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Kingston Kitchen tomorrow!

by What's Hot

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Hey Foodies, Kingston Kitchen returns to Hope Gardens tomorrow from 6pm to midnight. They claim it is their 5th anniversary. I am sure most of us remember the first staging about 3 years ago? Go figure.

Pre-sold tickets are now $800JMD. But do not think this is a cheap event. I believe the concept has been lost a little. Less sampling, more selling and successful sponsors who everybody knows about already, take up a lot of space. Maybe it is part of their deal with the organizers. If you have been to a few of the recent stagings, you would realise you need to travel with some cash, minimum $3000JMD excluding entry money, if you choose about 2 or 3 vendors wisely plus drinks. Otherwise carry more, especially if it is a family night or you are carrying a date. Some spots may have regular plates, lots will have cocktail plates, so be sure to walk around if you are concerned about value for money and head there early!

Who will be there?

● Fromage Gourmet Market

● Sheriff Gourmet BBQ Ribs

● NCR Sheep Ltd. – Fresh, Local Lamb 

● Chef Brian Lumley with Best Dressed Chicken Jamaica

● Tooksie Kay Catering

● Soupie

● Liqy Liqy – All Natural Popsicles

● Street Food Saturdays

● Tea Trea Creperie

● Fork in the Road Food Truck from Mandeville

  ….. and more!

Pre-sold tickets can be bought at Candy Craze (Manor Park), Chocolate Dreams Jamaica (Devon House), Cafe Blue (Sovereign) and Tea Tree Creperie (80 Lady Musgrave Rd.).

If you don’t get to try everything, take some cards for another time.

Have fun !

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Expensive Jamaican Cuisine at the Grog Shoppe

by Restaurant Reviews & Ratings

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Grog Shoppe Restaurant

Ph#: 876-906-7165; 876-908-4310

Address: Devon House, Hope Road. Kingston

Date of visit: 14/08/15

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Ambience: ★★★★☆

Decor: ★★★☆☆

Comfort: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★★☆

Speed: ★★★★☆

Food quality: ★★★★☆

Serving amount: ★★★★★

Plating: ★★★☆☆

Value for $: ★★★☆☆

SuGa Endorsement: 3.5/5

Comments:

Good service: Waiter was polite, able to explain menu to a large group, attentive and service was quick.

Indoor and Outdoor dining.

Prices were high for Jamaican cuisine, especially for a regular Jamaican lunch. Some of the other dishes on the menu include Braised Oxtail ($2200JMD), Boneless Jerk Pork ($2000JMD) and Ackee and Salt Fish with Bammy ($1500JMD). Serving size was good though.

For their International cuisine menu, some items are high while some are comparable to other restaurants. They have Braised Lamb Shank for $4500JMD, Smoked Marlin Platter for $3000JMD. Pastas range from $1300-3000JMD.

They also have a menu for Kids and a Drink menu with a wide range of items to pick, choose and refuse.

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Schedule for the Track and Field World Championships in Beijing!

by SportsWhat's Hot

The Jamaican athletes have returned to Beijing! Are they ready?! Can they make the same impact as the last time they were there? We shall see.

Kemar Bailey-Cole is injured so count him out of the 100m and our 4*100m Men’s relay team has been weakened. The ladies’ 4*100m team is not as strong either. But when our athletes hit the track, we know they will do their best and make us proud.

The World Champs starts this Friday but the real action starts this Saturday when the Jamaicans show up on the track. See the schedule for Saturday and Sunday below. Note that the Men’s 100m final will be this Sunday morning! Will lightning strike? Jamaica has been experiencing sudden showers of rain.

Suga will post the day by day schedule to keep you in the loop so stay tuned.

This SATURDAY, AUG. 22 & SUNDAY, AUG. 23

*Jamaicans are expected to compete in the races highlighted in green

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Also, have you seen Shelly’s hair? Go Pocket Rocket!

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Tea Tree’s Crappy Service but Good Crêpes

by Restaurant Reviews & Ratings

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My fiancé and I visited Tea Tree’s fairly new location on Lady Musgrave Rd. for a lunch date last Saturday afternoon at about 4:00pm. The staff greeted us nicely and we chose to sit outside. Though inside was lovely with the AC, outside was cool as well, had comfortable seating and a quiet ambience with light, modern music. We were waiting for a little while and wondered why because we thought the waitress would walk with us and hand us the menu. She came out without the menu and when I told her I thought she was bringing it out she responded that she was going to clean the table first because it gets dusty out there sometimes. That could have been done simultaneously. I certainly do not need to rest the menu on the table to read it. On the other hand, if the table was not prepared, she should have asked us to wait a few minutes for her to ensure it was, seat us and then provide the menu. Perhaps more training is needed?

