Suga Taster, Stephen amongst Elite Company at the JHTA Celebration of Fine Jamaican Cuisines in MoBay!

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Escoveitched Smoked Marlin from Holiday Inn Resort
Last week Saturday, August 24th, Suga Taster, Stephen Greig had the pleasure of attending The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Montego Bay Chapter’s Celebration of Fine Jamaican Cuisines on the lawns of the Rose Hall Great House.
The food and wine pairing event is considered as one of the top culinary social events in Montego Bay and was well supported as expected. The event is also for a worthy cause, as proceeds go toward various Charities in Montego Bay, such as the SOS Children’s Village, Montego Bay Learning Centre and the Save the Child Programme.
The Great House was colourfully lit to enhance the ambience of this elite foodie affair and patrons could get a guided Night tour of the Great House. It is rumoured you have a greater chance of seeing the witch at night!
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Rose Hall Great House lit up for the night tour.
The real attraction however, was the food and wine and there was an abundance of creative and delicious dishes on offer courtesy of booths from Holiday Inn Resort, Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Half Moon, RIU, Secrets, Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, VIP Attractions, Goddard Catering Group, The Tryall Club and Deja Resorts amongst others.
Highlights
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Escoveitched Smoked Marlin from Holiday Inn Resort.
Jerked Lobster on cucumber and the Escoveitched Smoked Marlin from Holiday Inn Resort courtesy of Chef Omar Gordon.
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Jerked Lobster on cucumber from Holiday Inn Resort.
Round Hill Hotel and Villas had Vegetarian Flatbread on the grill, Vegetarian Chilli and Beans as well as Breadfruit Taco shells with choices of Chicken or Pulled pork. A variety of toppings included sour cream, cilantro, bacon bits, cheese and  salsa.
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Vegetarian Flatbread on the grill from Round Hill Hotel & Villas
Half Moon featured Roast Suckling Pig!
The Tryall Club had an interesting array of Appetizers including a Pineapple Cold Soup, which Stephen wasn’t really a fan of, but he enjoyed the Vegetable Caponata Tartlets, the Curried Vegetables with Roti and the Hummus with Cocoa bread.
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Vegetable Caponata Tartlets from The Tryall Club.
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Hummus with Cocoa bread from The Tryall Club.
RIU had Oxtail Patties!
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Oxtail patties from RIU.
Also on show were decadent Desserts from the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa and RIU Hotels.
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Aren’t you ready to visit one of those Hotels now?!
Get to know a little bit more about the Suga Taster, Stephen Greig who was responsible.
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[Photos and Review contributed by Suga Taster, Stephen Greig]

Suga Taster, Stephen Greig is an Attorney-at-Law whose favourite dish is Singapore Shrimp. His preference is Seafood, so enjoys casually eating at Sharkies out of town. But his favourite place to eat out of town for an occasion is Stush in the Bush, and if in Kingston, Steak House on the Verandah at Devon House. The country he has travelled to with the best Food is Thailand and he is always open to new food experiences.

Edited By: Gabrielle Burgess (Founder/Owner, Suga Lifestyle)

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TGIF to these Loaded Lobster Fries!

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Loaded Lobster Fries (Crispy seasoned sweet potato fries with chunks of lobster finished with a creamy chive cheese sauce ($1790JMD+tx+10% serv. charge)

These Loaded Lobster Fries from Chive Restaurant were Everything! Definitely worth the Calories and Cholesterol. #SugaEndorsed

Enjoy the Weekend!

Chive Restaurant

Location: Shop 15, Orchid Village Plaza. 20 Barbican Road. Kingston 6.

Ph: 876-820-1194

Instagram: @chivejamaica

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Suga Taster, Kimmy hits The Meena House in Port of Spain, Trinidad!

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Suga Taster, Kimberly Nesbeth’s Ratings for The Meena House, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Date and time of visit: August 16th @ 6pm

No. of diners: 7

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Décor: ★★★★★

Comfort: ★★★★★

Service: ★★★★★

Speed: ★★★★★

Food quality: ★★★★★

Serving amount: ★★★★★

Plating: ★★★★★

Value for $: ★★★★★

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Suga Taster, Kimberly Nesbeth of Suga Lifestyle

Suga Taster, Kimmy’s Breakdown!

