The weather is staring to turn autumnal and it is about this time of the year that I start to enjoy my spicy food a lot more. So I figure that it’s time to start hunting in and around the streets of the city for some of that home style food from the Caribbean. Today I was in the mind for something from Jamaica so it seemed appropriate to walk in through a door under a sign that suggested that I should ‘Taste the Flavour of Jamaica’. It sounded more like the entrance to a food theme park than a takeaway, perhaps it was going to be a fun-ride for my mouth and taste buds?

My meal of Jerk Chicken with a side of ‘Rice and Peas’ was a somewhat mammoth feast. There was a good quarter of a rather large chicken in there, all covered in a well crisped up jerk seasoned coating. The chap behind the counter had asked me if I would like some jerk sauce on my Rice and Peas, warning me at the same time that it was going to be really spicy. I was expecting that since it is made traditionally from Scotch Bonnet chillies and so I erred on the side of caution and just asked for a little bit. I wished that I had asked for more as although it did have quite a kick, it was also quite fruity and tangy and really enhanced the flavour of the moist chicken and the rice. Now I know that next time I will probably say ‘yeh just splash it all over’ and then I will be full of regret when I burn the roof of my mouth off when the spicy sauce starts to coat the inside of my mouth, and as the back of my throat groans with the kick of the chilli heat. Perhaps I made the correct choice.

I thought that this was pretty good value, not just because of the really decent or too be honest ‘much too large’ sized portion for about £8 with a drink. Now I chose off the menu board but if I had been a bit more savvy then I may well have chosen something from that specials leaflet. There were a few different combinations that you could go for. For just $5.99 you could get a Main course of Curry Goat, Curry Chicken, Brown Stew Chicken, or Oxtail with a rice dish such as Rice and Peas, and a Side, and a drink. Not bad at all. If it wasn’t for the moment that I was fixed in on having Jerk Chicken then I would have probably taken advantage of this offer and had either the Oxtail or the Curry Goat. Perhaps when I have finished my tour of the other places nearby I will do just that.

As it says on the bottom of the leaflet “Taste the Flavour of Jamaica” – a Caribbean café and takeaway is located at 130 Hartley Road in Nottingham.

There are plenty of other options in this area and I will be visiting them as well over the next few weeks too.

I will draw you a map when I am done!