Lunch Specials are Happening at Hajarie, Phoenix Avenue!

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Hajarie has an ongoing Lunch Special from 12 – 3pm. Take advantage and get your Lunch Special to go for $700JMD or get 20% off select Pastas.

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You can even top your meal off with Dessert. They are offering 50% off their house special Ice Cream.

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Go get these delish Lunch Specials while you can!

Hajarie (The Teapot JA) – Tearoom • Winebar • Bistro

Location: 9-11 Phoenix Avenue. Kingston 10

Ph: 876-634-9937

Instagram: @hajarie.jamaica

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Champions of the Weekend in Sports!

NBA FINALS 

WARRIORS VS. CAVS GAME 4

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The Starting Five of the Golden State Warriors celebrate their NBA Championship win last Friday (Photo: ESPN)

The Golden State Warriors swept the Cavs Friday night in a blowout! 108-85!

This is the 3rd NBA Championship win for Stephen Curry and the 3rd ring for Steve Kerr as a Coach to add to his 5 rings as a player.

Kevin Durant won Finals MVP, snatching it from teammate, Steph Curry after his epic, unforgettable Game 3 performance.

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Photo: ESPN
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KD accepting his Finals MVP Trophy last Friday night (Photo: Bleacher Report)

LeBron James had a great run carrying his team that had no chance in the Playoffs all the way to the Finals. But he has now been swept twice in the NBA Finals, where the first time was by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.

Stay tuned for LeBron’s next move. It will be a long summer.

FRENCH OPEN WOMEN’S FINAL

SIMONA HALEP VS. SLOANE STEPHENS

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Photo: BBC Sport

World no. 1, Simona Halep finally won her 1st Grand Slam! Congrats to her and well fought after losing the 1st set to Sloane Stephens and being broken the 1st game in the 2nd. She beat Sloane Stephens, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Simona Halep credited mental strength to winning her first Grand Slam.

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Simona Halep raises her long-awaited French Open Grand Slam Trophy last Saturday (Photo: Sports mole)

 

BELMONT STAKES

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Justify being ridden to victory by Mike Smith at the 2018 Belmont Stakes (Photo: New York Times)

Justify, an American thoroughbred racehorse, became the 13th winner of the American Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes last Saturday. The 2018 Kentucky Derby and the 2018 Preakness Stakes preceded his big win at Belmont.

The last horse to do so was American Pharoah in 2015 who ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought. Both were guided by the same trainer, Bob Baffert.

JN RACER’S GRAND PRIX

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Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in action at the JN Racer’s Grand Prix at The National Stadium Saturday, June 9, 2018.

The Queen is back! Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce not only improved on her time since her return, but won the 100m Women’s race as well in 11.10s!

This all went down at the National Stadium on Saturday night.

Also look out for our future Queen, young Briana Williams (16yrs), who had a faster start than our Pocket Rocket and sustained her speed throughout the race, finishing 3rd in 11.26. Congrats to Team Jamaica and thanks to other athletes who came to the island to compete.

Jenna Prandini of the USA and no stranger to Jamaica came a close 2nd to Shelly in 11.14.

FRENCH OPEN MEN’S FINAL

RAFAEL NADAL VS. DOMINIC THIEM

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Rafael Nadal reacts after winning Championship point and his 11th French Open title yesterday

Rafael Nadal won his 11th French Open yesterday! He beat Dominic Thiem who put up quite a fight, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Each set was about an hour-long, but the experience, strength, power and dominance of Nadal was just too much for Thiem. Winning never gets easier, but he has pulled it off again. Congrats Rafa!

Now let’s get ready for the World Cup!

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Broken Plate or Broken Teeth? New Restaurant in Town

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Gabby a.k.a Suga from Suga Lifestyle (L) with her ‘Eat Good Crew’ coming to a Restaurant near you! – Tiffany Simmonds (C) and Gillian Jackson (R) took it to the streets with Suga for GNO last Saturday, June 2, 2018 with Broken Plate as the first stop.

Suga’s Ratings for Broken Plate

Date and time of visit: Saturday, June 2, 2018 at 8:15pm

No. of diners: 3

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Ambience: ★★★☆☆

Décor: ★★★★☆

Comfort: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★☆☆

Speed: ★★★☆☆

Food quality: ★★☆☆☆

Serving amount: ★★★★☆

Plating: ★★★★☆

Value for $: ★★☆☆☆

SuGa Endorsement: ★★☆☆☆

Comments: 

New restaurant with modern décor and comfortable indoor and outdoor seating by a faux garden. It was an expected full house on a Saturday night, 3 weeks after opening. I think the full house affected the attentiveness of the staff and the speed of the kitchen. The quality of the food was fair, borderline poor and at the end of the night I felt like I made a bad gamble in Vegas and lost. A Wine and Spirits list is currently available. A Bar with Blended drinks and Cocktails are in future plans. The Restaurant has potential and I will probably return, but I am in no rush to do so.

