Ultimate TRADITIONAL LEBANESE FOOD Tour of Beirut, Lebanon!!

With the dawn of a new day in Beirut, Lebanon, I went on a no holds barred food tour of eastern Beirut with my friend and guide Nico! Come with us as we eat our way through eastern Beirut, Lebanon!

We’d be doing a mix of different foods this morning, which were different from Lebanese mezze.


Our first stop was Abou Hassan, where we watched them prepare ful (fava beans with chickpeas, oil, and lemon juice). They come with onion, tomato, mint, peperoncini, and pickled beets.

I also watched them prepare fatteh, which is bread and chickpeas in yogurt topped with butter and nuts.

They also made a variation of hummus called mousabbaha, which contains salt, garlic, chickpea paste, whole chickpeas, and lime juice.

The ful with pita contained onions, and I loved the fluffiness of the pita. The fatteh was light and creamy. The herbs in it were fantastic. I loved it. It reminded me of Indian chaats.

Finally, the mousabbaha was incredibly hot and flavorful. It was an amazing variation of hummus. The radish, peperoncini, tomatoes, and mint, were also amazing. We got it all for about $7 USD!

Next, we drove through the eastern suburbs of the city. Between the weather and the architecture, it felt like I was somewhere in Europe!

At Café Younes, we had some amazing black Turkish coffee. Then, Nico read my fortune. He saw a dragon, which means something good will happen to me soon!

From there, we walked to a local produce vendor and tried some pomegranate seeds. They also sold tomatoes, onions, potatoes, beets, and more!

Next, we drove 10 minutes to Cocktail Jabbour for some fruit cocktails. They’re like fruit smoothies with fresh fruit on them. I went with the avocado with banana, kiwi, strawberries, strawberry juice, avocado puree, whipped cream, and honey.

It cost $2 and was super healthy and refreshing. There was no added sugar. I loved the curd.

Then, we drove to the ruins of Petit Serail in the heart of Beirut. They’re actually the foundations of an Ottoman palace. You can also see old Roman aqueducts and houses there!

Beirut has been rebuilt seven times. The country also has a rich history and was once controlled by the Phoenicians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans.

Nearby is Independence Square, which is where commerce happened in the 1960s. There’s also a mosque and church nearby.

The next area we walked through was full of French-inspired architecture. There are silk factories in the area, as well as restaurants and pubs. I loved the bright colors and the architecture.

We arrived at Le Chef, a restaurant that was destroyed at one point. Its owners put up a GoFundMe to fund its reconstruction, and the actor Russell Crowe paid for it to be rebuilt! Here, we’d have homestyle Lebanese cooking.

We had some loubieh (green beans in tomato sauce), maghmour/moussaka (roasted eggplant & chickpea stew), mujadara msufaye (rice & lentil paste with caramelized onions), and kibbeh labanieh (meat fritters with yogurt).

The loubieh was light and chunky and felt really healthy. I really liked the grainy mujadara msufaye, and the roasty maghmour blew me away. It was amazing!

The kibbeh labanieh came with bulgur and was hollow but hearty.

Then, they brought dessert: mahalabieh (orange blossom pudding) and meghli (rice flour pudding with cinnamon, caraway, anise, and nuts).

The meghli was fluffy and thick, with an added crunch from the nuts. I loved the mahalabieh, which was thick and cold and had the nice orange flavor. It reminded me of panna cotta! The whole meal cost us $10 USD!

Where have you been?


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About Me:

My name is David Hoffmann. For the last 13 years, I have traveled the world in search of unique destinations and cuisines. Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have explored over 1,200 destinations in 84 countries, while documenting them on my YouTube channels, travel blog, and social media sites.

I focus mostly on cuisine, culture, and historical sites, but my passion is food! I love to experience and showcase the different flavors each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining.

Where have you been?

P.S. Thank you for watching my videos and subscribing!

[kalabhairavar]

Great Patriotism by the Host, Nice man .
Love Lebanon, Love Lebanese cuisine.
Great tour assistance we got it 🇮🇳

[mercedesmalek]

Omg thank you for showing my mother country in such a great way!

[siamesejasmine]

Such healthy and flavorful cuisine! I would eat myself silly in Lebanon!

[najibhourany]

Awesome
Lebanon and lebanese people welcome guests like you david
Enjoy my country
I am waiting more videos from you

[JudyT]

All that food and drink are so healthy. I could eat it even with all that melted butter on that one dish but I guess that the butter and peanuts give it an added flavor. I love the Lebanese pita bread because it is so thin and light. When you look at the SkyView and skyline of the city, it's amazing how densely populated it is. Everything about this video I would describe as 'light' when it came to the food and drink. You can really see the difference in the everyday home cooked food to restaurant fare. Love the people and everything about the city. Well done.🇹🇹🇨🇦

[catherinecunningham]

What a fabulous Vlog, David. It was so neat seeing some of Lebanon and of course seeing their beautiful food! My favorite cuisine.

[priscillabassil]

I just immediately become happy when i see someone eating lebanese food.
Hope you loved our country❤

[babegurl]

Wow❤️am a Lebanese lady living in Arizona, i met a guy from Detroit today and Hes crazy about Lebanese food 😍 i love American people, American men are sweet😊

[SigmaHailey]

Lebanon history and archetecture, also foods are amazing and the people are so warm and friendly. Thankyou David.

[heartyfoodvoyage]

Thank you for sharing beautiful Lebanon with us and of course the delicious food!

[galxywolf]

Mjadara is my one of my favorite foods in lebanon

[MDatikaslam]

I am 5 years work Lebanon
I love Lebanon
I like lebanon food.

[hallanagar]

So happy to see you enjoying our dishes David !

[WilliamKShank]

YUMMY FOR THE TUMMY! Food looks fantastic.

Safe Journey!

CHOLULA!!!

[freddycharqpqpqppqqqpppq]

Badaro where i was born ...and spent 20 years love it

[alanhays]

Russell Crowes donation to Le Chef was made in the memory of Anthony Bourdain (who loved the restaurant).

[pokerface]

What a nice gesture from Russell Crowe what a great guy

[elaceaceak]

You did a good thing tasting some of the cooking we cook in our houses well obviously we don't eat tabouleh and Hummus everyday we havee a huggeeee cuisine and well done tasting kebbeh blnabniye
And some Lebanese dessert

[crabmusic]

David I love the food hands down and not croissant you ate before with the honey and the cheese and the chocolate syrup oh my God that is to die for

[alejandrojosegonzalez]

So beautiful country and people thanks 🙏