Caribbean Goodies
This article was first published in August 2000
The last five years have seen The Humming Bird in Stroud Green Road move from being a small, dark place (albeit serving good food) into a bright modern establishment. In short, a real restaurant in the West End sense of the term. Locals still amble in and out for their takeaways, and service can prove erratic, but we are talking grown-up restaurant here. The owner/driver of this establishment, Mark Ramgoolie, flits from kitchen to front of house and is happy to enlarge upon the lengthy menu, which adopts the all-things-for-all-diners approach. After 'home-made soups and appetisers', there are menu sections that range from the straightforward to the obscure ? Cutters (a sort of sampler of many dishes ? a Carib tapas), Beach Platters, Chef's Creation, Chow Mein Dishes, Curried Dishes, Stewed Dishes, Combination Platters, Rice Dishes, Side Orders? complex stuff. Start at the beginning, soups are good here ? crab and callalloo, fish soup, creamy pepper and spinach soup. If you haven't tried it before, have the crab and callalloo, a sea of rich green soup ? very tasty ? with a whole crab claw floating in the middle. Or try the jerk chicken, it's not over-hot but is seriously good. Peppered shrimps are also good (they're large prawns, actually), cooked with a rich mix of onions and peppers. By way of experimentation try a fried dumpling with your soup ? these are more like loaves than dumplings and take the form of a super-sized cricket ball which is then sliced just like bread. Indeed it is very like a stodgy, crisp-edged bread and goes well with the soups. Devotees of the baker's art should also try coco bread, which is rich and solid. Move on to a curry. The classic curried goat is a very refined version, more like politely curried, lean chunks of lamb, but it is very tasty. Eat it with a roti - large and delicious flat bread like a super-chapati, or maybe rice and peas ? a well-made dish here, tasty and satisfying. Or try the curried redfish, with a well-handled sauce that complements, rather than overpowers, the fish. Or perhaps a stew - the crab stew is epic, a large portion, good fresh crab. It is worth getting to grips with the vegetable dishes. Spiced channa is a splendid chickpea curry, while anyone with a sweet tooth will relish the fried plantain. Unless you have a very jaded palate and are fed up with a continual diet of Caribbean food, these simpler traditional dishes will be interesting enough. The 'Chef's Creations' doubtless come into play when everything else seems old hat - King Prawns And Crispy Noodles is described as 'King Prawns stir-fried with hot bell peppers, white wine and honey, coconut milk and served on a bed of crispy spinach noodles'. When you wind your way to the end of the meal, fuelled by Carib lager or Guinness punch, spare a thought for the rum cake, which is very good indeed. The Humming Bird is an engaging place with good food in the main, plus a smattering of truly great dishes. Relax and enjoy.
The Humming Bird
Stroud Green Road, London, N4 3EN
