The Great Malaysian Fish and Chips Hunt

 Emily's steakhouse  Primarily regarded as a steakhouse (the name gives it away, eh?), Emily's is widely seen as one of the best places to go for a fine bit of meat in the Klang Valley. I have no opinion on that, as we're not here for their fine steaks, but rather for their take on a traditional British fish and chips. Located on Jalan Inai, just off Bukit Bintang, Emily's is housed in a grand two-storey bungalow, which has ample parking facilities around it. We arrived just after opening hours, so aside from another couple, the place was essentially empty. We sat down and got to ordering. They have only one choice of fish — barramundi — so that made things easy. Two orders of fish and chips, please, my good man. Right off the bat, things didn’t start well. The chips were only single-fried, which makes it nearly impossible to cook them properly, as the outsides will be done while the insides remain raw or undercooked — and that was exactly the case here. I also don’t th...

 W1: Bangsar Well then, since Magnificent Fish and Chips in Changkat closed — which we regarded as the best and most authentic fish and chip shop in Malaysia — we’ve been on the hunt for the next best thing. And we may have just found it. Located on Jalan Telawi 2 in Bangsar, W1 has just served up one of the best we’ve tried so far. There are two options for your fish and chips; one is a classic recipe, which I suspect uses a standard beer batter, and the other features a Guinness beer batter; both are served with Seabass as the fish of choice. Naturally, we ordered one of each to give it a fair shot, and sat back to await our meals. Straight off the bat, things were looking good. The chips were homemade and fresh, and the batter on each fish came in various shades of golden brown. My Guinness beer batter was very, very crispy and full of flavour — though I’d take a few marks off for it being  slightly  too crispy. The fish, however, was perfectly cooked and flaked apart ...

  COR BLIMEY Advertising themselves as 'the finest British Fish and Chips in Malaysia', this week on  The Great Magnificent Fish and Chips Hunt™ , we visit Cor Blimey at their SS15 branch in Subang Jaya. We were the first customers in that day, arriving just before 12pm for lunch (Cor Blimey opens at 12pm). They have by far the widest range of fish available to order — everything from the standard perch, barramundi and sea bass to speciality imported cod and haddock. To keep things fair with the other reviews, we ordered one perch with mushy peas and one barramundi with coleslaw, both of which came with chunky chips. The food took about 15 minutes to arrive, and then we got down to it. First off the bat, as per usual, are the chips. I’m happy to say they are freshly made, which is great. The issue, however, is that being so big and chunky makes them difficult to cook properly, and in this case, our chips were completely undercooked, bland and soggy. There is nothing worse than...

 OH FISH AND CHIPS This week on  The Magnificent Fish and Chips Hunt™ , we have our first food truck—and what a food truck it is.  Located in the car park of Masjid at-Taqwa in TTDI,  Oh Fish and Chips  certainly brings back memories for me. As I mentioned in a previous blog, my first job was working on a fish and chips truck, and it was very similar to this one—right down to the blue and white paint coat. First off the bat, for anyone planning to go here, I’d suggest making it a picnic-style outing in your car, as there isn’t a proper place to  makan  on-site, and you don’t want the food to get soggy on the ride home. As usual, we ordered our food—which involved queuing up and giving our name. We were told it would take around 25 minutes, as there were quite a few customers ahead of us. Right, down to the good stuff. First: the price—RM37 for both our meals, which is an insanely good deal for two full portions. Second: the portions themselves, which w...

BOYS DON'T FRY Nestled inside the dated Wisma Cosway mall on Raja Chulan, BDF (Boys Don't Fry) offers us the latest iteration of  The Great Malaysian Fish and Chips Hunt . Taking inspiration from old British greasy spoon cafés, BDF’s aim is to give you an authentic experience when it comes to chippy food. Unlike other fish and chips restaurants here in Malaysia, BDF only offers one type of fish in its set: perch. You do, however, get a choice between baked beans or a pickle set as one of your sides. So, we ordered one of each and waited. It took about 15 minutes for the food to arrive—which is pretty standard—so we dug in. Let’s start with the bad, eh? As per usual, it’s the chips that let the side down. While not the usual thin-cut frozen variety, these are thick-cut. However, they’re still frozen, so that’s an instant point deduction. The fish, on the other hand, is fresh and—while not as meaty as barracuda—very well cooked and tasty. The batter, though crispy, is a bit too c...

SHUCKED, GARDENS MALL. Our latest iteration of   The Great Malaysian Fish and Chip Hunt®   takes us to The Gardens Mall at Mid Valley and to Shucked Oyster Bar. While it’s literally a bar in reality—since it’s not an actual shop you go into—Shucked still offers that upscale,   “aw naw, this is going to hurt my wallet”   ambiance you get once you enter the hallowed halls of The Gardens Mall. I could whine on about class structure in modern-day Malaysia, but we’re here for the fish and chips, so let’s get down to it, eh? While technically not a fish and chips establishment—their speciality being oysters (duh)—Shucked does offer a choice between the Malaysian favourite, barramundi, and the Irish standard of Atlantic cod. This time I decided to go with the cod, while my wife went for the barramundi. So we placed our orders and sat back to wait. First of all, the food came within 15 minutes, which is always a plus point in my book. There’s nothing worse than having to wai...