We flag down a yellow taxi a couple of hundred metres from the hotel, and when we get in and give our destination, the cabbie turns right up the steep hill instead of taking a sharp left onto the chaotic Al Medeena Al Munouwra. We ascend swiftly, the cabbie giving a quick toot at every corner to alert other cars of his presence. The horn is an integral part of negotiating the roads of Amman where rules, right of way and seatbelts don't seem to exist. We climb higher, into the heart of the 7th Circle, a wealthy suburb of the Jordanian capital where Mercedes Benz's and BMWs abound, where the girls school has armed guards patrolling the perimeter. This is certainly the most direct way to the 3rd Circle, where we have planned to have lunch, and it is a wonder no other cabbie has taken this route on other occasions when we have headed into the heart of the City. Perhaps we have finally become proficient enough in communicating in our rudimentary arabic to be mistaken for locals, or at least ex-pats who know the difference between a direct route and a tourist scam. At any rate, the cost of a taxi ride, whether it takes the 'scenic route' or not, is only likely to cost around JD2, somewhere in the region of AU$3.20.
The cab arrives at the 3rd Circle intersection and pulls over as we motion 'hoon hoon'. The driver gets a sizable tip- we're thrilled to have arrived at the exact spot circled in our guide book, as hitting a specific location can be difficult when communicating with taxi drivers in this city. Street names are not widely used, and it is best to find well known landmarks, such as hotels or the roundabouts that mark many of the city's seven circles.
Al Matam Abu Ahmed is marked just off Al-Kullyih Al-Islamiya however it takes us a few laps of the block to find it's exact location. It is a great relief to finally see the Narghile lined up in the window, and the laminated menu stuck to the door. The maitre d' greets us in perfect English- our pale faces betray us again. There is loud Arabic music playing and a large flat screen shows pop videos of coy and pouty dark haired women lustily gazing at muscular arab men. The flashes of shoulder, leg and cleavage would never be acceptable on the Afghan Music channel that has become one of our favourite to watch in the hotel for its comical blurring of 'risque' body parts.
The maitre d' brings the menu and we take our time picking out hot and cold mezze. We decide on 4 small plates and one main between us. The waiter brings us our sweet drinks ( a pepsi for him and the ubiquitous lemon and mint for me) and we await the spread of food.
When it arrives we realise how much wider our eyes are than our stomachs. Just as a bill is always at least 16% higher than the advertised price (10% service 6% tax) you always seem to receive at least 20% more food than you've ordered- in this case a mountain of olives, a plate of pickles and a basket filled with 3 or more type of bread on top of the dishes we asked for. The maitre d' hovers at the table over the labne that I can't wait to stick my fork in, and proceeds to mash the tomato, raw onion and mint that has been placed around the sides into the crumbly white cheese. He douses it with olive oil, and at last we are allowed to dig in.
After eating far too much, and leaving at least half of each dish uneaten we gesture for the bill, and before it arrives, we are presented with desert. We're not sure why the four small puddings have been put in front of us, but we ready our spoons all the same. We may have been too full to finish the hummus, the Lebanese sausage, the stuffed baby eggplants and the lemon mushroom chicken, but everyone has a desert stomach, right?
The bill is placed on the table, totalling a whole JD27, roughly $AU40. Even in a country where you can fill up on felafel and chips for less than JD1 this is still a wonderfully well priced meal- beautifully presented, good quality food and service that rivals some of the much pricier restaurants in I've dined in in other cities.
It is 1:30pm when we leave the restaurant, time to part ways, him headed to the University of Jordan for class, me headed downtown for more adventures.
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