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Suga started the New Year with Dinner at Tamarind Continental

by Restaurant Reviews & Ratings

Tamarind Continental was one of the few places open on New Year’s Day for a late dinner so I was thankful.

Tamarind Continental, Saffron and Tamarind Indian all fall under the same umbrella, however Tamarind Continental’s menu offers cuisines other than Indian as its name suggests.

Their menu consisted of Soups, Salads and Appetizers in the range of $695 to $1395JMD. The Appetizers looked interesting with items such as Stuffed Mushrooms, Grilled Chicken with Olives, Fish strips, Shrimp bites, Zucchini fries with Onion rings and more.

Their main menu had a range of Pastas (Make your own), Burgers, Pizzas and a variety of Chicken, Salmon, Lamb, Shrimp, Fish and Pork dishes. Mushroom dishes were available for Vegetarians too. Prices were from $1100 to $2495JMD.

I peaked over at 2 tables nearby and the Pizzas didn’t look so enticing so I skipped over that part of their menu.

My husband and I started off with the Mushroom Cappuccino ($695JMD) and Shrimp Bisque ($795JMD) Soups. We thought the wait somewhere between 20 minutes and half hour was too long.

We were happy when they came though. Big servings and the Soups were freshly made and flavourful.

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Shrimp Bisque (above); Mushroom Cappuccino (below)

I wanted something simple for dinner and since I avoided fries during the holidays I enjoyed their Lamb Burger with fries ($1500JMD) even though the whole wheat bun was not available that night. It was not a big burger but I was satisfied since I had their huge Soup before it.

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Lamb Burger ($1500JMD)

My husband enjoyed his dinner as well. He had the Chargrill Sage Garlic Chicken Breast served with mashed potatoes and vegetables ($1500JMD). It tasted just as delicious as it looked.

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Chargrill Sage Garlic Chicken Breast ($1500JMD)

Service throughout the night was good, not great, but I liked the quality of the food and prices were manageable, so I will return. The use of Indian Herbs and Spices in European cuisine gives the food a unique, flavourful taste. My husband already returned for lunch!

Tamarind Continental European Fusion

Location: Shop 14, Orchid Plaza. 18-22 Barbican Road. Kingston

Ph: 876-620-5301; 876-620-5336

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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​AUSTRALIAN OPEN UPDATE!

by Sports
Photo: ESPN Scorecenter

Venus at 36yrs old is through to the Semis as the oldest woman in History to do so at the Australian Open. She will meet the unseeded Coco Vandeweghe and fellow American who has been creating upset after upset, beating #7 Muguruza in straight sets 6-4, 6-0 after knocking out World #1, Angelique Kerber. Coco is a power hitter and she definitely has her eyes on the title.

Serena plays #9 Konta tonight at 9pm in the QF who is not a walk over. 

Photo: ESPN Scorecenter

For the Men, Nadal will face Raonic in the QF tommorrow at 3:30am.

Federer (#17) beat Zverev in straight sets and will meet #4 Stan Wawrinka who beat Tsonga in straight sets and stared him down.

Stay tuned!

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Animal Crackers are back on the Market and Healthier!

by Health & Fitness

Our beloved childhood snack, Animal Crackers disappeared from the shelves for a while and have been sited in MegaMart, Waterloo!

They are not only back but healthier in different packaging and in boxes of 6. They are slightly more expensive and you would prefer the original Animal Crackers. I’m not sure why ‘Original’ is on the box but from what I remember, they could pass as healthy before but not as healthy as they are now, especially if you ate the whole bag. I believe the original serving size was 1.5, but who is going to leave half a serving in the bag anyway? Of course, it was a bit tastier before as well. Converting to healthier versions are an acquired taste most of the time. 

Anyhow, although made in the USA, I am happy that I can now eat a full bag of Animal Crackers totally guilt-free. 0% Sat Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, low in sodium and only 8g of sugar and 4% fiber to keep you fuller for longer.

