Lime House, Jiak Chuan Road: Bask In the Caribbean Limelight

By Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow on April 19, 2015 • ( 3 Comments )

If it isn’t for the Entertainer App, that gives you 1-for-1 mains, I wouldn’t have known of the first and only Caribbean restaurant in Singapore, Lime House. To “lime,” in Trinidad and Tobago’s lingo, means to hang out with friends. The closest Singlish equivalent I could think of is “slack.”

Saheenas (curried split peas fritters, spiced tamarind sauce, $12)

“Eh, you wanna come my place and slack?”
“Eh, you wanna come my place and lime?”
Pretty cool word, huh?

Carribean fish cakes (capsicum, curried aioli, pineapple, mango salsa, $12)

Like the name suggests, going to Lime House is like going to someone’s house to hang out–a homely ambience. The menu is created by consultant Trinidadian chef Hasan DeFour.

Gin beef skewers ($16)

Like Singapore, the Caribbean was colonized, so the colonizers brought about their influences in the food. But what is most interesting to me is that 50% of Trinidad’s population consists Indians (brought by British colonization), hence you can find lots of Indian flavors in the food.

Baby back ribs ($32)

For starters, I particularly liked the weekly special, gin beef skewers ($16), with a wicked hint of heat. The vegetarian saheenas ($12), that came with a tangy tamarind sauce, tasted like a breaded version of samosas.

Since Entertainer app gives you 1-for-1 mains, go crazy with this section of menu. Mr Fitness enjoyed the curry goat ($28, pictured above), which came with basmati rice. Although this dish is Indian-influenced, it is rather unique in that it had a more subtle and grainy texture to it, displaying how the Caribbean incorporates their own style into the food.

Red snapper escovitch ($28)

When I return the next time, I want to try the coffee jerk rubbed ribeye ($36) and jerk chicken ($28) because I eat jerks for dinner, and because I can eat more using Entertainer’s 1-for-1 mains.

Macaroni pie $6

Because you save money for the mains, you can splurge on sides and desserts. For sides, go for the caramelized plantains ($5), which is a good palate cleanser between bites of savory food. A Trinidadian native told me macaroni pie ($6) is the ultimate Caribbean comfort food.

Once you go black… Piton chocolate cake $12

For desserts, I recommend the spiced banana cake ($12, above) with honey fig ice cream. The surface was crusty and dry which could absorb the melting ice cream.

Coffee creme brulee ($12), Deconstructed pina colada ($12)

To sum up my Caribbean night, what is different about Caribbean food is that it is fully flavored and thoroughly marinated, with a pinch of heat. If you’re thinking of getting the Entertainer App to use at Lime House and other fantastic restaurants, you can get 10% discount using my discount code 2105RERG.