Suga’s Breakdown

Appetizers

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Spicy Rosemary Mussels – $1350JMD +tx

We started off with the Spicy Rosemary Mussels and Duck Bruschetta. The Mussels were flavourful, succulent and indeed spicy. The Duck was tasty, but the bread was over toasted. It was deeply charred instead of golden brown. We could not bite into it. The use of tomatoes, which are traditionally added to Bruschettas was absent.

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Duck Breast Bruschetta – $1250JMD +tx

Entrées

The Oxtail Bolognese only had a trace of Oxtail and was predominantly minced Beef. When two of us ordered the Oxtail Bolognese, we were told it would have some minced Beef in it. We said no problem, but when it arrived, although it was savoury, it was predominantly minced Beef with a trace of Oxtail. I told our waiter, Chris that they need to rename the dish on the menu. Maybe they ran out of Oxtail too, but if so, we should have been advised.

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‘Oxtail’ Bolognese – $1850JMD +tx

Thankfully our friend who was just returning from Cabo and tasted authentic, richly flavoured Tacos enjoyed her Seafood Tacos even though she said the shrimp was a bit salty.

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Seafood Tacos with Shrimp – $2150JMD +5x

Dessert

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Crispy Duffle Sandwich (Top- $1550JMD+tx) and Maple Glazed Bacon Cookie Sandwich (Below- $1300JMD+tx)

The Maple Glazed Bacon Cookie Sandwich and Crispy Duffle Sandwich for dessert was tough as rocks. No wonder it was served with a kitchen knife. Note that we made that choice for dessert because the Fruit Parfait looked like a mixture of yogurt and canned fruit. But we still didn’t win. Tough cookies. Literally.

Service

I could see that with the full house, they tried and probably did their best, but the full house affected how attentive they were. Appetizers took too long to come out as well as our bottle of wine. The Wine we wanted was not chilled, so we told Chris that he could bring it out with the main. He seemed to have forgotten, so by the time we got his attention, we were almost through and just asked for a glass.

Suggestions from Suga

★ Hire additional staff for the Opening rush.

★Revise the Dessert menu.

★ Have the supervisor or manager take a walk around the restaurant now and then to get honest feedback from diners.

Good Luck to Broken Plate because I understand the concept and vision. We need more Restaurants that think outside the box, breaking away from the traditional menu in Kingston!

Broken Plate

Location: 14 Canberra Crescent off Munroe Road. Kgn. 6. Ja.

Ph: 876-667-6891

Email: [email protected]

Opening Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 11am to 10pm

Facebook & Instagram: @brokenplateja

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Review, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

Winners and Highlights from the Sweetart Bake Expo!

The Sweetart Bake Expo held at The Jamaica Pegasus two Sundays ago had patrons in awe at the creativity of Cakes decorated and probably sent everyone’s sweet tooth into overdrive with the samples given.

There were On-stage demos and Presentations on Cake Decorating, as well as classes that were conducted, including one that was by a local instructor.

Sometimes a Cake is decorated well and doesn’t taste as good as it looks, but the proof is in the pudding. Suga was most impressed with the Piña Colada cupcake by Alex’s creations (@alexcreationsja). I tasted the rum first, followed by the coconut flavour,  then was hit with the sweet accentuated by the icing. Fantastic!

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Other tasty highlights for Suga:
*Instagram tags in brackets

• Cheesecake by Kelsey’s Kreations (@kelseyskreations_ja)

• Bread Pudding by Skimo’s Pastries (@skimos_pastries)

• Banana Bread by La Jazz Sweet Tooth (@lajazzp_c)

• Carrot Cake by Jhaneal Solomon (@savouritja)

• Beer Jelly by Su Yen Green (@bakedbysue)

• Nestle’s offering of mouth-watering Bread pudding and other desserts made by using their products. Not to mention the Nestle Frappélatte that seems to be a hit everywhere it goes. It’s made with coffee and ice cream and is richly flavoured.

I know persons are straying from the traditional Fruit cakes for Weddings, but I only got two to taste that were not up to standard. Perhaps Blissful Bites by Delvena came close. Lemon cakes are now a popular choice for Weddings, but none of them hit the spot.

The presence of well-known Bakers was missed, but there are many on the rise with potential who were present and have been working on their craft for years. The Cake Decorating Competitions displayed high levels of skill and creativity, making things look so real.

