TROUSER belt like a tourniquet, shirt buttons tighter than a Scotsman’s wallet, and face like a water-logged pumpkin.

I was all set for a post-Xmas diet when I spotted Jinny & Co Fish & Chips on Marmion Street in Myaree.

I thought I had sampled all the local chippies, but this little number, just down from the petrol station on the corner of North Lake Road, had escaped my deep-fried radar. 

Opened in December 2020, it’s relatively new in chip shop terms (they all seem to have been around forever and along with pie shops been “Voted WA’s best…” at some point).

The small chippie was bright and modern with bench seating and a table for dining-in, but it was Australia Day so we fancied taking our fish and chips down to the beach where we could wave our flags, wear a cork hat, get drunk and throw another cliche on the barbie.

The menu had a nice range of fish (hake, snapper, whiting, shark and barramundi), seafood (scallops, mussels and squid) and some korean style chicken popcorn.

There was also a litany of extras including dim sim, cheese sausage, corn jack and pineapple fritter, for those who like to keep cardiologists in business.

There was kids hake and chips available, but my wife didn’t see it and ended up getting adult portions for our children ($13.80 each).

I was struck by the lovely, light golden batter on the large chunky fillets.

A family business, Jinny’s had a sign saying they only used the freshest and healthiest ingredients, and it definitely seemed that way from the dainty batter which wasn’t too greasy.

The chippie was certainly popular with locals, who queued out the door to get their patriotic hit of fish and chips on Australia Day.

I nearly didn’t order scallops (three for $9.90) because I always find them a letdown when fried in chippies, but these were high quality and had that trademark rich, decadent flavour. The best deep-fried ones I’ve had.

My wife’s shark ($14.30) was equally impressive – a monster fillet that again had a light golden batter.

“I like how you get a thick fillet,” she said. “A lot of newer fish and chip shops seem to give you a really thin cut to save money.

“It’s nice but maybe some extra seasoning in the batter would have lifted the flavour a bit.”

She also had a dim sim ($2.20) which again had a light batter and looked really fresh (we’ve all had those dark brown, desiccated monstrosities that look like sun-dried turds).

My crumbed snapper ($15.40) was the only disappointment.

The coating was pleasant and the fillet thick and large, but it was seriously lacking in flavour and didn’t get my taste buds zinging. Even a liberal squeeze of lemon couldn’t kickstart the sucker into life.

My wife and I both had some of the kids’ chips, which were nice without setting the heather on fire.

Jinny & Co was a bit hit and miss, but it ticked enough boxes for me to revisit and support a local business in these tough times.

Now all together – “Australians all let us rejoice…”

Jinny & Co Fish & Chips
448 Marmion St,
Myaree