AT some point during the ‘Silly Season’ the cancellation of Xmas doesn’t seem such a bad idea as the roads are clogged with traffic, Sandra from accounts has too much sherry at the Xmas party, and stress levels reach fever pitch as you try to make the perfect turkey dinner for extended family.
I wonder how long before Fremantle Council winds back its Christmas celebrations?
Will it go the same way as Australia Day, with council deeming the birth of Christ offensive to other religions?
And why is so much of the council’s budget spent on a single Christian event when there are other faiths to acknowledge throughout the year?
The Chook might be playing devil’s advocate, but it’s not too much of a stretch to envisage a future where Freo is less Xmas-centric and mince pies have been replaced with tofu bonbons.
Anyway, it was time for some comfort food to escape all the festive madness, so I headed down to the local stalwart – Melville Fish & Chips.
A no-frills place geared up for takeaway, it’s part of a row of nice shops on Marmion Street including Blend, Melville Heights Meat Supply and Marmion Fresh.
It’s got that classic illuminated box sign out the front, and fish and chips engraved in bright red on its window pane.
On Wednesday night it was busy, so it must be a popular haunt for Melville natives.
The menu had all the old-school favourites covered – hake, barramundi, snapper and gummy shark – as well as extras like dim sim, squid rings, prawns, sea scallops, onion rings, pineapple fritters and last but not least, pickled onions in a jar.
There was also a few bundle deals with a seafood basket, family pack and mega meal.
At first I couldn’t work out why the family pack had only three pieces of fish, but once you see the size of the fillets you’ll understand.
My wife went for the barramundi and chips ($25) and it was probably the pick of the bunch – a huge fillet with crunchy golden batter.
The fish had been perfectly cooked and was glistening white and moist, while the thick batter was super crunchy and nicely seasoned with not too much salt.
The chips were nice – they weren’t greasy and had been cooked in fresh oil.
There is a kids hake and chips ($12.80) but I recommend getting two children an adult hake and chips to share ($19.50) as it works out cheaper and the fillet is ginormous.
Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles wolfed it down no problem and they also enjoyed some dim sim ($3.10 each) and some squid rings (six for $10.20).
The squid was particularly nice – not like the rubber bands you get at some chippies – and the dim sim had a good quality filling and weren’t too oily.
My grilled Snapper and chips ($29.20) didn’t hit the same heights. It was slightly over cooked and the lemon pepper seasoning wasn’t quite there.
It was a large, good quality fillet, but the execution was slightly off. I’ve not had much luck with grilled fish from takeaways. Apart from Redfish, Fish, Chips & Grill in Attadale, it’s always been overcooked, cold or lacking flavour.
To be fair, it’s maybe a dish best eaten at a proper sit-in restaurant.
If you’re after some old-school battered fish and chips with big jumbo fillets, Melville Fish & Chips is a good shout. For a few minutes it made me forget all about the first-world Xmas shenanigans.
Melville Fish & Chips
362 Marmion St, Melville
by STEPHEN POLLOCK