Banyan-Catering – Room For Improvement
Receiving a WhatsApp message telling me about a new discovery, namely ‘Banyan Catering’ on Cargill Avenue, I googled it immediately. Intrigue set in when I saw that they cook Indian food, which I love, as well as Jamaican food.
I put a call through to the eatery shortly after, and am told it is too late to place an order for that day’s lunch (it was close to the end of lunchtime, after all), but they did have a few servings of a couple ‘meals’ left. “We only cook a certain amount of each meal,” Simone, the proprietor told me, “in order to ensure freshness. If you give me your email, I’ll send you the weekly menu. However, make sure you order by 10:00am.
Sure enough, within an hour I had received the email, and already had in my mind that I’d be ordering the oxtail; curry chicken; chicken roti wrap; small grilled fish salad; Indian lunch. Before 10 o’clock the next day, I’d placed my order, choosing the butter chicken Indian meal with cauliflower and potato; and opting for rice and peas and white rice (you can get ‘food’ too!), with the oxtail and a small curry chicken, respectively.
Shortly after noon, I unveiled all the food on the dining table, taking a taste of each dish. I like food that is supposed to be hot, to be hot, and since food loses flavour upon cooling, I thought it only fair that I get the real and intended experience of Banyan Catering.
First up was the chicken roti wrap. Oh dear! The chicken was very dry with very little flavour. This filling would never pass muster with any Indian, or Trini for that matter, whom I know! The roti ‘skin’ wasn’t bad. I hate to say it, but the grilled fish salad was almost as bad as the chicken.
After getting over the initial shock of just how small the small fish salad ($400 was), the otaheiti apple chopped up in it appealed to me. Everything was just horribly soggy. If you are going to only offer take-out, then you need to think about the meal to be taken out! Having sweated in the heat of the grilled fish, the fresh fruit and vegetables were…well, no longer fresh.
Please get better, I willed the food, as I continued to taste. And it did! The oxtail was tender, the gravy tasty, and the rice and peas was just the right texture. Phew! The chicken curry was also pleasing. As for the butter chicken…that was actually really delicious, definitely more-ish, and redeemed my faith in Banyan Catering somewhat. Aside from the perfectly fried ripe plantain, the other sides of potato salad and coleslaw, which came with the Jamaican food, I could have done without. Same goes for the naan bread accompanying the Indian meal.
My friend who had tried Banyan Catering the day before commented that, “The pasta salad (the side that particular day) was really, really good.” She had opted for the large fried chicken and large ackee with corn pork, both costing $500. “I am not quite sure that I would eat there all the time,” she continued, “the ackee was very good, but just too much oil for me, and the chicken was good, but I have had better.” However, “the price was good for the amount of food served,” she concluded. I suppose…considering ingredient costs, but in this financial climate, when my money is losing meaning by the minute, you need to wow your customers with every bite, every time.
Where: Banyan Catering, 9 Cargill Avenue, Kingston 10
Telephone: 876 630 8045, 876 545 8587
Open Mondays-Fridays for Lunch – order by 10:00 am, pick-up 12 noon onwards
What I ordered: Oxtail ($800); Small Curry Chicken ($400); Chicken Roti Wrap ($400); Small Grilled Fish Salad ($400); Butter Chicken with Naan & Curried Vegetables ($850)
A very disappointing ($400) chicken roti wrap.
The $400 (small) curry chicken was tasty.
The Indian meal ($850) with butter chicken, cauliflower and potato, and naan bread. The butter chicken with Banyan’s rice would have been the right shot!
The oxtail ($800) with rice and peas and plantain was most pleasing, but the potato salad and coleslaw not so impressive
The small grilled fish salad ($400) was disappointing in both size and taste!
Ackee and corn pork ($500) with ‘food’ and salad. The ackee was good, but a little greasy.