Tobago's Hidden Gems! Best Seafood Tour In Tobago! 🇹🇹

What's up guys, David Hoppen here from David's Bin here coming at you from the magical island of Tobago. Today I'm going to take you to eat something truly authentic Tobagoan. It is curry crab and dumplings. My friends, I'm hyped and everything. Ready to go. The sun is hot, sea sand in the atmosphere. We're going to be trying something that is so ubiquitous, Tobago, curry crab and dumplings. And they do dumplings here really, really great. Left-hand dumplings they call them. Let's go. So we're going to this house and this is Skobe. Skobe when it comes to curry crab and dumplings on the island, you don't get it better than from her. All right, let's go. How are you doing? Everything good? Hello. How are you doing? You look ready. So what do you have here? Some crab, huh? Perfect. What do you have there? So what's cuckoo? Oh, that sounds amazing. So Misha, what is that? Oh guys, you have no idea that gravy, that aroma. You like it? Oh man, coconut milk. I was going to say it smells like coconut. I love that. Wow, look at that nice fat right there. Look at that block. Oh my gosh. Welcome to my friends. And today we are going to do a demo on our famous curry crab and dumplings. So here we have already set out our bowl of Tobago blue crabs, already lightly seasoned with our fresh herbs and spices. Within this gravy seasoning, we already have chives, shallot, red pepper, thyme, which is a major part of our seasoning here on the island. This is another form of thyme, which is a fat thyme, ginger, garlic. This is what the coconut looks like. This is the milk. This is how it ends before it enters the pot. And not forgetting our pepper. So we're adding the curry to the already seasoned crabs. So we have seasoning, we have salt, the green seasoning, and now we're adding the curry, which gives it the perfect color and taste. Give it a little mix and a little toss. Remember our pot is already on the fire, waiting for these bad boys to come on in. So beautiful. Nicely mixed up. Look how vibrant the color is, right? That's that turmeric inside of the curry. Turmeric, that's why it's so yellow, orange, gold, right? I mean, you can't make curry crabs without curry. No, you need it. And that turmeric is what's really going to push the flavor as well as the color. I love this because, you know, the claws are small, but they're still very big compared to the size of the body, you know? Look at the size of those claws. Yeah. Beautiful. Beautiful claws. Oh, it's going to be sweet, I feel. The big one in love, bro. We have our pot already on the stove with some oil. We're going to get the garlic in so that we get that nice infused garlic flavor. We're going to add in some cheap brand curry. The jury is out on this, whether you burn the curry or you just leave it on the crab and season it. But I like to get the curry flavor mixed in with the garlic. This is the way I saw my mother do it for years, and this is what was passed on to me. Now that aroma, just like... Wait till the coconut milk is added. Oh my gosh, cannot wait. All right, ready to throw in. So this is our coconut milk, freshly squeezed and about to be poured into our pot of curry crab. And you make sure you have enough to cover your crab so that it sits in this melee. That's what I call it. It's just a mix-match of all our local herbs and spices. Everything good in one pot. I already smell it. You can smell it, and that's the thing. You know you're onto something really great, just from the aroma. We're going to let this sit here, and it's going to eventually bubble up. Cooking time is approximately 45 minutes, and like I said, it comes to a really nice thick consistency, mainly due to the coconut milk that we added. And the color, you get the right color. It's bright yellow because it's a nice mixed balance of the chief curry powder and turmeric. Now the curry crab is being cooked. 