By Rosemary Parkinson, Freelance WriterKibby Korner, Food Court, Shop 10, Sovereign Mall, Old Hope Road, Kingston 6
Catering service available. No time? Order in advance. Cost J$765 for above.
Tel: (809) 978 3762
IN KINGSTON for a few days with hardly a moment to myself, rushing from place to place in search of all those items one just cannot find in Negril.
Funny eh? Negril really is treated like an island off the coast of Jamaica. Nobody, but nobody, seems to consider that it might be worthwhile to invest in a really great 'mart', wholesaling and retailing all those things required by not only the hotels but the people who live in the environs. My poor beautiful Negril -- Jamaica's most wonderful tourist attraction -- everything on seven miles of beach (eroding but still beach nonetheless), dogged by power outages, a trickle for water supply, a cable company that spends most of its time off instead of on, supermarkets that stock only what tourists might want to eat in the confines of their rooms, blah blah blah. So it's to Kingston we must all turn when our little Sav or Montego Bay cannot provide simplicities like inexpensive bedside lamps. Hence, my "now you see me now you don't" three-day trips.
SOME PRETTY GOOD STUFF
With absolutely no time to stop and eat at any of my favourite restaurants, I turned to Sovereign Mall's Food Court on Hope Road. Denny's, with its Jamaican cookshop stylee, got some business from me; Island Grill was one quick stop (losing some of its perfection, I thought -- attention, attention); Jamaica Juice had some delicious, fresh fruity flavours; Helados a great cone; and Churches Chicken some quite awful chicken (sorry). However, it was Kibby Korner and my penchant for Syrian/Lebanese food that got my full attention.
Owned and operated by Tania Dabdoub this little Korner puts out some pretty good stuff. I did not meet Ms. Dabdoub but was given as much information as possible by Shereen Gayle, her employee at the front in charge of taking orders and collecting that 'mohney' honey. Shereen has been working there for just over a year, loves it and enjoys learning about the actual food preparation. Now that's a joy. Working at the front doesn't mean you should not be interested in what is going on at the back. In fact, it should be mandatory in restaurants of any kind.
I ordered the Meshi Platter (Stuffed Grape Leaves, Cabbage Rolls, Stuffed Garden Egg and Pita Bread), a couple of Beef Kibby with Pine Nuts, some Hummus and some Baba Ghannouj. My companion (must always have one for testing my taste testing), on the Atkins diet (I gave up), had the Fillet Kebab that is normally served with rice and salad with only the salad.
THAT PITA BREAD
The cabbage rolls stuffed with a seasoned rice and smothered in a delicious slightly 'tomatoie' sauce, were absolutely lovely -- the grape leaves, poached to perfection, were succulent and melt-in-the-mouth. The garden egg came in quite finely and proudly, I might add, in third place for taste. The pita bread was divine -- soft and fresh -- and once the Hummus or Baba Ghannouj were added, it was orgasmic. I may have mentioned this before, pita bread, commonly known as pocket bread, is so highly regarded in the Middle East that in some Arabic dialects it is referred to as "esh", meaning life.
For those of you who need a little explanation about Hummus, it's basically chick peas and sesame seed paste (Tahini) all mashed together until a fine 'spread' is achieved. Baba Ghannouj looks much the same but is made with garden egg (eggplant/aubergine). (See recipe at left)
The Fillet Kebab, according to my friend the taster, was beautifully seasoned but a little tough. We must watch those meats, there is no reason in today's day and age to serve a tough piece of beef, particularly fillet. A little trick (whisper if you are not keen on tenderisers as I am not): Keep beef wrapped in a damp cloth at the bottom of fridge for a couple of days or rub a little mustard and allow to stand in fridge overnight. The salad compensated for the rice; the dressing was great, coming up for a grand prize.
On the whole, the presentation of the food lacked the excitement of its exotic taste -- different coloured plastic if it must be plastic maybe? Decor in general could also be taken up a few notches. There's so much you could do to enhance and attract more people here. Think bright colours. Exotic belly dancers. A Genie. Camels. Grape Vines. Gold. Silver. Myrrh? Okay, I know I am getting a little carried away here, let us just say that some general sprucing up would be nice.
So Kibby Korner, keep an eye on where you go a little wrong and all will be well 'cause meh like de way you ah flex. The food on the whole was great and you will be seeing me more often on those in-and-out-of-Kingston-like-a-flash visits.
Rosemary Parkinson has now resorted to Slim Fast -- one for breakfast, one for lunch, plenty water, a sensible meal for dinner. I am starrrrhhhhving! Help!
