The first impression was great. Walk into Burj al Hamam and start experiencing the Lebanese touch with Fayrouz playing in the background. It's a simple restaurant painted in white under a high ceiling but the the Lebanese manager and well trained staff that were smiling at all times made all the difference. I was so excited to eat Lebanese in Jordan.
Burj Al Hamam is open at the Crown Plaza down in the Dead Sea serving a menu close to the one we have in Lebanon, only this one enjoys some Jordanian influences.
The restaurant, which can welcome up to 140 guests has been open for five years and has recently been renovated recently with wooden arcades, a white reflective floor decorated with blue mosaic and a large glass facade with a view.
The restaurant offers two options: A set menu below or choose from the kitchen choices.
The set menu:
- Cold Mezza: Vegetable platter, kabis moushakkal, tabbouleh and fattoush, hummus, moutabbal, shanklish, Aaraj Enab, mouhammara.
- Hot Mezza: balela, batata harra, sawda dajaj, selection of Lebanese bakery.
- Main course: Mashawi
- Desserts: seasonal fruits, warbat bil ashta, Mouhallabiya
We had them with additional orders of birds, Kebbeh sajieh, chicken liver, grilled halloumi and kabab kheshkhash.
The food was good! Hummus, despite the garlic which everyone has stopped adding years ago is good enough, cheese rakakat are crunchy, mouhammara is sweet but again good enough, tabbouleh and fattoush are fresh and bread is prepared a la minute. The only item I didn't like was the raw Kebbeh that was too mushy and lacked body and texture.
Now for the things I really enjoyed, I'd recommend the chicken liver and the mini labneh balls. The kebab kheshkhash is a must try. I'd change on the other hand how garlic is added almost everywhere and the handling of spices which are over added here and there masking the original taste of things.
Tonight we were served by Ibrahim who approached us with respect on many occasions, making sure we were happy and satisfied. Wael, the manager also approached the table to check on the details.
We enjoyed dinner, tried everything with no restrictions with a smile on my face and drank four Arak glasses while table was prepared for dessert.
Esmalliyeh was perfect! Freshly prepared crispy crunchy esmalliyeh filled with Kashta, decorated with crushed pistachio and topped with cashew nuts. It's really fresh and crunchy, enjoyable on the palate, the sugar syrup is not too perfumed and the Kashta is well done filled inside non oily esmalliyeh.
Halawat el Jeben is only enjoyable in Tripoli, Lebanon while I finished the fruit plate completely.
I was happy and I surely recommend it to tourists visiting Jordan.