45 minutes later, it'll be ready. So the next step is making the dumplings. The dumplings are really important to the dish. It's flour, water, and a little bit of salt. You knead it together, and then you just put them to boil. They're very different from traditional dumplings across the world. Like kebab kebab. Like so, like so. They can be any shape, but we like them round. On knives, we get them in halves, so they're pretty much this size. Yep, ready? I'm ready. Great. Okay. Ready to go. This is exciting. Oh, and we're also going to try the curry pork? Oh. Stewed pork. Stewed pork. Stewed pork, not curry. Sorry guys, when I see gravy, I think curry. So it's a little bit I love the fat there. Oh my god, so sweet. Oh my god. I thought you'd love it. You couldn't wait to taste that pork. I'm gonna have to take some of that home with me. That's so good. It's like this coconut, the fat, the the meat. Take it away because I will eat the whole thing. Thank you. All right guys, next up, I'm gonna roll out the dough. Dumpling. So I'm gonna grab one of these, right? Oh, nice. Nice. Like a baseball. All right, are you ready? Yeah. So we have these already pre-done for you. I did all the hard work. Perfect. So you're now gonna open up like this. Okay. Yeah, it's been waiting for you, so it's a little stiff, but that's okay. Let's look. And we put it down. Okay. Make sure we get nice and round, and then we put our weight on it like this. Okay. Just flatten it. Flat. And we go. All right, so you want to try it? Yeah, so I'll move it in here. Then I go in here. Great. And then turn it so we can. Oh, wow. Nice, beautiful dough. Okay. And then after that cut. Make it easy for the pork to just give him a slide down the middle. And that's what we're doing. This is amazing. Do you smell that aroma? Oh, I smell that aroma. I know you can't wait to dig in, huh? No. So I've had crab, like curry crab, in Cochi Corrala. But this, you know, is going to be a different thing. Wow. You know, because obviously the coconut is a big aspect for them as well. Yes. But this just smells so good. And do they curry it as well? They do, but it's a little different, just the process. Yeah. And they never throw that big chili in the middle. Oh, yeah. We need the pepper. We need it. Oh, my gosh. This is so good. If you don't like spice. I know. Get out of TNT. The food's on its way. Crab's almost ready. Look at this. Beautiful setting here. So this is part of the restaurant, right? You can come out here, relax. But we're not eating here. We're going down to the beach, right? Beach time. Beach time. Well, let me see the dumplings first. Here we have the water already for our dumplings. And these dumplings consist of flour and a touch of sugar. We're getting ready to boil these. And once they're ready, this is what we have with our curry crab. And then, you can see, I've had curry crab with dumplings. Yeah, see, some countries, they steam dumplings. I've been to, unfortunately, Ukraine. They have vareniki, which they do it this way to steam. They boil the water and they pop up really big. And I love the shape of these dumplings. Almost like empanadas, right? In terms of shape. To make them in smaller circles and some people like it that way. This is just a half moon. You can play around with it. For Valentine's, I do heart dumplings as well. Oh, wow. And they're hollow, right? There's nothing in it. So obviously, it's going to be paired with the crab. It's not ever crab, duck, pork. It's curry first. Yes. I learned out here. People have been correcting me the whole trip. Yeah. We drove literally one minute down the street and here we go. The beach. The sun is intense still. Hungry, sun is hot. Finally, a sorbet. It's time to eat. What's crazy is that literally only a 20-minute flight and the sun is way more intense here in Tobago. It is. So this is like a like a food court type of thing, right? Yes. Right here on the beach. Yeah. Beautiful. You come out here, you get something to eat straight out of the water. You go back out, you just chill. Storby is just known for that. It's beautiful. Brilliant. So the water's right there. In the center, you have this communal dining area. Then we have like seven vendors here. They all do very similar. They're all doing crab dumplings, right? So we're here today for Mr. Trim. Everyone right here, she is. Let's try the curry crab with the dumplings. We're going to go traditional with that. The next one, we can try the stew pork with the assorted provisions. The curry corns with the callaloo. So what do we have there? The corn. Yes. So next is pork and chicken. So you're getting a full sample of the selections. So there you go. Stewed pork and stewed fish. This is the callaloo I told you about, remember? You just give me like that. Take