It's a Jerk, jerk!

Have you had Jamaican food before? If you're like me, the closest thing you might have had was a Jamaican Patty sold in food stalls in the malls of Manila. It costs about 45 pesos a piece (if my memory serves me right).

Ayeen took us to Jamaican Jerk Hut in Center City, Philadelphia. (I wrote two entries about Philadelphia here and here.) Above was my Jerk Chicken Platter and I had it all to myself. You think it looks like a lot? Yes, it really is a lot of chicken for my small tummy. (Yeah, right!) Well, it really is a lot too spicy for my taste. But hey, I was there to experience what Jamaican Jerk is all about. So, bring it on!

I knew that Jamaican food is very spicy. I've seen Bobby Flay's throwdown with a popular Jamaican chef on Food Network. They use habanero chili peppers in Jerks! Yikes! I say yikes because habanero is one of the spiciest on the planet (unless, ofcourse, you're from another planet).

"Jerk" actually refers to a pungent blend of spices rubbed into meat before roasting or grilling. Thus the color of my chicken. It was so dark that it looks like it was marinated in soy sauce. So I said to myself, "It's a Jerk, jerk!"

The slices of fried plantains (or saging na saba) was an excellent contrast to all that heat going on. The poached shreds of cabbage cleansed my palate. I am so glad there was rice. It made the chicken bearable to eat. Wooho! Hot! Hot!


My bottle of Jamaican Cream Soda truly served its purpose of putting out the fire on my tongue. I like the Cream Soda. Cream soda is another name for root beer. But this one is a colorless root beer. Sweet!

But you know what? I recently found a bottle of the Jamaican Cream Soda on the shelves of the Filipino grocer I regularly go to here in Illinois. Ofcourse, it costed a lot less.

Cheers to more Jamaican food! I want more!