Lime House

Lime House
2 Jiak Chuan Road

http://www.limehouse.asia/


Liming With Caribbean Cuisine

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 7
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $40 per person.


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Lime House has gained quite a following since opening in June 2013. Owner Chris Morris, a native of Trinidad & Tobago, wanted to introduce the concept of 'liming' - a term which refers to hanging out in a casual atmosphere. With this Caribbean tradition of 'liming', the Lime House offers a buzzing social calender of music & dance events, almost like a carnival of sorts. And with the friendly service and great tasting Caribbean food at Lime House, a visit here is definitely an experience!

Ambience at Lime House calls to mind the beach atmosphere of the Caribbean. Vibrant coloured wooden furnishings, Caribbean inspired paintings of traditional costumes and dancing, urban world music playing over the background speakers, old rum bottles along the rafters of the dimly lit interior. The heritage building Lime House is in still retains its original wooden carvings and tiles, with rather high ceilings lending a sense of space. And with 3 floors to accomodate different occasions, the vibe at Lime House is vibrant, casual and friendly.

Service at Lime House is casual and friendly, with staff offering greetings and seating diners quickly. I find them to be knowledgeable on the menu, able to provide basic descriptions of the more exotic dishes. I note that Lime House staff are also pretty hardworking, assisting to prepare / clean up the place for events, including moving sofas around! They're also able to engage in friendly conversation, especially the bartender in the Lime Yard, their backyard tropical garden themed lounge.

Food at Lime House is influenced by Caribbean cuisine. Chef Hasan Defour, who hails from Trinidad & Tobago, has created an eclectic menu, a mix of African, European, Indian, Chinese, South American, and North American cuisine. This celebrity chef has introduced tasty, traditional Caribbean dishes, alongside exciting modern house creations. Generally, I find dishes to be packed with flavour, served in large portions. Prices are slightly high, budget about SGD $40 per person for a 2-course meal here.


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Occupying a heritage shophouse with 3 floors, the vibrant and spacious place can be booked as a venue for cocktail parties, corporate workshops, pop-up events / exhibitions, networking seminars, and more.

Lime House Exterior

Lime House Interior

Lime House Lounge Signage 01

Lime House Lounge Signage 02

Lime House Bench

The restaurant on the 1st floor has touches of Caribbean decor, channeling the 'liming' lifestyle. The Lime Yard is also located here, a chill garden themed lounge perfect for relaxing. The menu features traditional, and modern Carribbean cuisine, including classics such as Rum cocktails!

Lime House Lighting

Lime House Caribbean Art

Lime House Menu Food

Lime House Menu Drinks

Lime House Menu Rum Creation

Served as part of our event menu, the uber sweet Coconut Mojito Mocktail has a strong strawberry flavour, overwhelming the more earthy coconut taste. Refreshing at the start due to the lime juice, but the intense sweetness got really heavy after a while.

Coconut Mojito Mocktail

Served as part of our event menu, the delicious Jerk Chicken Sandwich features jerk (spice) marinated chicken meat that is tender and moist, along with fresh crunchy lettuce within sliced white bread. The flavourful jerk chicken really made this breakfast / lunch sandwich stand out, as the other ingredients are quite normal.

Jerk Chicken Sandwich

Update Aug-2015: The Classic Rum Punch (SGD $18) at Lime House features a refreshing, fruity mix of house rum, bitters, orange juice, pineapple juice, and lime juice. Cooling and thirst quenching, perfect for warm evenings!

Classic Rum Punch 01

Classic Rum Punch 02

Update Aug-2015: Created my own Caribbean Cocktail with Rum Mount Gay Eclipse With Lime Juice, Bitters, Pineapple Juice, Coconut Water (SGD $14). With a slightly sour, slightly bitter, pronounced sweetness, this is a refreshing, fruity, and thirst-quenching beverage! Also tried creating a Rum Mount Gay Eclipse With Lime Juice, Bitters, Ginger Beer (SGD $14). The fizzy soft drink lends a lightness to the beverage, as well as a slightly spicy bite on the palate.

Rum Mount Gay Eclipse With Lime Juice, Bitters, Pineapple Juice, Coconut Water 01

Rum Mount Gay Eclipse With Lime Juice, Bitters, Pineapple Juice, Coconut Water 02

Rum Mount Gay Eclipse With Lime Juice, Bitters, Ginger Beer 01

Rum Mount Gay Eclipse With Lime Juice, Bitters, Ginger Beer 02

Update Oct-2015: The Bajan Passion (SGD $18) is a fruity, refreshing cocktail of rum, apricot liqueur, freshly squeezed lime juice, and passionfruit juice. This decent, thirst quenching cocktail is great on warm days!