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Falcons and Patriots Head to the Super Bowl!

by SportsWhat's Hot
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Photo: ESPN Scorecenter

The Falcons destroyed the Packers, beating them 44-21 to head to the Super Bowl.

The Packers failed to score in the first half due to a fumble followed by 2 interceptions. They also failed to convert huge opportunities to intercept when they were unable to recover a loose ball, mistimed a jump in the end zone and dropped the ball in the end zone, which was followed with a touchdown by the Falcons, ending the 1st half 24-0.

Defense was poor for the Packers and has been throughout the Playoffs. The players had butterfingers and even though Rodgers had more rushing yards than his teammates, he couldn’t win it by himself.

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Photo: ESPN Scorecenter

The Patriots rolled over the Steelers as expected with a win of 36-17. They are heading to the Super Bowl for a record 9th time.

Will the Vegas Pro prediction of the Falcons winning it all come through? Suga thinks it is possible. They got young, fresh legs.

In other Sports news, Serena Williams moves on to the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Cavaliers last Saturday night in Cleveland in OT 118- 115!

LeBron James failed to make the game-winning shot that caused the game to go into OT, he missed more crucial clutch shots and created a turnover. Kevin Love missed his shots as well, including the very last possession when the Spurs defense slipped up and he was left wide open for the 3-point shot. Kyrie Irving made the usual clutch shots in OT but it wasn’t enough.

The Cavs didn’t even play the full Spurs team. The Spurs are currently without Pao Gasol, who is out for 4 to 8 weeks and Tony Parker, who has an injured foot. So the game belonged to Kawhi Leonard who scored a Career high 41 points. It was his 1st game over 40 points.

Stay tuned. Sports season is on a high until June!

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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NFL Sunday and Australian Open Updates!

by What's Hot

Tennis – Australian Open

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Photo: theguardian.com; Angelique Kerber

No. 1 seed for the women and Defending Champion, Angelique Kerber was upset and overpowered by no. 35 American Coco Vandeweghe who hit 6 aces and 30 winners. Kerber lost 2-6, 3-6.

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Photo: www.theguardian.com; Coco Vandeweghe

Does Serena have a better chance of winning her 23rd Grand Slam title now? Too early to say. Muguruza, Venus, Pliskova and more are still in it.

The no. 1 seed on the men’s side, Andy Murray was also sent packing. He lost to Mischa Zverev in 4 sets, 5-7, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6.

Old veterans and faves Nadal and Federer are still in it though and Federer looks like he is in great shape to win 1 more with Murray and Djokovic out of the way.

Football – NFC and AFC Championship

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Photo: www.nj.com

The favoured Falcons face the Packers today in the NFC Championship at 3:05pm on FOX today. The Falcons injury list is now empty compared to a lengthy one for the Packers. Luckily, ESPN Scorecenter has reported that Wide Receivers, Jordy Nelson, Devante Adams and Geronimo Allison are now active for the game in less than an hour.

The favoured Patriots face the Steelers at 6:40pm on CBS for the AFC Championship.

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Photo: www.nj.com

Enjoy and stay tuned!

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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DC is gearing up to swear in PE Donald Trump as President of the United States!

by What's Hot
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Photo: matzav.com

Today is the day folks. The crowd is gathering at the National Mall for the   Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony of President Elect Donald Trump that will take place at 11am.

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Suga hopes Saffron made a New Year’s Resolution for better Service

by Restaurant Reviews & Ratings

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Despite a great amount of negative feedback about Saffron last year, my friends visiting Jamaica chose to go to Saffron for lunch over the holidays so I decided not to complain and to just go with the flow.

After a 45-minute wait for our food and an inattentive waitress, someone who seemed like a floor supervisor came over and asked if we were ok. The response was obvioisly ‘no’. We expressed how long our wait was. I do not recall an apology. If one was made it may have been a nonchalant one. However, he said he would look into it. Our food arrived about 10 minutes later.

