If you have never eaten it before, what comes to mind when imagining Caribbean food?
I had this presumption that it would taste close to Mediterranean food, only sweeter. I think the assumption was born after seeing the jerk chicken sold by a Caribbean food truck in a night market in West Melbourne. It didn’t appeal to me as I don’t like smokey grilled meat except for Indonesian Ayam Bakar.
This exact thought ran through my mind when Fafa challenged me to try Caribbean food in Portobello Road Market. I wasn’t hungry, but there were so many new-to-me-cuisines that I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) pass on. After making two rounds of the food section, I relented and qued in front of the Caribbean food truck.
I really wanted to try the crab dim sum but by the time I reached the front of the queue, it was sold out. The second choice was the Halal curry goat rice and peas combo ━ which Fafa agreed to share with me as I didn’t think I’d like it that much.
The cook, cashier and manager of the food truck, all one person, took my order and whipped out a styrofoam box brimming with food within minutes. I took it, along with plastic cutleries and sat at a long table beside the truck, completely ignoring the sign to pay £1 extra to sit there.
Caribbean Food Unlocked
The rice combo contained tomato rice with a side of red beans and fresh tomato salad, topped with a lump of goat meat with brownish curry drizzle. The visual didn’t say much but that could be because I never seen this type of Caribbean food before.
Then I had my first spoon ━ it felt like (Caribbean angels) were singing to me. The goat meat was so soft that it fell off the bone (which I later learned because the meat was marinated overnight and simmered for hours). The richness of the curry, the freshness of the tomato salad and the different textures from the beans ━ all combined with flavourful rice delighted my taste buds.
The spices and spiciness level were perfect.
My only regret that day was that I had to share it with Fafa, who kept reminding me that I wouldn’t even have tried it if it wasn’t for him. Yes, he was right, and yes, I am ready for the next Caribbean food adventure.
This moment taught me not to generalize a foreign cuisine just after only seeing or tasting one type of dish. I also learned that Caribbean food is a fusion of many different world cuisines, including Middle Eastern (so I wasn’t completely off) and South Asian ━ explained why I took to it immediately.
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