My Amman Life

Meet Yasmin Bani Hani, aka Foodie Jo!

Yasmin is a 23-year-old Jordanian who eats for a living. With a degree in Spanish and English languages, in addition to a Diploma in Digital Marketing, her career path revolves around social media, content writing and volunteering in youth development.

To combine her career path and her passion for writing, photography, and of course, food, she started her Insta-blog back in 2015. Across her various social media accounts Instagram (@FoodieJo), Facebook (@FoodieJordan) and Snapchat, she critiques restaurants across Amman to share her wild and tasty journey with her followers.

She’s proud to be one of Jordan’s first female food critics and feels she has a huge responsibility towards her loyal followers to give them her honest reviews of Jordan’s food scene.

Now let’s get to the fun part, THE FOOD! As I personally am vegan and want to promote Amman’s ever-growing plant-based scene, I asked Foodie Jo to give me her top picks of veg-friendly dishes in the Jordanian capital. Here they are…

Joury Rosa Damascena Restaurant

Joury is located at the 2nd Circle and serves up traditional Levantine cuisine.

Her favorite veg-friendly dishes @ Joury:

• Waraq Enab & Kousa (Stuffed Zucchini and grape leaves)
• Hummus
• Mutabal
• Tabouleh (Levantine parsley salad)
• Harra bi Isbaou (Syrian dish based on lentils and bread dough)

Primal

Primal is located in Abdoun and is Amman’s only paleo restaurant.

Her favorite veg-friendly dish @ Primal: Eggplant Caprese

⛈Rainy-day indulgences! 💫Come by Primal and enjoy our warm atmosphere, cozy vibes and a wide selection of wholesome foods. 🍅🍆🌰🌿and if you still haven’t tried our Eggplant Caprese then you’re missing out…Primal’s #homemade nuts & seeds toast, layered with fresh pesto sauce, cashew-nut cheese, grilled eggplant and tomato, and topped with our tomato marinara sauce and walnuts.

A post shared by Primal Restaurant (@primal.restaurant) on Jan 5, 2018 at 3:35am PST

Da Esmat

Da Esmat is located on Rainbow Street and specializes in homemade Italian cuisine.

Her favorite veg-friendly dish @ Da Esmat: Insalata di Mango (Mango Salad)

Insalata Di Mango (Mango Salad) at Da Esmat. I’ve been obsessed lately with green salads that include fruits. That’s why I super excited to try this salad that includes mangos, pomegranate, fresh mixed leaves with olive oil and mint dressing. The mangos definitely added a strong tropical flavor to the salad and made it more pleasing. I liked the sweet twist the pomegranates added to the taste. So the salad is not only delicious, but also super healthy. I loved it and think it’s a great starter since it totally increased my appetite. Food Rate : 8/10 Food Price : 4.75 JDs #FoodBlogger #FoodLover #Foodie #Amman #Foodiejo94 #FoodPorn #InstaFood #FoodieJo #Beamman #LoveJo #Jordan #DiscoverJordan #حب_الاردن #FoodBlog #Foodgram #Food #Blogger #Blog #FoodBlog #JordanFood #ShareYourJordan #OurJordan #GoLocalJo #Esmat #DaEsmat #Italian #ItalianFood #ItalianCuisine #Mango #Salad #Healthy

A post shared by Foodie Jo by Yasmin Bani Hani (@foodiejo) on Mar 8, 2016 at 6:00am PST

Hamada Restaurant

Hamada has two locations in Amman – Sports City and Gardens Street. They specialize in traditional Levantine cuisine.

Her favorite veg-friendly dishes @ Hamada:

• Fatteh Hummus* (Mid-Eastern Savory Chickpea Bread Pudding)
  • *Note: vegetarian not vegan because contains dairy
• Falafel (Deep-fried ball made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both)
• Foul Mudammas (Fava beans)

Be sure to follow @FoodieJo on Instagram for more delicious adventures!