Irie Food At Turtle Bay Restaurant

Ever since I can remember, my Dad, sisters and I have had the tradition that every Boxing day we go out for a meal a lunch time. We try not to go to the same restaurant that we've been to before so that it's always a new experience. Choosing a restaurant has gotten a little trickier for me, since becoming gluten free nearly two years ago. But that's the very reason I felt that I had to blog about our experience about the new Turtle Bay restaurant that's recently opened in Cardiff.

Pulled pork and pineapple salad with coconut shavings

It was Christmas time after all, so we all went wild and decided to order a starter, which is unusual for me. But I was so glad that I did, because the salad I ordered was the best I'd ever tasted! I appreciate that it might be a little unusual to get excited about a salad, but this was no ordinary one, as it consisted of the usual salad greens. But was also accompanied by; marinated pulled pork, pineapple pieces, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes and pineapple shavings and every bite was a like a taste of the Caribbean. And to top it all off, it was very low in carbs too.

Grilled pineapple with coconut ice cream and mint

For the main course I ordered ribs and sweet potato fries which are one of my favourite side dishes, and then for dessert I went for grilled pineapple and coconut ice cream. It was literally so refreshing to be able to order a fruit for dessert, but that had been dressed and given some TLC so that it tasted as well as looked good. However, I should note that the dessert came with a caramel/ toffee sauce, which is something that I just can't handle with my type 1. As the sugar gets absorbed too quickly for me and I see a blood glucose spike, but the restaurant chefs were very accommodating, putting the sauce in a side jug so that I could have a taste. But also so that the dish wasn't swimming in sugar.

The family

It was a lovely family meal at Turtle Bay, that was completed by the great atmosphere of dancehall and reggae music that filled the restaurant. It was just like being back in Jamaica, where this half of my family are from. Well... until we stepped back outside to the British winter time that is!