At that point, hunger could have clouded our judgement but the quality of the food seemed mediocre and was nothing to write home about.

I saw no reason for such a long wait and we weren’t given a reason either. The restaurant was half empty in the middle of the day on Friday, December 23rd.

Their partner Restaurant, Tamarind in Orchid Plaza, Barbican gets much better reviews so I will revisit there in due time. Look out for their review on Tamarind Continental soon though.

I hope Saffron improves this year especially with their service.

Saffron Indian Restaurant

Location: Shop 37. Market Place. 67 Constant Spring Road. Kingston 

Ph: 876-926-6598; 876-906-2496

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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The Warriors rout the Cavs 126-91 in Rematch last night!

by SportsWhat's Hot

Last night the Warriors got revenge after losing to the Cavs on Christmas Day by 1 point. They rout the Cavs 126-91 in quite a thrilling game. Curry stated in his post game interview that winning the game hasn’t won them the trophy so they will keep it going.

There was quite a little drama too and you can easily guess Warriors’ Draymond Green was involved. He got a flagrant foul for colliding into LeBron James mid-court, whose acting was even more hilarious followed by Draymond mocking him.

Watch “Draymond Green FUNNY Flagrant Foul on LeBron James | WARRIORS vs CAVS | Jan 16, 2017 | 16-17 Season” on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/Mu5wSFSqU_k

KD and Curry then sunk the Cavs further before Halftime. Curry drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer and did the shimmy on the sidelines.

Watch “Stephen Curry Halftime Amazing Buzzer Beater 3 Point Shot NBA 01/16/2017 Golden State Vs Cleveland” on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/a26pUiQvE9E

Don’t you just love this Game!

In other news, the Australian Open has begun. Serena beat Bencic in her first match, 6-4, 6-3 and said it was one of the toughest 1st round matches she has ever played. Young Swiss Bencic is quite a worthy opponent but Serena looked good and erased any thoughts of an upset.

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Will Serena’s recent engagement cause her to go home early or can she get that 23rd Grand Slam title?

Stay tuned. It’s Sports season!

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Packers sent the Cowboys Packing!

by Sports
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Greenbay Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers; Packers’ Kicker, Mason Crosby awaits outcome of 51 yard FG kick and celebrates

The NFL Playoffs kicked off into high gear over the weekend. Suga was 3/3 with predictions and left the Steelers-Chiefs game to go either way.

The Patriots destroyed the Texans 34-16 as expected.

The Falcons defeated a depleted Seahawks team 36-20.

The Steelers upset the Chiefs with a close game ending 18-16.

The game of the weekend undoubtedly went to the Packers and the Cowboys!

The Packers led the entire game building up to a 15-point lead to start the 4th that stretched to an 18-point lead. Cowboys star QB Tony Romo has been out with a back injury, leaving rookie QB Dak Prescott to step up his game. That he did. He was impressive, increasing the pace and helped his team get right back into the game erasing an 18-point deficit. I think his biggest moment was taking matters into his own hands and running the ball to a touchdown.

The game was tied 31-31 with 35s left! But the ball was in the Hail Mary King’s hands, Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers. He didn’t throw a Hail Mary this time but you can never count him out. He created a clutch opportunity throwing the ball 35 yards for a reception by Jared Cook who was sliding out of bounds, ultimately putting them in Field Goal range.

Packers’ experienced Kicker, Mason Crosby was faced with the pressure of kicking a 51-yard FG. The Cowboys called a time out as he kicked it successfully so it did not count and he had to retake the kick. The wait was nail-biting, but Crosby did it! He kicked the game winning 51-yard FG and helped send his team to the NFC Championships upsetting the #1 seed NFC Cowboys team.

The AFC and NFC Championships will be Sunday, February 22. Patriots vs. Steelers and Packers vs. Falcons.

Stay tuned.

By: Gabrielle Burgess
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