEWAY?” This was the last American brand retailer that I would expect in the Middle East, but was grateful for it. We were there to purchase food for our Petra trip the next day because our hotel rooms had small refrigerators.  Our guide gave us about 15 minutes to shop, and many of us were running though the market like we were on a game show. We did not know where anything was, and I am sure it was funny to watch on the security cameras.

I located the Arabic (pita) bread and instinctively found the cheese aisle. Low and behold, I saw something familiar, it was Laughing Cow cheese. I knew that I did not need a knife, I could just open each triangle, and eat with my pita bread- perfect. Although the packaging was written in Arabic that laughing red cow was symbolically familiar, no translation needed.

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A Bedouin Buffet

If you take a guided tour into Wadi Rum or decide to stay at a Bedouin campsite more than likely you will be fed a Bedouin style buffet. Depending on your group, your meal will be more or less of what we were served- Arabic Bread, hummus, vegetable stew, rice, vegetable salad. and so on.  Remember to say “Shukran” to your hosts, and to those who cooked your meal.

During this meal, we had just arrived at the starting point of our Wadi Rum adventure. This would be our only meal until dinner time, unless we had private snacks (like me). Although this meal was basic, it was warm and very hearty, it’s made to fill you up. There was not a lot of meat served, actually I do not even remember if meat was served. This would be a vegetarian’s dream, really. With all that said- bring snacks!

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Wine and Sushi

I know, but wine not? I was jonesing for it, like ‘Indiana Jones’ jonesing for it. Our guide brought us to an international restaurant in Aqaba, I saw sushi on the menu, and it was over. That is all I saw, plus the wine list. It was a win- win situation.

The tuna roll was quite good, as well as the arugula salad that I ordered. My friend bought the bottle of wine and it was okay, just okay. I was expecting something to happen but nothing did in taste. Even my friend was ‘waiting for it’. What it came down to was the wine had a fault. I believe it was not stored appropriately, which is a shame. I will say that it did do the job on the alcohol content though. I ended up doing something that is now coined “The Aqaba Move”. Maybe I will tell you one day.

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Hotel Boxed Breakfasts/ Lunches

A helpful hint when taking a day tour or leaving for an early flight, ask your hotel if they can make you a breakfast or lunch for takeaway. Most big hotels that serve breakfast (free or charged) should be able to prepare one with advanced notice.

This big boxed meal that came from the Marriott in Amman has a heart warming story attached to it. As you notice there was a lot of food, too much actually. When it came to the end of the day, the four of us put all the remainders into one box . My friend said that he would find a homeless person to give it to, and sure enough a homeless man showed up. My friend gave this man a full box of food, and he was brought to tears. This homeless man,  who was full of gratitude, pulled out a few coins to pay my friend for the box, but of course he would not take it.  Now I do not know the poor man’s story, but I do know that people will show up at the right time, no matter what the situation is or the location.

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7-UP (I don’t drink soda)

I am not a soda drinker, and I am not sure why I ordered one a 7-Up. I think I may have needed the carbs that water does not provide. We had quite a day already visiting Jerash, the Dead Sea, and Jesus’s Baptismal Site- so carbs were definitely in order.

I will say this, I LOVED the can. It was thin, and very retro with the pull up top that we grew up with as kids. Also, the retro wording of, “1980s Feelin 7UP”, and other words in Arabic- so rad! I wanted to take the can, but I did not want to look weird. I really should have taken the can.

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Green Almonds

The first time I saw these fuzzy little green nuts was in the Old Market of Amman. I honestly did not know what they were, but I took a photo of them because I thought they looked interesting. A few days into our trip, our guide pulls over to the side of the road, and buys a bag of green almonds to share amongst the group.

He explained to us that these cute little fuzzy green things were young almonds, and seasonal (Springtime). I pulled two almonds out of the bag just in case I liked them. I bit into one of them them, took a picture and swallowed it. Hm.. Sorry but I am not a fan of green young almonds. I found them to be quite tart, and not what I was expecting. People in Jordan do love them, so there must be something to these young almonds. Please do not take my word for it, you might enjoy them. If you happen to be in Jordan during the Springtime, grab a few and do try them out.

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International Dining

There are several International restaurants in Amman, and I truly wish I could remember the name of the one we went to. My friend’s colleague took us to a lovely restaurant before we left Amman, and it was wonderful. I ordered the Fajitas which was funny because I rarely order them in America. I did see a Chili Dog on the menu, and considered ordering it just because I could. I am sure it would have been a very fancy Chili Dog though.

The funny memory of this restaurant was when the electricity went out. Yes, upscale dining in Amman, the electricity went out, and the candles went up. Voila! Candlelight dinner of fajitas, Jordanian wine, and crème brulee.

Tip: When Westerners hear the word “International Restaurant” we automatically think something other than American. So keep that in mind Westerners that when we are in another region of the world, an International Restaurant may have what you are used to- alcohol, pasta, fajitas, hot dogs, burgers, crème brulee, etc

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Petra’s Cave Bar – Cheesecake and Booze

Well you will have to read my post Indiana Jones and The Lost City of Petra  to understand how my friend, and I ended up at this touristy watering hole.

I will note that I enjoyed the strong cocktails more than I did the cheesecake. Although pretty, the cheesecake’s consistency was obviously different because of the local ingredients were different, than what is available in western countries.

In many Islamic Middle Eastern Countries, alcohol is not typically sold in non tourist public places. In most of these countries you may be able to find alcohol in the tourist areas, larger cities or Western chain hotels. Please do not ask Bedouins for alcohol because they are very strict on “No alcohol”. Bedouins will not even physically touch alcohol, so please mind those manners!

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BBQ and Sailing the Red Sea

One of our last meals in Jordan was while we were sailing along the Red Sea in Aqaba. The blue waters, fresh sea air, the smell of chicken grilling, and me driving the yacht down the Red Sea. Yeah, I did not see that coming either. The captain asked if I wanted to steer and of course I said, “Yes”. Mind you I did not have my driving glasses nor have I ever driven a boat before, but that did not stop me. I just made sure that I turned left before I hit Saudi Arabia.

I think we can all agree that eating anything grilled by the sea or a lake is magical. I believe a memorable meal includes all of your senses, and it is just not the food itself but also the environment around you. The aroma of the herbed grilled chicken and the salty air, while feeling the and seeing the Red Sea’s atmosphere, gave me a seafarer’s appetite. I went in for a several servings of that delicious barbeque chicken.

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Candy For a Photo

While photographing the Roman Amphitheatre in Jordan, I notice a group of young Islamic ladies, more than likely University students, attempting to take a group selfie. I saw them struggle to get four faces with the Amphitheatre in the back ground, I do know the group selfie struggle. I asked them if I could take a photo for them, and they were more than happy to hand their phone over to me. The girls were lovely and sweet, and they reminded me of my daughter who was their age.

They asked me where I was from and they all exclaimed, “Welcome to Jordan!”. One of the girls then unzipped her backpack, took out a plastic bag, and started to pull out different sweets to give to me.  She was saying “For you- this and this.”, while the other girls were giggling. I said to the girls. “I like her. She carries sweets in her bag!” We all laughed, I thanked them, and we said our good byes.

I have been very lucky in my travels to come across beautiful people like this. It is the little moments such as these that make my travels big memories.

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We used the tour company GAdventures. Although I generally do not take full tours, I found GAdventures and our guide Ayman exceptional. The itinerary of the tour and the wonderful travelers that I met were incredible experiences. https://www.gadventures.com/

You must go on adventures, to find out where you truly belong…

– Sue Fitzmaurice

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