Who can resist visiting an Indian Restaurant while in Trinidad? The Meena House is known to offer Modernistic Indian Cuisine and this encompassed not only the menu, but the atmosphere.
The restaurant is outfitted with modern minimalist furniture married with Victorian-Indo-Saracenic accents.
Appetizers
My party of 7 ordered the Tandoori Nawaazish and the Breadfruit Masala Crepes as appetizers for sharing. Both appetizers totaled ~USD$40.
Main Dishes
The Lamb in the Tandoori Nawaazish appetizer was remarkable, which made the Kadhmiri Nalli (Lamb) a must have!
We ordered Butter Chicken, Matar Pneer, Pork Vindalo and Kovalam Chicken too. These dishes were accompanied by Basmati rice, Biryani rice, Garlic naan, Caramelized onion and Goat Cheese naan and Shyamli Shrimp naan.
Main dishes came to about USD $185. Everything was quite tasty. The Biryani rice was a fun item,  but it was blown out of the water by the Shyamli Shrimp naan! SPOILER ALERT! It was blue black because it had squid ink, which not only added the dramatic colour, but also an unexpected, yet pleasant flavour. It was stuffed with shrimp, saffron and cheese. Chef Umesh Meena even stopped by our table to ensure we were pleased with our meal.
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Shyamli Shrimp naan
Dessert
My party was full and satisfied, but we had to surrender to the dessert menu!
The Lemon & Rosemary Sorbet, Rose Pannacotta, Gulab Jabum and Baba Aur Rasili and the Chocolate tasting chose us! I won’t ruin the surprise that was dessert, but I will say it was the PERFECT finale to an extremely enjoyable dining experience!
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A few of the Dessert options from The Meena House

The Meena House, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Location: 3 Alcazar St., St. Clair, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.

Ph: (868) 332-6450

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.themeenahouse.com

By: Kimberly Nesbeth (Suga Taster, Suga Lifestyle)

Edited By: Gabrielle Burgess (Founder/Owner, Suga Lifestyle)

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

 

TGIF to Celebrating Bigly at Barton G Restaurant in Miami!

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Chocolate Cake layered in gold bullion, which was torched by the server and melted off!
My Aunty Maxine celebrated her Birthday bigly with daughters, Jordanne and Bianca two weeks ago at Barton G. The Restaurant in Miami Beach.
Now that was a Birthday Dinner! They had a blast. Wish I was there. #SugaEndorsed
Enjoy the weekend!
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(L-R): Maxine Spencer celebrating her Birthday with daughters, Bianca Baskins and Jordanne Kimok on August 8, 2019.
Barton G. The Restaurant – Miami Beach
Location: 1427 West Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Ph: 305-672-8881
Website: www.bartong.com

 

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Quaint, Little Breakfast and Eatery in Weston, Florida!

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Green Tea in a homey tea set from Little Hen Breakfast and Eatery.

Suga Taster Ratings for Little Hen Breakfast and Eatery, FL

Date and time of visit: Sunday, August 18th @ 10 am

No. of diners: 4

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★☆

Décor: ★★★★★

Comfort: ★★★★★

Service: ★★★★☆

Speed: ★★★★☆

Food quality: ★★★★☆

Serving amount: ★★★★★

Plating: ★★★★☆

Value for $: ★★★★★

Suga Taster’s Breakdown!

This Suga Taster is always looking for new places nearby her place of residence to dine. Little Hen Breakfast and Eatery opened seven to eight months ago and from the looks of it, business was doing well.
The restaurant, although small in size, is quite quaint in appearance with its farm-style decor. The party of four arrived separately and did not have to wait to be seated. Kudos to the efficient
hostess.
Their server, Augustine came over quickly, introduced himself and gave them a rundown of the menu, including the restaurant faves. The food arrived no more than ten to fifteen minutes after ordering and everything was delightful.
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Bourbon Batter French Toast with caramelized apples, fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries (USD$12)
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Carbonara Omelette with breakfast potatoes and whole wheat toast.
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Buttermilk Original Pancakes that was served with warm maple syrup (USD$10).
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Little Hen Rancheros served with tomato-chili sauce and sliced avocados on a warm corn tortilla (USD$12).
Being content from beginning to end,
there were no complaints about the server, the service, nor the quality of the food.
What could they do better? My Suga Taster suggested that a sign be placed outside the eatery so that patrons could find the restaurant easily. The server informed her that the permit was recently acquired and that the sign should be up sooner than later!
Suga can’t wait to visit Little Hen for Breakfast or Brunch on her next visit to Florida. I mean, check out this Macha Bowl!
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Little Hen Breakfast and Eatery

Location: 4579 Weston Road. Weston, FL 33331
Ph: 954-626-0855

 

Edited By: Gabrielle Burgess (Founder/Owner, Suga Lifestyle)

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

Save the Date for Jabba’s Seafood River Pop-up!