Here are most of the Winners!
Pre-decorated Cake Competitions by Theme:

• Fast Food 
Winner

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The Bucket Meal by @alissweetfantasy won 1st place. It was also voted the People’s Choice winner for the show!

2nd Place

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The Subway Meal by @cakesbyqueata won 2nd place.

Decorated by Students!
• Fast Food theme Winner

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Winner of the Student Category was Annalise Powell of @baked876.

• Wedding 
Winner

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The winning Cake was Decorated by @thesweetspotja

• Topsy Turvy 
Winner

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First time entrant who just started Baking last year of @doms.delights was in tears after the announcement and moved even a few members of the audience to tears too.

Runner up

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@fabulous_cakesja came 2nd.

• Jungle Theme
Winner

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Winner of the Jungle Theme Pre-decorated Cake Competition by #sweetimpressionsja

CONGRATS to the WINNERS and See you at the 5th Anniversary Edition, #sweetartbakeexpo2019!

Save the date! It will be May 26,2019 with 5 days of activities.

Sweetart Bake Expo

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @sweetartbakeexpoja

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

The Lions Club of Mona provides Eye Glasses for scores of Jamaicans

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The Lions Club of Mona providing Eye Screening, Glasses and Blood Pressure checks to fellow Jamaicans at Agro Fest 22 on Saturday, May 26, 2018.

Two weekends ago at the 22nd staging of Agro Fest, the Lions Club of Mona had quite a busy booth. They provided eye screening and eye glasses for what seemed like over 100 persons and also performed Blood Pressure checks and distributed information pamphlets on Health.

Kudos to the Lions Club of Mona!

Lions Club of Mona

Location: 15 Ring Road, U.W.I Campus. Kgn. 7. Ja.

Website: www.lionsclubmona.com/

Instagram: @lionsclubmona

Meetings: 3rd and 4th Mondays at 6pm

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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New Menu Items coming to Fromage Brasserie!

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Fromage Brasserie had a private Menu tasting last weekend and got definite nods of approval for the addition of Pulled Pork Nachos, the Brownie Freak Shake and more to their menu soon!

Fromage Brasserie

Location: Market Place – 67 Constant Spring Road. Kingston.

Ph: 876-649-0820-1

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Suga revisits the Deck at Cellar 8!

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Suga’s Ratings for Cellar 8

Date and time of visit: Friday, May 11, 2018 at 10:00pm

No. of diners: 2

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Ambience: ★★★★☆

Décor: ★★★☆☆

Comfort: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★☆☆

Speed: ★★★☆☆

Food quality: ★★★★☆

Serving amount: ★★★★☆

Plating: ★★★★☆

Value for $: ★★★☆☆

SuGa Endorsement: ★★★☆☆

Comments: Cellar 8 has not only made changes to their space with a Deck, but their staff and management as well. Courteous, enthusiastic staff and delicious food. Service time could have been quicker and quality of drinks could have been better. Cellar 8 has always been a bit overpriced, but is no longer the new ‘it’ bar and has lost a superb mixologist. They should probably consider reducing their prices so customers can feel they are getting value for money.

Suga’s Breakdown

I thought Cellar 8 would have been busier 3 Friday nights ago, but with the opening of new Bars such as the Sky Lounge, they seemed to have lost their Friday night buzz. However, members of their new staff were courteous and the presence and supervision of the new management was felt. Since it wasn’t a full night, I thought service could have been a bit quicker, but our server, Davion was quite attentive and kept us up to date.  Drinks were decent, but the gifted hands of their mixologust, Milton Wisdom who is no longer there, were missed. The quality of food was good, but the wrong Pasta dish was served to my husband, Randy. We wondered if the Chef was trying to sneak in the wrong dish, since it was similar to what was ordered and we were not told that the desired dish was finished. Anyhow, it was replaced soon after with my husband’s secondary dish of choice that he still enjoyed.

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My Glazed Snapper Fillet with cous cous and veggies – $2600JMD+tx + 5% serv. charge
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Randy’s Pasta Marinara and Basil with added Shrimp – $1400 + $800JMD+tx + 5% serv. charge

We were about to call it a night, but we were smartly interrupted by a purposeful temptation of a trolley full of Dessert wheeled to us to choose from.

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We couldn’t pass that up. So I had the Strawberry Cheesecake and Randy had the Chocolate cheesecake. Sumptuous!

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Strawberry Cheesecake – $800JMD+tx +5% serv. charge

Cellar 8 Wine Bar

Location: Shop 10, Upper Manor Park Plaza

Ph: 876-613-5934

Opening Hours: Tuesdays-Sundays, 4pm – 11pm

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Bake Expo this Sunday at The Jamaica Pegasus!

