Conch

I've just spent a lovely week in Grand Cayman. I was there for my sister's wedding, but of course I did a little eating. We stayed in condos and did a lot of our own cooking: Jamaican jerk chicken, hamburgers, Persian rice, salad, kebabs, grilled fish, guacamole. I should clarify, other people did a lot of cooking, namely the mothers of the bride and groom. I participated in the eating.

I did take two opportunities to try conch, the fish that inhabits this lovely shell. Walking the beach in the morning it's easy to find these fellows washed within metres of the shore. When I picked this one up to look at him, I could see his googly eyes looking back at me. It's a difficult to connect him with the two conch dishes I tried.

These conch fritters are from Breezes in downtown Georgetown. Although our entrees are not worth mentioning, the atmosphere is great with lanterns, calypso playing and a beautiful view of the harbour. Instead of lunch, I would recommend it as a nightspot for drinks. Our conch fritters we ordered as appetizers, however, were excellent. The dipping sauce was tangy and slightly spicy. The fritter itself was also spicy, but in a different direction- they worked well together. The fritter itself was light brown, with dots of red, and other browns. I have no idea what else was in there besides the conch, but it was all tasty.
My sister's dinner and dance reception was held at The Wharf restaurant. We had the choice of conch soup or salad for the first course. The conch soup was delicious- it tasted like very good seafood chowder. It's hard to see in this picture, but the ingredients were chopped quite small, but there was a lot of them, and it made for a great consistency. It was also flavourful, and I will order it again if I ever have a chance.

Yet, I have to say, I still unsure what conch itself tastes like. There were various of white and red flecked morsels which could have been conch, and I fished them out to try them by themselves, but they just tasted like... white fish. So maybe conch is the sort of versatile fish that relies on the chef and the seasonings of the dish. Either way, it was tasty.