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Do you remember all the spicy and cheesy goodness from Jabba’s Peppa Swims at Kingston Kitchen?! Well, he’s back with a Seafood River All-You-Can-Eat Pop-up by Ensfield, Gordon Town for $3500/$4000JMD  depending on your choices on Sunday, August 25th!

There will be Live Music, Guest DJs and Drink Specials, all from 2pm – 6pm.

Save the Date!

For More Information and where to get Tickets:

Ph: 876-296-7304

Ig: @jabbaspeppaswims

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Promo, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

A Suga Taster’s Review of a Seafood Spot in Florida!

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Photo: Pirate Republic Seafood Restaurant

Suga Taster Ratings for Pirate Republic Seafood Restaurant, Southwest Ranches, FL

Date and time of visit: July 28, 2019 @ 5:45pm

No. of diners: 3

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★☆

Décor: ★★★✯(3.5)

Comfort: ★★★✯ (3.5)

Service: ★★★✯ (3.5)

Speed: ★★★✯ (3.5)

Food quality: ★★★✯ (3.5)

Serving amount: ★★★✯ (3.5)

Plating: ★★★✯ (3.5)

Value for $: ★★★✯ (3.5)

Suga Taster’s Breakdown!

This Suga Taster went to the Fort Lauderdale location a few years ago in September 2016 for a Birthday dinner and remembered how good the food was, so she decided to try the new location which was closer to her. She was quite disappointed though!

Appetizer

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Coconut Shrimp with homemade creamy pineapple sauce (USD$14)

Drink

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Fresh Lemonade (USD$6)

The Lemonade was fresh and made to order, with mint and Limoncello (liqueur).

Entrées

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Barbados Shrimp (USD$24) with Portobello mushrooms in a creamy butter, wine, shallot, and herb sauce served with mashed potatoes.

This sure looks good, but my Suga Taster found the sauce to be quite salty.

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Anegada Lobster Trio (MKT) – three lobster tails with a side of sautéed spinach.

It seemed like the Lobster meat was not previously removed from the shell, cooked, sauced and replaced for service, because this Suga Taster had difficulty removing the Lobster from the shell with a knife and fork. After all, this was not a restaurant that required a bib.

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Blackened Crab Alfredo Linguini (USD$26) – Crab meat tossed in a blend of blackened seasoning with freshly made Alfredo sauce

This dish was the pleaser with an abundance of Crab meat. No complaints for this one.

Desserts

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Tres Leche- sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk- evaporated milk, heavy cream and condensed milk.
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Coconut Mousse – Coconut custard topped with a sugary sauce and coconut flakes.

Dinner came to a decent close as my Suga Taster’s family were delighted with their dessert that had just the right amount of sweet.

Pirate Republic Seafood Restaurant 

Location: 6670 Dykes Road. Southwest Ranches, FL 3331

Ph: 954-689-3500

Menu: www.piraterepublicseafood.com

Edited By: Gabrielle Burgess (Founder/Owner, Suga Lifestyle)

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

Have you tried Kaci Fennell’s Hot Sauces?!

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N.B. Current price is discouned to $500JMD

Our former Miss Universe Jamaica, Kaci Fennell, now Kaci Fennell Shirley has always been known to experiment in the kitchen. Looks like she has a winner! Kaci has produced a line of hot sauces and Pepper Jellies, FenMade. Suga sampled them at Christmas in July and they were scorching. Most impressive was the Cilantro Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce.

Head on over to her website and give them a try!

Buy Local. Buy Jamaican.

Kaci Fennell Shirley – FenMade

Email: [email protected]

Ph: 876.468.9257

Website: www.fenmade.com

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

Suga Taster, Kimberly Nesbeth’s Review of the Summer Special at The Trident, Portland!

Suga introduces you to Suga Taster, Kimberly Nesbeth!

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Suga Taster, Kimberly Nesbeth

Kimberly is an Aquatic Exercise Instructor as well as an Auditor. Her favourite dish is Smoked Pork Chops. Kimberly frequenty travels out of town and her favourite casual spot is Blue Mahoe, Negril and her favourite choice for an occasion is The Trident Hotel, Portland. She has travelled to 20 countries including Thailand, Singapore, India, Brazil, Spain and France! Kimberly enjoys trying new things and detests eating at the same places. Let’s see where Suga Taster, Kimmy dined and what she had to say!

