Rehanah’s Roti
2518 St Johns Street
Port Moody, BC
For the most part, I have been blogging restaurants in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and Richmond (*shakes fist!!!*). Once in a while, I go outside those boundaries but those instances are far and in between. In a wacky way, I thought I should start visiting those areas and, for my first visit, a restaurant that Sherman has enthusiastically suggested: Rehanah’s Roti. Caribbean food in Port Moody? Hey, it works for me!
This is literally a hole-in-the-wall. With only three tables, chances are you will be ordering to go rather than eating in. However, given I am coming from afar, the last thing I want is for the food to go sideways due to the transit time between restaurant and home. So, eat in it was. Fortunately, after ordering at the cashier, grabbing the only remaining table it was! On that note, this is not a service type restaurant. Here, you go to the cashier, make your order, grab drinks from the fridge (like Ting. Oh, some cutlery as well). If you grabbed that last table, just wait for the food to be served. And talking about food, they have some vegetarian and meat based rotis.
Now, visually, this is quite different from the roti in, say, Malaysian or Indian restaurants. Instead, this one looks more like a flour tortilla. Texture-wise, it is doughier, which worked quite well in this case. However… I am not sure if Sherman was over-blowing or things have changed ever since but… Sizewise, it isn’t that bad.
As for filling, it has potatoes by default, the question is what else you want in it. As mentioned, they have vegetarian options, which, I will admit, sounded quite enticing. However, given all the meat options, I wasn’t going vegetarian after driving all the way.
And, here it is: goat and shrimp! Yes, I didn’t believe it myself such an odd combination would exists. I mean, goat is usually gamey and has a strong taste, while shrimp is quite subtle. Yet, both of them were in that pack mixed together with a curry sauce. The goat was tender; however, it lacked a strong gamey taste. It is possible it was on purpose so it won’t completely overpower the shrimp.
As for the shrimp itself, I am amazed with the size of it. True, there were only a handful but, still, these were not baby shrimps. Furthermore, they had a snap, which indicates the freshness of these. All in all, the pack had a combination of spicy (from the curry and, although I ordered it spicy, it wasn’t extremely so), meaty and, well, seafood? 
As mentioned, service is not that of a sit down restaurant but, as usual, this is not a detail I care too much about. I found the food to be good and I would certainly come back. The only caveat (driving there aside) is the cost. This one in particular was $13.50; however, as with most non-mainstream ethnic cuisine, they are not necessarily cheap. Others, though, are more affordable and I won’t be surprised they will taste as good.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Glad you liked it Kim. I grab one every now and then when I pass by. I can’t resist! You are right, they are not exactly cheap…
Holy moly Kim, I have post in the queue from this past weekend where I ordered a chicken roti…Eerie! And Goat/Shrimp. I’ve never imagined such a thing.
wow 13.50…
I was all excited to try this place until I read that price tag!
I wonder how well these rotis taste after refrigeration and microwave reheating. I’ve been wanting to try this place since before Sherman blogged about it, but the few times I’m passing by it I’m heading to Coquitlam for other dinner plans.
Sherman, if you go vegetarian or chicken, it might be an option.
Raidar, sorry, but I went to the restaurant the week prior!
Tia, as mentioned to Sherman, for a cheaper alternative, go chicken or vegetarian – they are under $10.
jlomein, I can’t say for certain but these were quite good. Not that I am a roti expert… (However, I was curious about the doubles…)
Good review of the place, I’ve been waiting for one. I’ve really been meaning to go here to try some of the Jamaican patties (which I think they have too?), but I think I’m going to have to try the roti as well
Dave, yes, they do have patties and doubles. But, as you mentioned, if you do go, you should try the roti first!
Wow, this place is interesting. I’ve never had Caribbean roti before. The lamb and shrimp curry looks really good. But I agree with you that the price isn’t cheap. It’s definitely over my budget:-)
Tana, unfortunately, until such ethnic cuisine becomes mainstream, I do not expect things to be cheap… BTW, drop me an email. Since you are in Downtown, we can meet one of these days for lunch!
OK, let’s start by saying I’m from Trinidad and I grew up with this food and I cook my own. Second, I like Rehanah. She’s a nice lady with a pleasant character. But her food isn’t all that great, especially considering her prices. In Toronto, for instance, doubles are $1.50 and they’re GOOD. Charging $4.50 for a doubles (‘doubles’ is used for both singular and plural. It’s a Trini thing – doh dig no horrors) is pure robbery for what is essentially a few teaspoons of flour, some spices and a handful of chick peas! Cafe Caribana (3rd and Lonsdale in NV) has pretty decent roti but they’re still not exceptional. Slightly lower prices than Rehanah but their roti is also smaller. If you’re in town, they’re your best bet.
TriniCook, welcome and thanks for your feedback! Given there aren’t that many of such places in Vancouver, there isn’t much you can do about it, unfortunately. I mean, if we use that as an argument, a lot cuisines would be cheaper!
Yup, agree with you Kim. We’ve discussed this over and over again. Supply and demand. Very few reasonably-priced restaurants of this ilk. Take tortas for example. In LA, they are around $3 each. Up here… $10 at Las Tortas. People flock there to pay that money. Why? Not much choice.
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