Norwich is a city located in England’s Norfolk County and near the North Sea. The city flourished in the 11th century and thrived as England’s second-largest city. From the 14th to the 18th centuries, it prospered and became the country’s largest textile industry center. With 900 years of extensive literary heritage and allure, the city earned the coveted accolade of City of Literature from UNESCO in 2012. Literature granted me the opportunity to experience the city up close during my one-month stay as a resident of the National Centre for Writing (NCW).

Despite its reputation as a relatively well-maintained medieval city, Norwich has not completely escaped globalization, particularly when it comes to food. It is on par with alpha cities such as London and Birmingham. Near Norwich Cathedral, the old town teems with street vendors and dining spots. All of them offer a diverse range of culinary delights from all corners of the world, ranging from England, China, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, India, Japan, and others. There are endless mouth-watering options when it comes to how to appease your cravings.

NCW is situated at King Street. A unique pub and restaurant, Last Pub Standing, which specializes in Caribbean cuisine, is located here. It was my go-to place when I didn’t feel like cooking.

Out of all the dishes served, the goat curry piqued my appetite the most.

When I first saw this signature dish, I mistakenly thought it was a Pakistani curry, as the rice and curry each took up half of the plate, and the sauce was thick, with a dark brown hue. But when I tore off a small piece of roti, dipped it generously into the sauce, and took a bite, the taste defied my expectations, as I couldn’t taste any onion. It struck me immediately that this savory meal did not originate from South Asia.

The chef, Geoff Mayers, unveiled the mystery for me. He said, “We use ghee, cardamom powder, Caribbean green seasoning, cumin, coconut milk, and chili to prepare this. All of these are the key seasonings in the curry sauce. The goat cubes need to first simmer till tender, then be lightly seared, before we add them to the cooked sauce. And it results in the Caribbean goat curry right before your eyes.”

True to form, the meat was firm and succulent; the curry was ultra-rich and creamy. Was this stew fiery? Not at all. And to top it off, the curry was silky-smooth.

Some days, we would chat away. I learned from Geoff that the restaurant used to be The King’s Pub. Simon Peters acquired it in 2017 and renamed it Last Pub Standing. While skilled in the business, he was not a kitchen expert. He brought Geoff in to grow the business and offered lunch and dinner to patrons.

Time raced forward to 2021; Geoff had assembled a team of chefs and started up an independent kitchen. He named it Soul Kitchen. The team was driven by a unique ideology, focusing on serving extra flavorful treats, particularly Caribbean delicacies. Geoff’s family background largely inspired this approach.

Although Geoff grew up locally, his parents were immigrants from the Caribbean island nations of Barbados and Trinidad. His grandmother’s cooking nurtured young Geoff from his earliest years, immersing him deeply in the scrumptious Jamaican cuisine. In adulthood, he channeled those experiences into his own cooking and excelled at Caribbean meals.

After the team had been provided with some training, Soul Kitchen’s chefs became proficient in the classic Caribbean cooking techniques of Jerk and Bajan.

Take chicken as an example. The former cooking style begins with marinating the chicken to perfection with an array of spices, followed by slow grilling or smoking to give it a slightly charred flavor. The latter is a style hailing from Barbados, involving marinating the chicken before frying or roasting it. Salad is often served on the side. Finally, the dish is finished off by drizzling it with a sauce made from scotch bonnet peppers, mustard, and vinegar to add a touch of moisture.

Gabriel Wu

Born in 1965, the poet-writer Gabriel Wu was educated in Singapore, US and UK. He received his doctoral degree in Chinese classical literature from the University of Washington, and owned three M.A. degrees, one of which is that of contemporary curation from the University of Southampton. His four-decade endeavour in Chinese creative writing includes publication of 6 poetry books and 2 short story collections. He has been given recognition such as Singapore Young Artist Award and, thrice, Singapore Literature Prize. Based in Hong Kong since 2006, he is director of Hong Kong 18 District Poetry Reading Society, who promotes poetry reading in the various districts of Hong Kong. Before coming to Norwich, Wu took up writer’s residency at the Beijing Lu Xun Academy of Literature in 2019. His NCW residency was supported by the National Arts Council of Singapore.

Jilly Bong

Jilly Bong’s journey into translation began with a foray into fashion journalism, but it was her editorial experience aboard an international cruise that gave her a true appreciation for the craft. With a Master’s in Translation from USM, Jilly has subsequently established herself as a Chinese-English freelance translator, working across creative and commercial projects. Starting with web novels, she has deftly traversed genres such as romance, fantasy, action, adventure, and Isekai. Her expanding portfolio now includes poetry and broader literary works. A cultural adventurer at heart, Jilly is open to navigate underrepresented voices, novelizations, historical fiction, and more. She now resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.