the top one. I can see the whole thing. Let's go and eat, buddy. Let's go. Look at the bird. It's amazing. There you go, buddy. It's an open air food court. Beautiful. Curry, crabs and dumplings. Stewed pork and provisions. Actually, that's curry corn. Here we have stewed pork and provisions. We got the curried fish callaloo. Cuckoo and provision. Oh, we got roasted breadfruit inside there also. Okay, guys, we are ready to go. We have a bunch of amazing food. Look at this. Wow. I mean, it doesn't end, right? So we have the stewed pork, stewed chicken. We have the curry crab and curried fish. An assortment of great stuff. You know, the melting pots of Creole and Indian coming together here pretty much. Provisions is such a must in Tobago. The breadfruits, the plantains, the eddos, the yam just works. And of course, the cuckoo. It's like a polenta. So let's try it. Let's try it. Okay, so we're starting over here. Yeah. Look at that. It's like a polenta. Correct. And it's called? This is called cuckoo. So if you look at it, it has celery, it has pumpkin, shredded carrots inside there. Oh, you dipped it in? You always dip it into the callaloo. Callaloo. Not bad, huh? Oh my gosh. I love the texture. So that callaloo also has some bay leaf. So that depth of flavor is coming through. But the softness of the cuckoo is amazing, right? Yeah. It almost tastes like a palak paneer, but without the paneer. Correct. Like mata paneer. Exactly. So because it's a spinach base, that's what dasheen bush is. Pretty much. Wow. And I love this. So it's like polenta, but it's not because it's okra. I mean, the texture, same texture. Yes. Fortified with aromatics, local aromatics. The okra, the pumpkin, the carrots, the celery, the chives, garlic inside it. It's just moreish. It's moreish. You need more of it. You need more of it. That's why you're digging. Try the fish. Which piece? Right here? Right here. Nice pieces. This little piece? Yeah. And with that piece, I'm just going to dig in. I need a This is a kingfish. This is the king of fishes. It's kingfish. Kingfish. Curry kingfish. Curry. You see how the curry sticks it? You know how they do it? They fry the fish first, so it's crispy, and then they put it into a curry sauce. So that batter and that clinginess, the sauce clings to the batter. I was going to say, it's a little crispy, and then it's on top, it's like coated in curry. That's what it is. It's known as bunje fish. Everything is so good here. It's so fresh. Try a piece of breadfruit. Break it. Breadfruit. This is roasted breadfruit. Let's go. Nice, huh? Nice plantain. This is like a nice plantain, right? So good, right? It's neutral, and this is really tight sweetness. They got a lot of slight sweetness right there. A little bit of callaloo on top. Look at that on top. Good stuff. There's too much robust spice in that callaloo. And right here is like yucca, right? Correct. It's a yucca with a callaloo on it. Bold yucca. Beautiful. As simple as it is, because when you have so much flavor residing in the fish. You add that. Pretty much. Yeah. It's just your staples or your starches. Got it. Wow. It's too good. So these are sea conchs. In Tobago, you get them all the time. You go to dive, you pick them up. They're beautiful shells. You pull out the meat, curry down nicely with an assortment of provisions. Again, eddos, the cassava, the yams in that beautiful curry sauce. Some people think conch is like a mussel. It's a snail. What's conch? It's a mollusk. It's a mollusk. That's the technical name for it pretty much. So it's inside of this shell. It's pretty tough and hard. So it needs to be braised or pre-cooked or sometimes pressure cooked and then cooked in whatever method you want. Stew it, curry it after. Yeah. It's intensely hard. If you go to the Bahamas, this is like their national dish. Yeah. They make conch fritters, conch salad. Cheers, man. This is the best conch of all time. All time. This is good, boy. Oh, my God. Even I would say that, right? Oh, man. Take a piece of provision. It's soft. It's sweet. I love this. Oh, man. So I have a lot of fried conch in Miami. This takes the cake. Best conch dish ever. It's so soft, right? It's soft meat. This is a winner for me. Gotta try this, guys. The conch is so good, nice soft texture. Oh, man. Yeah, that's what good food is about. This is the ultimate conch. I