Suga Taster, Kimberly Nesbeth’s Ratings for the Summer Special, Bottomless Prosecco and Pasta Dinner at The Trident Hotel

Date and time of visit: Late afternoon in June

No. of diners: 5

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Décor: ★★★★★

Comfort: ★★★★★

Service: ★★★★★

Speed: ★★★★★

Food quality: ★★★★★

Serving amount: ★★★★★

Plating: ★★★★★

Value for $: ★★★★★

Suga Taster, Kimmy’s Breakdown!

After a splendid day at Frenchman’s Cove, Suga Taster, Kimmy’s party was famished. So with two Canadians in tow, she thought it would be a great opportunity for them to view the exquisite Trident Hotel whilst enjoying a pleasant meal.

They felt welcomed from the entrance to the parking lot. Their server was quite hospitable and recommended they order from the Bottomless Prosecco & Pasta Dinner Menu for USD$30 per person. The options were limited, but enough for them to all order something different. After trying to get their Prosecco refill, they were notified that the Prosecco in fact wasn’t bottomless. However, due to the misleading menu title, they received a complimentary refill.

Their server was remarkably attentive and the food was truly tasty. After their meal, they received a full tour of the property and one of the villas.

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The Trident Hotel

Location: Port Antonio

Ph: 876-633-7100; 1(800) 300-6220

Website (Menu available): http://www.thetridenthotel.com

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Edited By: Gabrielle Burgess (Founder/Owner, Suga Lifestyle)

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

TGIF to More Good Eats from Kingston Kitchen!

TGIF Suga Bears! I hope you had a great Emancipation Day!

I told you to stay tuned this week for more Suga highlights from Kingston Kitchen held last Saturday at Hope Gardens!

I am enthusiastic to report that the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches from Outland Hurders Creamery and Farmstead did not disappoint! There was a small change in plans from the raspberry recipe, but the locally made artisan cheeses used, Jamaican Jack and the 2-week old Crescenza were so rich. #realrich. The Cheeses were the highlight of the sandwiches as they should be, whether it was a classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Sweet with Caramelized Onions or a little spicy with Cilantro. Well done Outland Hurders from Manchester!

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#SugaEndorsed

The Beef and Lamb Shawarma Fries from 2 Yutes were delish.

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Chris and Lisa Binns in action from Stush in the Bush at Kingston Kitchen last Saturday, July 27, 2019.

It was no surprise that Stush in the Bush were a hit for persons looking for a healthy option to indulge or just consistently tasty gourmet delights. They served up a wide range of options, including their Condiments made with Love and Affection, but their Fyah Grilled Pizzas, Vegan Parmesan and  scrumptious Beignets with Chocolate Sauce Passion curd were popular amongst patrons.

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Stush in the Bush’s Beignets with Chocolate Sauce Passion curd.
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If you missed it, Stush in the Bush’s Menu to Gastronomy Heaven!

One One Cacao came with a unique, refreshing option of a Cacao rum shot!

Jabba’s Peppa Swims came with Peppa Swims Kebabs, Seafood Pasta, Mallah Crab and more to tantalize the tastebuds!

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Mallah Crab from Jabbas Peppa Swims!

Suga Tasters and Suga Babies including myself were quite impressed with newbies, All Spice Catering & Events’ Food Truck! Their Chicken & Waffles and Seafood Boil were divine. I was too full to try their Oxtail Arancini, but next time! #SugaSnaps #SugaEndorsed

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Chicken & Waffles from All Spice Catering and Events’ Food Truck

Dream Bowls Ja were a hit as expected and so were the sweet treats from Kup Up Kreations!

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Nice Cream, a hit at Kingston Kitchen for their 2nd year!

The young ladies from Nice Cream did well recruiting patrons to taste their non-dairy Ice cream that was still so flavourful!

I am sure patrons enjoyed much more, but taking menus into consideration, feedback from Suga Tasters and my picks that did not disappoint, those were the highlights folks! If you missed the highlights from Tuesday’s thowback, check it out. How could I forget the Churros from Fromage!

Kudos again to Leisha Wong, Melanie Miller and Jacqui Sinclair for a job well done, showcasing our impressive, thriving Jamaican culinary scene and diversifying our palates.

Until next year!

#FortheLoveofFood #EatGood

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.