Don’t forget that the Sweetart Bake Expo will be at The Jamaica Pegasus this Sunday!

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Our Jamaican Bakers’ Skill and Creativity will be put to the test! There will be a Cake Decorating Challenge for the Bakers with the theme, ‘Movie night’, a Pre-decorated Cake Competition with the 4 themes, Wedding, Cartoon, Topsy Turvy and Fast Food. For persons who would like to have fun and are also inspired to be like our Bakers, there will be Cake Decorating classes.

Check out these elaborate Cakes from some of our Jamaican Bakers!

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Don’t miss out!

Ticket Information:

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Children under 12 are FREE!

Presold: $800JMD

***Available at Monarch Pharmacy (Sovereign Centre Liguanea & Portmore), Fontana Pharmacy (Islandwide), York Pharmacy – Half Way Tree, Health Plus Pharmacy on Brunswick Ave., Spanish Town***

At the Door: $1000JMD

Sweetart Bake Expo

Ph: 876-807-5748

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @sweetartbakeexpoja

 

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Promo, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

Suga Spies a NEW Restaurant with her 4 Eyes

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New Restaurant, Summerhouse at The Liguanea Club, New Kingston is Opening to the Public sooner than you know!

Who’s responsible? Remember Two Sisters and a Meal? It’s the Rousseau sisters, Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau.

Stay tuned!

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Promo, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

Suga takes a Culinary trip to Valencia in Jamaica with I Love Paella!

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Suga’s Ratings for I Love Paella

Date and time of visit: Saturday, May 19, 2018 at 1:00pm

No. of diners: 3

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum and the criteria has been altered since it is a Pop-Up Kitchen

Parking: ★★★★★

Service: ★★★★☆

Speed: ★★★★☆

Food quality: ★★★★☆

Serving amount: ★★★★☆

Plating: ★★★★★

Value for $: ★★★★★

SuGa Endorsement:  ★★★★☆

Comments: 

Rich flavours were present throughout the dishes. Pleasant, courteous Chef. Superior service, speed and food quality. Serving amounts were adequate for a reasonable cost, as some meals were shareable. Chef Enric is from Valencia and he represents! Suga and friends enjoyed authentic Valencian Paella.

Suga’s Breakdown

From what I know, Chef Enric Escriva has been on the Jamaican culinary scene since January last year. Until he gets a suitable spot for his restaurant, he has been catering and doing Pop-up kitchens. I Love Paella is currently and temporarily in what used to be Cafe Nita’s space on Phoenix Avenue. So there is limited indoor and outdoor seating. The latter is the more comfortable choice with the hope of good weather.

I met two of my girlfriends for lunch around 1pm. Chef Enric greeted us politely and took us through the menu in which all prices included G.C.T. They did not have a Drinks menu, but basic drinks were available including wine, a simple white and red. We ordered a bottle of Chardonnay. They also have a Party Menu for groups.

The starters ranged from $850 – $1400JMD in cost, with some being shareable. Starters included Calamari, Tortillas, Croquetas and more.

We shared Bravas, a classic Valencian dish made from Fried Potatoes, a spicy brava sauce and allioli.

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Bravas ($850JMD)

We also enjoyed the Empanadas, freshly made artisan stuffed pastries. The Chicken Empanadas were stuffed with smoked paprika chicken and served with brava sauce. While the Black Bean Empanadas were stuffed with spicy black bean and served with allioli sauce. The sauces were on point!

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Chicken Empanadas ($850JMD)

We went specifically for Paella so that’s what we had. The Paellas are done to order, cooked and served in the traditional Paella pan that can serve 2 – 3 persons. However, prices shown on the menu are per person ranging from $2250JMD for the Vegetarian Paella to $3250JMD for the Seafood Paella with black rice from the squid’s ink.

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Seafood Paella ($2950JMD) with King Prawns, Squid, Mussels and Rice.

That Seafood Paella was as delicious as it looks with just the right amount of spiciness.

They don’t just serve Paella though. There are other mains available such as larger Tortillas and Empanadas ($1600JMD), Calamari sandwiches ($2400JMD) and Mediterranean salads ($1900JMD).

After all that spice, our palates demanded a bit of sweet. We completed lunch with Churros and Dark Chocolate. Fantastic ending to our lunch.

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Chef Enric serving Suga and friends some Churros with Dark Chocolate

I Love Paella Pop-Up Kitchen

***Reservations recommended***

Contact via Social Media messaging or Ph: 876-404-2867

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By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Review, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.