We were left with the menu for some time to make a decision. The waitress returned and took our orders, but to my disappointment there was no Guacamole for the White Corn chips and no Gluten-free OR Vegan Crêpes available. That should have been mentioned when we were given our menus. Luckily we were people with a flexible diet. So we ordered the Hummus and Pesto Pita Chips instead, the Chicken au Poulet Crêpe (Chicken breast, mushrooms, white wine dill sauce and mozzarella) and Beef Stroganoff Crêpe (mushrooms, onions, creamy stroganoff with beef tenderloin).

The appetizer arrived quickly with the boring waitress and it was alright. The Crêpes arrived in reasonable time afterwards and looked like huge servings. Huge servings they were because I was full when I was finished. Compared to my visit at the previous location, the Crêpes were now more filling and tastier. Service was better then though. The flavour of the creamy stroganoff and mushrooms was especially delightful, complementing the fork-tender beef quite well. As we were chatting and enjoying our Crêpes, we noticed that we were not given a Drink menu. We requested one and they did not have any mint leaves to make their popular Magic Mint lemonade. Really?! What did they have? Someone needs to do a proper inventory and have a chat with some local farmers if the crop isn’t meeting the demand. So I had a plain lemonade that was not as refreshing, but filled the void that water could not.

A different waiter came to us, a quite charming young man unlike the dull waitress before, asking if everything was ok and if we needed anything else. Was he for the night crowd? What a difference! I didn’t get his name but I know our experience would have been much better with him. Anyhow, we asked for the bill, then I decided before I left I would leave ‘Suga Lifestyle’ along with something I liked on the glass window. Space was limited but there was some high up. The waiter gave me the cup of markers, I took one and he brought the ladder. Being just 5ft 4″, I realized with the long stretch that if I wrote in common letters it would not be legible so just decided I was going to write ‘Suga Lifestyle’ in all caps and leave it at that. As I was doing so, I was shouted at across the room to keep it small. Based on the tone used, the fact that I wasn’t a 5 year old and knowing that they would soon run out of space anyway, I quickly finished writing in the one line I planned to and started to step down to hear the same nagging voice closer behind me, apparently one of the ladies in charge, saying just to put a signature etc., also asking what I wrote. I enlightened her that it was just Suga Lifestyle, I do reviews and walked out the door. Sadly I couldn’t leave right away because we needed to pay the bill. The silver lining so I wouldn’t leave completely annoyed? I got my Pop-Up Gourmet Discount and left with a full, satisfied tummy.

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Tea Tree Crêperie Sweets & Savouries

Location: 80 Lady Musgrave Rd. Unit #2. Kingston 10, Jamaica 

Ph.: 876-978-7333 

Email: [email protected]

Website (includes menu): www.teatreecreperie.com

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Rotaract Club of St. Andrew with Sangster’s Book Stores’ Stationery Drive

by Charities

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The Rotaract Club of St. Andrew has partnered with Sangster’s Book Stores for a Back to School Stationery drive, where the proceeds will go towards Balcombe Drive Primary and Junior High School students.

From now until the end of August you can visit one of the participating Sangster’s Stores located in Mall Plaza, Springs Plaza, Sovereign, Portmore Pines or 33 King Street and just drop your contributions in the box provided.

To donate you can also contact the Rotaract Club of St. Andrew at [email protected].

Follow them on Instagram: rcsa_connection

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Lots to Explore with NK Deli in New Kingston Shopping Centre!

by Restaurant Reviews & Ratings

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NK Deli located upstairs (same side as the Pharmacy) in New Kingston Shopping Centre at 30 Dominica Drive, is quite a reasonable, central lunch spot. Definitely better than spending twice the money downstairs at Cuddy’z Sports Bar & Restaurant for possible bad service and poor quality food. Don’t even think of going to the other two restaurants upstairs across from the Deli either (Glow Food and N & R Restaurant). They are horrible.

Last Saturday, about 3:25pm, I went to the Deli for lunch. It had a nice layout with indoor and outdoor seating. Limited indoor seating with AC! Outdoors had sufficient fans blowing cool air. Lovely.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted the Grilled Chicken or Jerked Chicken Wrap, so I asked the cashier for advice. She was quite unpleasant and eventually mumbled, maybe the Grilled Chicken Wrap ($475+tx). So I ordered that and my friend ordered the Grilled Chicken Panini ($560+tx), both with a serving of fries (additional cost). Looking around, the Deli supports local products and distributors by having Chocolate Bars, Spreads and more available from Mount Pleasant Farm Chocolatiers, who have previously been promoted on Suga Lifestyle. A small range of Snacks are also available for purchase, healthy and unhealthy, along with Wine and a decadent looking Cheesecake that is prepared fresh daily.

