Burj Al Hamam - Amman, Jordan

One night for dinner in Amman when our tour did not include a meal, we (Judy, Stan, Chris and I) ate at one of the restaurants in the Intercontinental Amman, our hotel. It was Burj Al Hamam which served Arab cuisine. The atmosphere was quite dressy and we felt a bit under-dressed. I enjoyed the table setting which included a burlap type cloth which seemed fitting for an Arab dinner. 

We'd had no lunch and I was very hungry. A starter of almonds was brought to our table. The almonds appeared to have been soaked in water and had a slightly sweet taste. 

We got several appetizers including a pancake made with egg and potato, which was simple, but good; hummus with pine nuts, which we found was always delicious; and small lamb sausages. The lamb sausages were extremely lemony, almost too much for me. I wanted more of the lamb taste to stand out. 

Egg and potato pancake.

Lamb sausages.

The highlight of the meal for me was an appetizer of lamb brains. There was nothing masquerading this dish at all. The brains appeared to have been scooped out of the skull and plopped into the dish, ready for a dissection lab. The various lobes of the brain were visible and would have made it very difficult to eat for a picky eater (I'm not picky and I had to steel myself a bit). The brains were cold and heavy, with a texture almost like soft cheese. They were very lemony and salty, again, almost too much. But in this case I was almost grateful for it as I was not quite sure that the natural taste of the brains would have been an improvement, unlike the lamb sausage.  I was quite surprised by all of the lemon and we surmised that lemon is readily available in the desert environment, lemon trees seemed to be growing everywhere. 

Lamb brains.

I got lamb chops, ordered medium rare which came out medium to well done. Very forgettable. Judy got lamb loin which was not over-cooked, but which was not particularly flavorful. 

Lamb chops with french fries and some added hummus with pine nuts.

Lamb loin with a cooked tomato. 

But for the lamb brains it was not memorable, but the lamb brains made it an unforgettable meal.