Lets escape to the Tropical Cuisine

BY HRISHIKESH DAS GUPTA

“Me and my wife used to celebrate our anniversary at Tropical Escape Restaurant. Her favorite Guyanese Chinese dish was special chicken fried rice with extra cabbage. Though she passed away a few years ago and I moved to Calgary, I still visit the restaurant every year to celebrate our anniversary. I always order her favorite dishes in her memory. ”
Sanjay, a regular customer of Tropical Escape Restaurant

Rajmini Ramkumar and her son Neil Ramkumar, the owners of the restaurant are celebrating the 15th anniversary of Tropical Escape Restaurant this year. Since 2005, they have been successfully serving the Guyanese, Chinese and Caribbean menu in Peel region.

Rajmini, immigrated with her family in the early 1970’s from Guyana and established herself as a successful businesswoman in the West Indian community. She often heard from her family and friends that they were missing the West Indian flavors in Canada. Rajmini and Neil were also interested in delivering the Caribbean feeling to the audiences. They brought the authentic tropical flavors in the Tropical Escape restaurant and lounge located at 2260 Bovaird Dr, Unit 112, Brampton, ON. Team Tropical Escape always uses fresh ingredients in their menu.

They present the food in an artistic flair to represent the Caribbean culture. You have to see the appealing presentation to feel the vibe. They are willing to go the extra mile to serve their customers.

Pre-covid, people used to line up every day to order their in house specials. The pepper shrimp, tropical pepper lamb, jerk chicken fried rice, and shrimp chow mein are extremely popular menu items at the restaurant. Peel region foodies used to start their weekend with the fresh coconut mixed with the Hennessy brandy at the Tropical Escape lounge. Neil mentioned as a business professional, he always believed in risk-taking to explore unforeseen opportunities. For example, he introduced crispy stuffed chicken jerk wontons and Escape spicy calamari with fresh hot chilies, garlic, onions, and sweet peppers to the tropical food lovers. It became an instant sensation last year.

Neil mentioned an interesting incident from last year about the dishes and an elderly woman who had lost her interest in food. Her family ordered the “lunch special menu” from the Tropical Escape Restaurant and offered her chicken wings to taste. The lady lost all her hope and sensation about any food until she tried the spicy wings. She was extremely impressed with the food quality and asked for another wing. According to her family, the tasting experience brought positivity and longevity towards food in her life again.

Due to the pandemic, they completely shut down the dine-in options. All their upcoming events and programs canceled completely until further notice to slow the spread of COVID-19. This created a challenging time, but Rajmini and Neil never gave up. They started to “pay it forward” to the community that supported them for all those years. Rajmini, Neil and the team of Tropical Escape served hundreds of meals to the front line workers including Brampton Civic Hospital, Scarborough Civic Hospital during the pandemic. For her outstanding contribution to the community, Rajmini recently received a recognition letter from Arif Virani, Member of Parliament, Parkdale- High Park.

It’s really commendable how the restaurants are helping the community during the pandemic. Please support small restaurants like Tropical Escape and let me know what your favorite item is on their menu.