HOME delivered fish and chips can be a greasy fiasco.

The litmus test is how you feel afterwards –  bloated and contrite or savouring the dopamine rush from quality comfort food.

Last Friday I rolled the culinary dice and ordered takeaway from Tankk gourmet fish and chips, the latest eatery to open at the Hawaiian Melville shopping centre.

It joins the ranks of Baby Roy’s, Milano’s and Bosu Sushii, and the centre now has some decent options for a bite to eat.

I’d never heard of Tankk before, but they have outlets in Winthrop and Como and last year won an award for Perth’s best fish and chips.

WA couple Paul and Anna launched the eatery in 2015 after growing tired of eating imported produce at their local fish and chip shop. Their mantra is to provide locally sourced fish and seafood in a “fresh concept menu”. 

Tankk’s menu certainly had a nice variety of fish including Spanish mackerel, barramundi, and line caught saddletail snapper and red emperor, as well as oysters, Abrolhos island sea scallops and stuffed shark bay prawns.

Despite using “gourmet” in the branding, the prices were very reasonable and there were some great deals and budget options like two small hake and chips ($13.40) and one small hake and chips ($9.90).

We opted for the “trawling for four” gourmet pack ($49.90) which included six fillets of fish and looked good value for a family meal.

I really liked how you could choose coatings (battered, panko crumbed or grilled) for each  individual piece of fish when ordering on their website.

They even do a low gluten batter. What’s next? Crab sticks with real crab in them? Elections where people concede? The WA Libs appointing a leader with pubic hair? 

My lemon pepper grilled fish had a nice zesty kick with a firm texture and pleasing flavour that was perfect for a casual takeaway.

I opted for the peri peri grilled coating on the other fillet, but it was too fiery and overpowered the main attraction. 

A subtle heat would have been a better option. 

I don’t usually ordered grilled fish in a home delivery as it’s invariably cold, but these came wrapped in tinfoil in a special container and retained their heat nicely. So extra points on that front.

The pack came with four squid rings which had a light batter with a pleasant flavour and texture (no deep-fried rubber bands here).

Across the table my wife and kids were tucking into their traditional battered fish and dim sims.

“The batter is lovely – nice and light and not too greasy,” my wife said. “The fish itself is delicious and tastes super fresh.

“The dim sims are tasty, and again you don’t feel bagged up after eating them.”

The accompanying chips were crunchy with fluffy potato inside, but for me they didn’t quite hit the heights of the fish, but my wife and kids thought they were delicious and hoed in.

I’ve tried all the fish and chip shops in the greater Melville area (I grew up in Glasgow) and Tankk comes out top for value for money and flavour, and the fish does taste incredibly fresh.

It’s a welcome addition to the local scene and I imagine I’ll be a Friday night regular. Amen.

Tankk gourmet fish and chips
Hawaiian Melville shopping centre (380 Canning Highway)
tankk.com.au
6559 2001

by STEPHEN POLLOCK