Julie Mango Restaurant gets festive with Christmas-inspired menu
Published:Thursday | December 14, 2023 | 12:08 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
‘Twas weeks before Christmas when all through the land, the people were scurrying for gifts in demand. With parties and other events under way, not to mention delightful spreads, thoughts of brunches, lunches, and dinners filled their minds. Joining in on the festive feels and presenting a tasty variety just in time for the season is Julie Mango Restaurant.
People have asked, and the restaurant has delivered in delicious proportions. Headlining this year’s Christmas edition are sorrel-glazed partridge in a pear tree (chicken), Frosty’s coconut-crusted shrimp, North Pole blackened snapper, Santa’s honey garlic salmon, Rudolph’s lamb kebabs, Scrooge’s curried goat, Yuletide ham, and char sui pork.
For the vegan audience, there are the delights of the jingle tofu and three-bean stew, elf curried pumpkin and angel’s Asian stir fry veggies. And for the sweet tooth lovers, did someone say shots? Try the Christmas cake shot, sorrel cheesecake shot, or even, pumpkin cake shot.
According to the owner, Julie Ramchandani, curating a Christmas menu is an annual activity she indulges in, and she enjoys every minute of it. “We have a few new items this year. We’ve added a pork dish and a couple other vegan items. Our aim is to cater to our customers’ desires for the season,” she told Food.
If your merriment lies in libations, consider the sorrel mimosa, jingle juice, Christmastini, or The Grinch to elevate your festive spirits.
“We’ve gotten a very positive response from the menu so far. We’ve actually had a couple catering orders for this specific menu from last weekend,” she explained. Some of the crowd favourites so far, Ramchandani shared, include the char sui pork and the honey garlic salmon. As for the starch, she says the mac and cheese is always a hit and people rave about the candied plantains.
No strangers to flavour, both Julie and her husband, Rajiv, set out on a savoury mission to tap into the sweet notes of our culture, providing a melting pot of spices for food lovers both near and far.
Since gaining momentum at Mayfair Hotel in 2021, the husband-and-wife duo has made quite a name for the business, consistently bringing creative culinary spins to some of our favourite local dishes.
“Julie Mango offers something special in every bite and every sip. Our regular menu caters to all tastes. We have an international line-up with dishes from different countries. There’s a local dish menu for those who want savour rich island flavour. And, we try to add flair in everything that we do. We focus heavily on customer service and try to make them happy from the moment they arrive to when they leave the establishment,” she explained.
It was important for Ramchandani to have a Christmas menu because there was a significant demand for the offerings. “A lot of corporate people don’t want to necessarily go to the hotels and have something too formal for Christmas time. So, they want to keep a casual vibe but still treat their staff members to items that celebrate the season just as much as they want to,” she shared.
This Yuletide-inspired menu is an adventure that has been running for three years and it’s something that customers, staff and the owners look forward to.
“The menu items that did well have become mainstays on the Christmas feast. And the ones that failed to meet the mark were replaced with new items. We asked our customers, carefully taking their feedback, in order to cater to their desires for the season,” she said adding, “The Christmas menu has worked for us over the years and we are happy to bring good cheer to others. So far, we have seen a few reserved groups and we have a few catering orders. We also provide dining, take-out and delivery, so that we’re just giving our customers every dining option available,” she added.
With the scrumptious line-up running from the 12th of this month to Christmas Eve, newcomers and frequent diners can expect innovation at its finest. So, don’t be a grinch this holiday; instead, sip on its bubbly namesake with family and friends this season at Julie Mango.