TL;DR: With all of the mincing words going on, the ripe true honesty is that it is truly good fish and chips. Such a simple concept, and a dish that might be derided from higher up, that is a ridiculous concept at best because when done right fish and chips truly shines as one of the great meals. What you see is what you get, which is a nice throwback meal.
While it is great seeing all the new and exciting bites popping up around town, and the Mater Hill area has its fair share of delights, some people know full well something deep down. Going right back to the classics has its place - and "fish and chips" is one of them. Quality control from the way goes, everything is done fresh and to order in this Annerley junction.
Things had finally started to settle abroad, I had some more money in the bank, and had recently installed both Deliveroo and come back around the Menulog. Through and through, I am an UberEats guy, though I will contend that other delivery apps manage to collect other places that are often overlooked; and users of Deliveroo may well think that of UberEats. Nevertheless, I now have all three primed and ready to go.
This is to prepare for the late-night munchies as well as why I signed up to it in the first place - those wrestling PPVs. Now that the dust is settled, I'm in here for the long haul.
While Wrestlemania didn't produce a review on my part, to me the real WWE event comes in Money in the Bank. To me, that is the highlight I look forward to and in big honour of it, I made sure to keep it special. From the selection, UberEats didn't have, but a competitor did, none other than some trusty old fish and chips proved to do the trick.
It was right on the app the night beforehand, arranging a time for the food to arrive, and paying for it upfront. All that needed to be done was to sit and wait. With maybe a hiccup in delays, it wasn't too late before the meal was with us, hot and ready to enjoy.
If there is something with customer service you can detect for delivery, it comes down to if they paid attention to requests. Jumping ahead a bit to what I ordered, a couple of particular requests were made - instead of the fish being crumbed, I requested that they both get battered. Additionally, as chicken salt is the only way to have fries from a takeaway I requested that they season it as such. Attention to detail, that they have got.
Once you have been to one fish and chip place in town, you more or less now how their meu will go. When we are talking about Down Under, it comes down to various types of seafood including a range of fish - cooked according to order. It also has a range of snacks from the bain-marie and some burgers. Some might go a little above and beyond, many are happy to stick with what works - Annerely Fish and Chips decides to do the latter, and work some wonders with it.
Before getting to the review's order, there are the drinks. Most of the time, it would be the mere range of drinks from the fridge; with this little place, they got some old-fashioned milkshakes along with fruit smoothies. If anything, that small addition distinguishes Australian and Kiwi fish and chip shops from their other ilk.
I went with a reliable family pack for two. This had two apiece of cod, calamari rings, seafood bites, and seafood sticks, plus a generous serving of hot chips. It didn't just stop there, because we are talking about two big stomachs around here. A few extra items were thrown in, which were a couple of pineapple fritters, a big spring rolls, and a chicken dim sim. As per usual, on the side, they give you the tartare sauce (though not a lot) and some lemon to squeeze over the fish. It was fairly quick, it was fresh and hot, and it was filling. We were set for a decent bite.
First up, the batter around everything was just about right. It was paper-thin, crispy, held in the salt seasoning, and complimented the concerned food product. We have to start with the fish, which in itself was fresh. The flesh was tender yet solid. Seeing as cod is a milder flavour of fish, this makes it a bit harder to exactly pinpoint in words when it is so good. You simply know it when eating. Best yet with the fish, they gave decent sized fillets.
Here is a secret about fish and chips, both components must be good for the meal to get a home-run. One can be excellent, the other mediocre and you wind up underwhelmed. That is why it is one of the great meals since the components are simple yet require good focus and practice. Bringing in the good news, we had some top-notch fries to complement the tasty pieces of cod. The serving size was generous, and this time was enough for a share plate, and each chip was crispy and well-salted with that delicious chicken taste.
I could take or leave the calamari rings. They went down fairly well, plus the texture was right. If it is any consolation, they have improved immensely from when I was a kid - calamari would always be stringy without fail, and I thought that was how they were. Nowadays, that is rarely experienced and this was as such. For the fish bites, and the seafood sticks, these were both lithe as a feather and went down a treat.
The chicken dim sim isn't so bad either. It is not too dissimilar to many versions from Chinese restaurants. They had filled the skin with a lot of chicken mince, which had a decent seasoning mixed within. Like so, it was a hot and scrumptious little treat. What might be the pinnacle of it all would be those pineapple rings. You can call them a guilty pleasure, but I don't feel any sort of guilt in liking them. The sheer sweetness and juiciness from the pineapples are unlike any other fruit, and somehow it works well when deep-fried. Occasionally, such as this time, they will flavour it with some sugar or maybe cinnamon to treat it more like a dessert. Regardless, it goes down a treat.
It is hard to go wrong with fish and chips, especially when they are done right. Moments like that prove why it exists on the world stage as one of the most beloved dishes. This time around, it was pretty much up there. Every item was just as tasty as the last, made possible because of a good quality batter - and you can tell after a while if the oil was up to scratch.
You know a suburb around Australia is good when they got themselves a great fish and chip place that possesses a presence. For anyone living in and around the Annerley area - or even just those who are visiting for a moment, you have yourself a good little hub. When even the classical take-away stands up well on its own merits, you have yourself a great selection. This place is worth a try.
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