love it. Oh, the stew pork and the stew chicken. So you burn the sugar, caramelize it, you add the meat inside and of course it builds on those savory flavors. A balance of sweet and savory. It's just like a great roast. Falling apart. Yeah. So when it's falling off the bone like that, you just know that it's tender. Oh, yeah. Really good, right? Oh, so tender. Oh, I love this gravy. I'll try some too. This is stew. That's stew. And each time they're braising, you know, stewing, they use a lot of fresh herbs to get the bay leaf inside there. The finish, they added probably coconut and everything because everything is a little sweet. It has that sweetness. We are so Caribbean-centric when it comes to coconut. We have it on the island and we use it not only in drinks, but in our food. Why not, right? Why not? It's such an exotic ingredient that we have. We have to. I'm going to get this yucca. I think it's yucca, right? Yeah, that's yucca. You just dip it into the gravy, right? Wow. It's called nice planting stuff. Tobago food is amazing. David, I'm so blown away. The only problem with this is that you have to be first in the ocean, then come and eat this because, trust me, eat this, you're going to float down. Wow, this is the chicken right here. Beautiful stewed chicken. Let's do it. You have any piece of chicken? I just had it already. Already? I just love it. It was so good. Oh, sweet potatoes. God, I just want to show everyone this. Check this out. Oh, Lord. Check out that pork. Look at that. Look at the fat content on that. Hey, man, that chicken, it reminded me of like some chicken dishes I've had in Jamaica, actually. Really? Yeah, but this one has a lot more sweetness. I think there has to be some cinnamon here, sugar. Jamaicans do exceptional food also. Jerk chicken? Yeah. My favorite chicken dishes all the time. I mean, they're the bosses of that when it comes to that. And here you just get all these starches. And that's why here in Trinidad and Tobago, we always have our starches. You want to try the curry crab and dumplings now? So good. You got to suck everything out. Yeah, that's how it is, right? Obviously, you get a little bit of shells. It doesn't really matter. It breaks down really easy. Because it's so tender. You chew up, then you start to chew up. Now, this is something that you really got to get in with. So you always have to invert your cover and stuff when you bite up the shells. Like that? Pretty much. Just drop it in here. These also have something, right? They have a little bit of meat in here. They do. So amazing. I love eating crab. In Miami, we have stone crabs a little different, obviously. And we're going straight for the claw there. Oh, yeah. Here we go. So we crack here, number one, and then we crack in here. Break the shell. There you go. There you go. Now, shell it out. And you can see the meat inside there. Oh, yeah. So you literally can get a piece like this. Let's pull out. There you go. And suck it out. That's what it is. And you get a little bit of coconut flavor coming out inside here and all the spices. Oh, wow. And I think the best part now. Look at that, baby. Oh, yeah. Look at this. Look at that. That's what you work for. Oh, look at that. Look at that. Beautiful. We haven't even tried the dumplings yet, man. Oh, yes. It's been soaking up in the curry. Look at that. It's dripping. It's like raining curry. So we do like this, right? Yeah. Flour and water. Nice. Dense, right? Dense but thin at the same time. It's not thick, right? Oh, you want more? Exactly. It's always at the bottom of the container, sucking up all of that and mopping up all that curry flavor. Oh, this is good. This is real good. I like that. Has nothing in it. So you're just like consuming the curry. And you've been coming across all of our aromatics, the shallot, the celery, the chive. Look at it. It's dusted all over the dumplings. Oh, man. I mean, there's still some meat. Oh, there's some meat inside there. I'm loving this though. It's good, man. This is an experience. Come out here and go swimming. After that, come have some curry crab with dumplings. Oh, yeah. And here it is. I get nervous to break a tooth. But the shells are not that hard. You just crack them. They can't do any damage. Yeah. Suck out that cartilage. And after that, right there. I see you're so comfortable just eating