If you want to travel the world with your tastebuds, Singapore is the place to be. We’ve got just about every cuisine, from Thai and Mexican, to Filipino and Mediterranean. But there’s just one gap: Caribbean food. Enter Camp Caribbean, currently the only restaurant in the city serving up dishes from the region. The new barbecue joint is nestled within Gourmet Park Kampong Bugis, the pet-friendly alfresco dining area which took over Camp Kilo.
Standing behind the grill is Jamaican-born chef Ricardo Allen, who previously ran Lime House Caribbean restaurant on Keong Saik Road before it shuttered. Having grown up on his grandmother’s cooking, Chef Ricardo now recreates her recipes at Camp Caribbean for whoever’s down to try it – think dishes from Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, and other islands in the Caribbean.
You can’t talk about Caribbean food without bringing up jerk, which is barbecued meat or seafood marinated in a traditional rub of allspice, thyme, Scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Camp Caribbean’s menu sports all manner of jerk, from chicken ($18), to pork ribs ($34), and as a nod to a local hawker favourite, stingray ($27). Curious to try them all? The Jam Rock Platter (from $69) features all the above together with sides of rice, peas, coleslaw, fried plantain and corn ribs.
You’ll also find some of Chef Ricardo’s childhood favourites on the menu, like the Jamaican cook shop classic oxtail with spinners ($22). This unique dish sees boneless oxtail and housemade gnocchi in an oxtail cream sauce, which we imagine should taste incredibly rich and hearty. There are also desserts like white chocolate bread pudding ($15) and grilled pineapple with ice cream ($12) for those up for something different. And no visit here would be complete without a sip of Chef Ricardo’s house-made Sorrelade Punch ($18), made with roselle hibiscus, clove and cinnamon, and a splash of rum.
Find out more about Camp Caribbean here.
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