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| The Friday evening view of the city and the Caribbean |
Montego Bay is a City that enjoys a wide variety of culture
where Jamaicans mix with a variety of small groups that hail from different
parts of the world. Friday nights at
Vijay’s Punjabi Dhaba and Sky Bar located on Queens Drive (Top Road) in Montego Bay, is one of those occasions to enjoy this
ethnic diversity in Jamaica’s second city.
Stepping on to this rooftop bar overlooking the city's coastline
and the Caribbean Sea you will be greeted by the aroma of Indian cuisine and
local Jamaican cooking.
This little hideaway owned and operated by Mobay businessman,
Vijay Sadarangani provides a Friday night escape to start the weekend like no
other. You will find a mix of Jamaican,
Indian and other foreign expats coming together to enjoy a few drinks, eat some
great food from the culturally diverse menu options and enjoy the spectacular
evening panorama before them.
On one end of the rooftop patio is the Punjabi Dhaba set up
like something straight out of an Indian movie street scene. It’s a little wooden set-up with a counter
behind which the Indian chef is hard at work.
Menu items are scrawled on a board in the kitchen. Yes, you have walked into a little part of
Mumbai or at least it certainly feels like it.
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| Vijay Sadarangi (second from left) with his chefs |
On Friday nights after work there is a special on Kababs
that comes with a purchase of a cue of liquor.
The promotion is very popular with patrons. But for others there is a more than
satisfactory variety of Indian items.
There is the Mutton Rogan Josh, the number mutton dish cooked in an
onion sauce with natural spices. Of
course there is the Chicken Tikka Masala topped with a sauce made of tomato.,
onions, ginger and garlic masala. There
is more to choose from and you can only familiarize yourself with a visit to
the restaurant.
On the opposite end of the patio is the Sky Bar. This is the end where you can get some
Jamaican Jerk Chicken and other local offerings. There are also the type of local offerings
you really need on a Friday like Appleton Rum and Red Stripe beer. The Indians tend to go for the whiskey in
general. But that is where the cultural
differences stop because most of the people there, apart from the occasional
group of tourists, live and work in Montego Bay.
It may be a physical setting with a laidback Bollywood meets
“Yaad” vibe but at the end of the day it’s a good old Montego Bay vibe as
laughter, liquor and good food helps everyone to wind down and start the
weekend in a great mood. People stand
around at the bar while in the more central area
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VJ's Punjabi Dhaba - like an Indian street scene but
it's overlooking Mobay and the Caribbean Sea |
various groups are dining at
tables. It’s a small but cozy area
perfect for relaxed social interaction.
The music is usually a mix of oldies and reggae as opposed
to dancehall for this more mature, relaxed audience. At the right moment you will even here some
Indian music coming through the speakers and you may be pleasantly surprised at
the Jamaican response. Indian music
afterall is a huge and successful industry.
Friday nights at VJ’s Punjabi Dhaba and Sky Bar are a
pleasant escape from the norm. It’s just
the right mix of “something different” with “something familiar”. The difference is in the cultural mix of food
and people while the familiar comes from everyone being one people, one Montego
Bay, one Jamaica. If you haven’t checked
out VJs Punjabi Dhaba and Sky Bar, you really should. Friday evening after work is one time in
Montego Bay that you shouldn’t be complaining that there is nothing to do.