with your hands. It just tastes better that way, right? Mm-hmm. I've been doing it for years. Anybody give me ---- about it? No. No. Phenomenal. Is it good? Yeah, it is. Exceptional. Well, in all fairness, this is the best conger ball time. So, Jason, are you ready for the market? I'm ready. I'm full. Let's go see and explore what the Island of Tobago has to find arts and crafts. Exceptional, I say. Let's go. I want to get one of these little masks. Maybe stuff for my kids. Necklaces. Anything local, right? Always support locals. Bring some money. Go buy. So, Candice, what do you think? Maybe like this, right? Yeah. This is beautiful. So, just shells, huh? Yeah, yeah. So, I like this. Also, yeah, some beautiful little earrings, huh? That's a sea fan. Yeah, it's a piece of cord, I think. Remember the thing we ate with this morning? That's what it's made out of, huh? These are known as donkey eye or donkey seed. So, what we'll do as kids, we'll take these seeds, we rub it on the ground for about 15-20 times, extremely fast. It gets very hot. And it gets extremely hot. Yeah. And then you would go and press it against someone and burn them. This stuff is unique to Trinidad and Tobago. So, when the rest of the world sees it and they come here and they check her out, they're going to be amazed at her arts and crafts and the amazing things. So, you guys, all over the world, Switzerland, Brazil, Thailand, come here, check out these amazing crafts that we got here in Tobago. I love it. What are the costs of these two? This is 60 for one and this is 60. 60 and 60. Perfect. I think it's a great deal. Beautiful necklace, 40 TT. Beautiful. So, this is what I'm taking for my kids. My two daughters are going to love this. So, bracelet and necklaces. So, 160 TT. Perfect. I think it's a great deal. Less than 30 bucks. I mean, you know, this is Tobago and it shows. That's too much money. Oh, too much money, too much money. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Look, guys. Look at that. Beautiful. Yeah, man. I love this one, by the way. So, this is... I think it's like the same calabash, like what we Let me see the design. Oh, so you have that one, too? Yeah. It's all calabash. If you don't want to get married, you put this over your head. So, I saw some in Trinidad that are like very, very small. Beautiful mask, but he does have some over here. Man, that's art right there. Oh, wow. So, to that. All right, guys. I'm taking this one home to my boy Brandon. You're so funny, my man. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. So nice. So nice. All right, guys. Let's continue. We're gonna see some more sights. Guys, look at this beautiful beach and the sun is setting. Look at that. So pretty. Okay, let's walk down. Gotta be careful. Wow. This is Tobago. Hey, beautiful. I mean, the beauty sights are always around us here in Tobago. I mean, the sea, the sun, the air, the pillars behind us, the fresh breeze. Of course, we will set out to do some sights, but of course, we get distracted all the time and we move on island time nevertheless. But you know what? We're always up to great things. All right, my friends. That was it. We tried the number one dish you have to try in Tobago at Ms. Trim's. It is curry crab with dumplings. Absolutely phenomenal. Amazing. I mean, I think the conch was the number one thing for me. Yeah. Conchs are always great, especially if you cook them properly. Ms. Trim's got it down. She got it down. We had stew pork, stew chicken. We had a bunch of starch. I mean, it was assorted provisions. Dumplings, cuckoo, callaloo. Oh my gosh. She treated us really well. Ms. Trim, you did a phenomenal job. Yeah. Thank you so much. And then after that, we saw the beach. We saw the market, bought some stuff, and we're driving along the coast going north now. We're going to dinner and that's it. It's a beautiful beach. This is what Tobago is all about. Beaches like this. Look at that. Virgin. You can be out here. No one's here. It's like two people at the very end. That's it. Have it to yourself. Exactly. That's what beautiful Tobago Island is all about. Well, guys, I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, please give me a thumbs up. Leave me a comment below. Subscribe to my channel for more awesome travel content. We'll see you in the next Travel Food Adventure in Tobago. Let's go!