DashOutSunday - Ramen and Some Caribbean Treats

Adding a paste of garlic and pepper to flavor the soup.

Hi Hivers and members of the @ReggaeJahm community.
I hope you all had a great week. This week in particular was a little lighter than usual for me. My students had exams so I had a little time “out of the classroom”. I had several errands to run. If not careful, at such times, I can end up being even busier than usual. Going into the weekend however, I enjoyed a lovely bowl of ramen and my Saturday afternoon lit up🔥🔥 when I received a package of Caribbean goodies. Believe me when I say I didn’t hesitate to pop the box open and get started. Stay with me as I tell you more and share visuals of the delights.

The ramen set was a good one. It had lots of vegetables. There was a serving of gyoza 🥟 (fried dumplings). Soy and miso sauces were provided for the dumplings. To that plate I added a small bit of of garlic and pepper paste and a bit of sliced ginger (colored pink).

Regular ramen size

Slice(s)of pork

Small strips of carrot

Temperatures here in Japan dropped over the past few days. Winter has certainly arrived. A warm bowl of ramen is a great meal for the stomach at this time. The meal was quite delicious and filling. I actually had to get the dumplings wrapped for take out.

Caribbean Delights

Patty

Jamaican style meat pies

Anyone who has been to Jamaica, has a Jamaican friend, lives near to a Jamaican or Caribbean neighborhood, should know, has eaten or heard about patties. Yes, it’s a meat pie. Yes, it’s similar to empanadas but for a Jamaican, there’s something special about the word “patty” itself.
We were expecting the package. When our door bell rang, I rushed to the door. I was quite expectant. Shortly after collecting it and without sitting, I opened the box and saw the frozen patties. Though I’ve ordered patties before, it was our first time to get this type. The package gave a true Jamaican, caribbean, reggae-ish vibe.



It was slightly overdone in the toaster oven but was still flaky and tasty.

I noticed “spicy” on the package and wondered whether my kids would have been able to handle it. There was one way to tell. I put a few in the microwave and then the toaster oven. It was a little bit spicy but the kids enjoyed it and asked for more. The flaky crust, well-seasoned meat, the rareness of having such a treat stimulated my taste buds and took me right back to my days at elementary school when I’d often order a patty for lunch. I seriously had a nostalgic moment. In Jamaican terms, “Di patty a occur! It wicked! It shot”. In other words, they were very delicious.
Each patty had 370 calories. Hmm…quite high I thought but what a lovely treat. 😂

Malta

Malta (a malted, non-alcoholic beverage) is one of my all-time favorites. It’s maybe our second or third time locating it or something similar in Japan. It was quite refreshing and heartwarming.

Plantain Chips

Front side of the package

Opposite side of the package

The chips were crispy and delicious. Growing up, it was more common to have banana chips as snacks but plantain chips were also commonly eaten. One of my kids had just a few pieces but we all enjoyed the lovely treat. We thought about leaving some for a later date but that plan did not work out well. Lol

It was an Irie weekend.
What’s your favorite Caribbean or Jamaican treat?
What Jamaican or Caribbean treat do you crave?
Thank you for reading my post. Have a great week. 😃