Amman, Jordan

We spent a night in Amman, Jordan on 26 May 2014 in transit to Israel. In the evening, we had our dinner at Tawaheen Al-Hawa, a restaurant awarded with a Certificate of Excellence of 4.5/5 rating by Tripadvisor in 2012. It was my first experience eating middle eastern food in a middle eastern country.

The dining area at the first level was large and spacious. Local music was played in the background and shisha smoking was available for guests. Unlike Chinese meals eaten around a huge round table, food was served on huge square tables each with eight chairs.

Food served in different plates and bowls were placed over a large copper tray laid in the middle of the table. We had grilled meat, salads, pickles, puff bread, hummus and even fried potato chips etc. 

At the courtyard of the restaurant before entering the dining hall, a lady was seen baking fresh bread called Saj in a traditional Lebanese oven. Freshly baked Saj would be served straight away to the guests. A unique feature of the restaurant!

Interior of the restaurant.

Hung copper tray to hold the numerous dishes of food!

With a friendly waiter. Some commented that their friendliness was motivated by favorable tips at the end of the meal!

The next day, on the way to Israel on land travel, we stopped at Madaba, a town in Jordan made famous because of the discovery of a mosaic map of Jerusalem (Read here).