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In about 20 minutes (I thought it could be a bit quicker based on our order), our server came with our orders in styrofoam boxes and saw the look on our faces, realizing that we did not want our order to-go. She asked if the cashier did not ask our preference and I responded that she was quite unpleasant and did no such thing. The server and owner on the other hand, were the total opposite, pleasant and professional. Our server apologized for the inconvenience. Note, one must avoid eating and drinking from styrofoam boxes and cups as much as possible. They are toxic to the environment and rumoured to be harmful to your health.

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Anyhow, my Grilled Chicken Wrap was just OK. It would cater more to rabbits, you know, way too much lettuce in a Spinach Wrap. More chicken please. It was actually somewhat filling though. Restaurants need to play around with their greens more and mix it up a little. Lettuce does not need to be used all the time. There is Arugula, Spinach, Kale, Cilantro and more to add a kick to the flavour of the Wrap or Sandwich.

I wish I ordered the Grilled Chicken Panini though. I tasted it and it was good, with a lovely sauce. Their Cheeseburger and wedges, which I have had before are also quite tasty. Their Fruit Smoothie is very sweet, even with white rum.  Their fries? Bland. They perhaps should try some seasoned fries or add a bit more salt. I had to add salt myself. However, I am looking forward to trying their Jamaican lunch that is quite affordable. Buffet Fried Chicken and Curried Goat were available for $350JMD each! Soup is available as well as many other items such as Wings, Pastas, Pizzas, Pork Chops, Omelettes, Bagels etc. So a pleasing range of items for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

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I have visited NK Deli for their Friday Lymes but wanted to see the regular work day flow. It seems to be great if you want to just get in and out with a decent, affordable meal or even just have a small lunch time link up with someone. The Friday Lyme is quite a mature crowd, however they have started to do Latin nights on some of the Fridays now. Suga may check out one of them and give you the low down. Definitely more to explore at NK Deli. They are open from 7am to 5pm on week days and 12pm to 5pm on Saturdays.

For more information call 876-754-8714.

Instagram: NK_DELI

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Mexico won the Gold Cup but Reggae Boyz won back Jamaica’s Respect

by SportsWhat's Hot

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Firstly, Suga would like to congratulate Panama on their 3rd place win vs the USA in the Gold Cup by penalties. Mexico had reached to the final in an unfair win over Panama. Players and referees were penalized, however what good does suspending players like Aguardado of Mexico do after the final aka after the fact? He should have been suspended for the final. Sadly for Jamaica, he was the one who scored the first goal against us in the first half. The second goal just minutes after the start of the second half is what could have deflated the Reggae Boyz’ hopes of winning and the third was a dagger, especially since they were a result of poor defending by Hector who cried after the game. Sorry can’t by soldier lorry Hector, but thanks for showing great effort to defend well after those goals were conceded, which should have been done from the beginning of the match. At least he did not give up or get worse. The Reggae Boyz played to the end and Mattocks scored a goal in the 80th minute for pride.

Well done Reggae Boyz. Suga is proud of you and happy to see that Jamaica is as well. All so called waggonists may not be waggonists after all, as they still applauded their efforts in the bars and at home and showed their love for the Boyz on social media.

Thanks to the Jamaican supporters who represented in Philadelphia. The Gold Cup final was played at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and it was full! Mexicans slightly outnumbered the Jamaicans in the crowd, but for a final without USA, a full stadium was a delightful sight.

The Reggae Boyz will now continue their pursuit to reach the next World Cup and as a result of not only playing well, but showing tremendous effort, they have earned back Jamaica’s full support and respect.

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The Reggae Boyz face Mexico in the Gold Cup Final TODAY at 6:30pm Ja Time!

by SportsWhat's Hot

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The Just Bet odds for the Reggae Boyz to win the Gold Cup 2015 have dropped from 10 before the semis to 5 to 3.1! Place bets while you can!  Jamaica is going for this one!

The match will be shown on FLOW Fox Sports 2 and TVJ Sports Network. The feed on TVJ Sports network is horrible though. So if you are staying at home with the Sunday dinner, ensure you have those channels!

Go Jamaica! Go Reggae Boyz!