Bajan Passion 01

Bajan Passion 02

Update Aug-2015: The classic dish of Fried Plantains (SGD $5) originates from African cuisine, and is commonly served throughout Central Africa and West Africa. Made by pan frying ripe plantains till the exterior turns golden brown and slightly crisp because of caramelisation, then dipping the thin slices quickly in a salt water dip to make the interior soft and creamy. Fried Plantains can be served as a snack, a dessert, or as a staple item.

Fried Plantains 01

Fried Plantains 02

Update Sep-2015: The Caribbean Fish Cakes (SGD $12) are an individual starter dish, featuring 3 chunks of white fish, a small but zesty sharp salad of bell peppers / capsicum, onions, pineapple, tomatoes, and a mango salsa. Tasty, I find myself wishing for more of it! The curry aioli underneath the fish is incredibly tasty, packed with the flavour from spices, but without any heat or burn. Also, would have loved to see a sharing size / communal portion.

Caribbean Fish Cakes 01

Caribbean Fish Cakes 02

Update Oct-2015: The Crab Dumplings (SGD $15) are a duo of large, ravioli-like dumplings, with a generous portion of fresh, deshelled crab meat, stuffed into a thick pasta dough casing. It's served in a traditional Callaloo, which is a dark green, West African gravy / stew of leaf vegetable (either amaranth, water spinach, or xanthosoma) and coconut milk, garnished with coconut flakes, onions, and scallions. The combination of savoury, sweet, earthy, floral, and tangy is incredibly delightful. Very tasty dish, possibly the best appetizer I've eaten here. Highly recommended!

Crab Dumplings 01

Crab Dumplings 02

Crab Dumplings 03

Update Aug-2015: The Sweet Potato Gratin (SGD $24) is a casserole baked dish of layered sweet potato slices, coconut cream, and garlic crumb, garnished with arugula leaves. Tasty and fragrant, you get the layers of sweet, tangy, sour, and floral garlic flavours. However, I did feel the portion is slightly small for me. This dish is an adaptation of the classic African Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup / Stew, which usually consists of sweet potato, onions, beans (black / white / kidney), garlic, lime juice, water, crushed peanuts / peanut butter, and peanut oil. It is commonly eaten in Uganda, Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Sweet Potato Gratin 01

Sweet Potato Gratin 02

Sweet Potato Gratin 03

Update Sep-2015: The Red Snapper Escovitch (SGD $28) has good potential to be a great dish, but in execution turns out rather average. The sauteed okra / lady's fingers and spinach in coconut cream is excellent, the best thing about this dish. The pickled carrots and bell peppers / capsicum lend a refreshing zesty, tangy sharpness, that contrasts well with the earthy, floral coconut cream gravy. The fillet of red snapper fish is a decent size, with firm flesh that flakes off easily when cut. However, I hated the tough, rubbery skin on top of the fish. I appreciate that staff were going around to check on the customer's meals, so when I gave them the feedback, they kindly offered to replace this with another dish... which I declined. Overall, this dish is rather forgettable.

Red Snapper Escovitch 01

Red Snapper Escovitch 02

Red Snapper Escovitch 03

Update Oct-2015: The Jerk Chicken (SGD $28) feature chunks of boneless chicken, coated in Jerk seasoning marinade, then grilled perfectly, such that the chicken meat remains moist and tender inside, yet takes on a slightly crisp skin with some char outside. Good savoury sweet flavour. Served on a bed of smooth mashed sweet potato, savoury smoky grilled sweet potato, and sprinkled with crunchy bits and lashings of sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. I find this to be a very tasty dish, a burst of flavour in each bite, with the marinade being the star here.

Jerk Chicken 01

Jerk Chicken 02

Jerk Chicken 03

Jerk Chicken 04

Update Aug-2015: The Deconstructed Pina Colada (SGD $12) is a sweet dessert that resembles the classic Pina Colada Cocktail. This sweet dessert features a creamy coconut custard, tangy pineapple compote, and refreshing lime granite. The flavours are zesty, refreshing, and palate cleansing, but I thought the texture of the coconut custard could have been set a little longer, as it was more cream than pudding in texture.

Deconstructed Pina Colada 01

Deconstructed Pina Colada 02

Deconstructed Pina Colada 03

Update Oct-2015: Chef Hasan has managed to get hold of the fiery Scotch Bonnet Chili, which is among the hottest chili's in the world! Even hotter than chili padi, just dabbing this on your skin will cause it to experience a burning sensation. The bright red colour and aroma of spice is strong, taste it, and the part of your tongue that touches this will start to go numb. Real hot!

Scotch Bonnet Chili

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