One of the first things you will learn about me if you meet me is that I am a serious foodie. I love to cook, I love to bake but most of all, I love to eat good food. Luckily for me, Jordan is the place to come if you are looking for good food. They have traditional Middle Eastern fare and also many uniquely Jordanian dishes. Not only is the food incredibly flavorful and delicious but meals here are truly a community-building event. In this post, I will show you some of my favorite meals so far and give you an overview of the food situation here. For breakfast, which we usually eat at 7:45 or so, we have fresh, warm pita, labneh (thick plain yogurt) with drizzled olive oil and a ton of Za'atar (non-spicy spice blend) and also pita with peanut butter, nutella and bananas. We always have lots of fresh fruit, including nectarines, which I was not expecting to find here but are actually grown locally. We also usually have some hardboiled eggs and cheeses and an assortment of fruit juices.
For lunch, which we have at 1:30 or so after returning from class, we have a home cooked meal from Naji’s wife (Naji is the local coordinator). Everyday, we try a different traditional Jordanian dish. They have all been very different but they generally consist of either lamb or chicken (sometimes in a stew) with couscous or rice, yogurt sauce, tomato cucumber salad, hummus, babaganoush and fresh fruit. We are responsible for getting ourselves dinner so we can either get food delivered, cook food ourselves or go out to eat or get takeout. Fortunately, we live very close to Madinat-al Munawarah street which is called ‘Hunger Street’ because of the many many restaurants that line the street. Most days, my friends and I go on the beautiful walk down to Hunger Street as the sun sets so we arrive just in time for iftar and try a new restaurant or revisit one of our favorites. We also go on many excursions after school and when we do, we usually have dinner out as an entire group, which can be really fun as well. We recently went to downtown Amman and had dinner at the Hashem restaurant. Though it is an informal restaurant with all outdoor seating, it is renowned for its falafels and has been visited many times by the Jordanian royal family and various other Jordanian celebrities. Hashem does one thing and it does it amazingly. They don’t have a menu, they just serve everyone the same mezzo spreads, warm, fresh, pita and falafel. This was definitely the best falafel and hummus I have ever had in my life! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! As for the desserts, they are so rich and nutty and I have found my new favorite dessert of all time here: qatayefs. They are sweet handpies stuffed with cinnamony sweet walnuts and are a special Ramadan treat. So good! And finally, drinks. If there is one thing you should try when you come to Jordan, it is strawberry juice. It has honestly revolutionized the way I look at the fruit. It is pure strawberry and purely delectable. I loved it so much when I tried it that I bought an entire liter to take home with me. The juice game in Jordan is strong all the way around though. Other of my favorites include watermelon+rose, lemon+mint, guava, mango and banana milk. While the pictures don’t do the meals justice, here are some pictures-
7 Comments
Pat Nomanbhoy
6/25/2016 08:53:28 am
I fully expect some seriously delicious food from you when you get back. I hope you are taking notes.
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Sophia Vahanvaty
7/2/2016 01:21:19 am
Of course! I have been collecting recipes and can't wait to share the delicious food with you when I return!
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Mary Stretcher
6/25/2016 01:46:32 pm
I don't recognize all the fruits and vegetables in the picture but it appears to be a wider variety than I expected. Have you done any more sight seeing. I just watched a documentary about Petra. GM
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Sophia Vahanvaty
7/2/2016 01:22:08 am
I was very surprised as well to hear that peaches are locally grown in Jordan! They have regular peaches as well as these flat looking ones called mountain peaches.
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Brooke Roberts
6/27/2016 09:47:23 pm
I have just eaten a full dinner and this description still made me hungry. What an amazing, amazing experience, and particularly lucky to be there during Ramadan!! Most importantly, how is your Arabic coming??!!
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Sophia Vahanvaty
7/2/2016 01:22:52 am
Thank you! :) I am planning on posting an update on my Arabic learning soon!
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Mustafa Vahanvaty
6/30/2016 10:20:43 am
Heres the menu at the Haji Ali Juice Center in Mumbai.....We went there when we visited last- who knew you would become a juice afficionado......yummy....
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We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. !أهلا و ساهلاHi! I'm Sophia, a high schooler from the San Francisco Bay Area. I received a scholarship through the State Dept. to study Arabic in Jordan in the summer of 2016. Categories
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