Off The Charts In Guyana - The Food

Plantains, pumpkin and beans, pepperpot and breadfruit salad

Guyana is considered part of the Caribbean.  It is one of the Caricom nations. 

The food is similar to typical Caribbean food with some additions.  Rice, peas, beans, lentils, ground provisions (minus breadfruit – I have seen very few of those trees and none in the market), pineapple, bananas, watermelon, ect….  

Typcial Caribbean produce

Pasties – like Jamaican meat pies with the standard minced beef and chicken but lighter like French pastries and filled with more choices like ham and cheese or straight cheese.

Ham and cheese, beef, egg roll and cheese 

Egg rolls are a popular street food.  These are literally a hard boiled egg surrounded by mashed cassava and then breaded and deep fat fried.  Think Scotch Egg without the sausage. 

One of our favorites for egg rolls

Another favorite

Cassava meatballs - seasoned minced meat surround by mashed cassava and then fried.  YUM!

Cassava meatballs and sour sauce

Minced chicken filled cassava meatballs and sour sauce

With sour sauce- green mangos, garlic, hot pepper, salt, water

Ingredients for sour sauce

My first attempt at sour sauce - not bad, in fact yummy

 Brazilian influence –

Our favorite Brazilian bakery

Mother and son - I think

Brazilian bakery also did killer pizza

Braziliana Farina - like cornmeal

A large percentage of Guyanese have Indian heritage.  As I mentioned before, their ancestors were brought over from India as indentured servants (another word for slave IMHO).  Therefore, Guyanese food has a strong Indian influence with a Caribbean twist much like Trinidad. Curries, Roti, channa, polourie, etc… 

A favorite lunch place - local food, cheap prices, big portions

Another lunch favorite

Pepperpot

Pepperpot is supposedly the national dish of Guyana but we didn't see it much.  We only ate it at Iwokrama.  I think it must be for special occasions and holidays.

We love street food.  In our humble opinions, some of the best food in the Caribbean is street food made by auntie whoever.  Or Uncle Rasta.  And good value as it is usually cheap and plentiful.

Rasta man cooking up lunch

Homemade juices served in plastic bags

All fresh from his garden and home

Yah mon - serious food

If packing take away containers was an olympic sport, no doubt the women of the Caribbean would take the gold.  OMG - they PACK the containers!  You get your $ worth.  What really cracks me up is no matter where you go in the Caribbean, food vendor always have a table that is just big enough to hold all the pots - NO room for working / filling the orders.  Thus they take the lid off this one and put it on top of that one and then scoop out the rice and peas.  Then they put the lid back on and take another lid off and set if over on top of the rice and peas and scoop out the potato salad and so on and so forth.  Occationally,  you are asked to help hold a lid or take away container but not often.  

Piled high - Gold Medal

We got our money's worth

Street food cart

Simple construction

Fresh Market 

Fruits, veg and much more

One of my favorite market ladies

Another favorite

My favorite market guy

He looks as happy as the fish

Street vendors with fresh fruits and veg could be found on the main street and a few sides streets as well.

Best garlic sauce we have had in the Caribbean - made in Guyana

Meat day – There are several butcher shops in Bartica but for some reason the cruisers that arrived before us decided one particular halal butcher was their butcher.  Okay.  Beef tenderloin was the choice cut.  We followed the rest and started ordering whole tenderlions.  They are as big as back in the USA ( about 4 lbs worth) but they were tender.  $5US a pound was hard to beat so we stocked the freezer.  The chicken were good too.  We often saw cow roaming around Bartica.     

Ice cream shop