Marhabaan from Amman! We have arrived! Over the past 48 hours we visited the Hashemite Plaza, the Roman Amatheter, the Amman Citadel, took in the view of the city from the former Khirfan house rooftop, and wandered around the Darat Al Funun, Weilbdeh, and Jebel Amman.
In short, the sights here are incredible, and the food … absolutely delicious. Within the first 24 hours of being here, several of us made a late night run to Abu jbara, a local restaurant with the most delicious falafels. For one JD ($1.94 CAD), one can get 10 small falafel pieces and a fanta. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and spiced just right, these falafels will leave you utterly satisfied and full of joy. Alongside the falafel, one can purchase chili sauce, which complements the salt and spices mixed with the chickpeas inside. Enjoyed with a tea or one of the multiple flavours of fanta, falafel makes for a perfect late night dinner.
After our meal of falafel, we ventured into oncoming traffic (when in Jordan do as Jordanians do) to cross the street and make our way to an ice cream and sweets shop. Along the way, we stopped into a local grocer and picked up some spices (zataar and sumac), soaps, chai tea, coffee, and rose water.
This afternoon we once again headed out for some sightseeing and culinary treats. Our first stop was Wild Jordan cafe, an ethically and locally sourced restaurant. Here we were treated to colorful meals and drinks including: chicken musakhan, lamb kabobs, and fresh fruit smoothies. The chicken musakhan wrap, is a dish made with chicken, onions, sumac and a yoghurt cucumber dip. We enjoyed this with fruit smoothies in an array of colours.
This afternoon we stopped at Habiba Sweet to treat ourselves to Kanafeh, a popular Arabic dessert made out of cheese, honey, noodles, and pistachios. This shop is so popular we waited in line for several minutes before purchasing a token to get our dessert. A small plate of Kanafeh costs 0.70 JD ($1.25 CAD). Enjoyed whilst walking in downtown Amman, this dessert was a great source of fuel for the later-half of the afternoon.
