Julianisms

Just in case some of you have absolutely never heard of it before, Fish and Chips is - according to Wikipedia - "a popular take-away food consisting of deep-fried fish in batter or breadcrumbs with deep-fried potatoes, traditionally sold wrapped in newspaper, and is mainly associated with the United Kingdom."

Kidding aside, fish and chips may sound pretty mundane to many of you. After all, the dish itself basically does consist of just… fish and chips.

But let me assure you there is nothing mundane in the least about digging into a serving of really good fish and chips.

(Forget about the stuff that passes for "fish and chips" in most food courts - chances are you're probably really having "batter and chips", with very little actual fish in the equation.)

While it isn't the only place to serve good fish and chips in Kuala Lumpur, The Magnificent Fish and Chips Bar must surely rate as one of the best.

The Magnificent Fish and Chips Bar (let's just shorten it to Magnificent, shall we?) is located along the main road at Changkat Bukit Bintang, directly opposite Frangipani. As its name implies, it is a bar that serves (amongst other things) authentic English fish and chips.

Mini-disclaimer: Maybe I should say "pseudo-authentic", which is to say that it's authentic enough apart from having to actually fly to England for some "100%-authentic" fish and chips. Which may not be such a bad idea really, because my cousin in England tells me it's quite lovely over there as Spring has recently just arrived and that she frequently looks forward to taking leisurely strolls through the woods with her dog.

But I digress.

Back to the authentic English fish and chips at Magnificent.

Yup, here they serve you fish and chips with proper chunky potato chips instead of the more common variety of french fries that is frequently fobbed off as 'chips' in other places. And while they don't actually serve it to me in a newspaper, my fish and chips comes sitting on top of a fluffed up bed of newspapers!

(Note: Sorry for the underwhelming pictures - mine is a first-gen Treo 600 which has a fairly crappy camera.)

The fish and chips here in Magnificent can vary greatly in price depending on the type of fish that is selected. I chose the barramundi (aka Sea Bass, aka Ikan Siakap) for RM28. Compare this to the Black Cod for RM45. So, depending on how fishy you want your bill to appear, choose your fish accordingly.

My barramundi is very, very good. Very good. The batter is deliciously crispy and thin as it should well be, complementing the flavour of the fish instead of over-powering it. The potato chips are thick, chunky and soft without being soggy as they should well be.

I may be off target here but it seems that the newspaper base is intended to keep the food off the bottom of the plate and thereby prevent water vapour from forming and thus reducing everything on the plate into a soggy and oily mess. Call it a wild guess; I didn't actually ask for fear of coming across as some kind of fish and chips Philistine.

My wife and Kirsten share the Bangers and Mash. Here, the aunthenticity is again evident when the dish arrives with proper sausages… yes, sausages (you have no idea how many times I've ordered sausages elsewhere only to be presented with frankfurters instead!)

The sausages (or bangers) come perched on a huge mound of mash(ed potatoes) surrounded in a generous sea of gravy and onions. My wife cocks an eye at me as if to ask: "And how exactly am I supposed to finish this lot?!"

But finish it all we do in the end. No surprises there, hehe.

There's a particulary British feel to everything here at Magnificent. The place is run by a chap called Paul James (I'm guessing he's British) and most of the guests around us appear to be British, too (or at least, non-local). Even the music is distinctly British - I can detect Poison Arrow (by ABC from their definitive debut album, The Lexicon of Love) playing in the background. Nice.

Did I already mention that Magnificent serves one of the best fish and chips in town? Well, they do.

Did I already mention it costs a fin and a tail? Well, literally speaking, it does.

Our meal, including a small bottle mineral water (RM10, no el cheapo brands here), comes up to - including tax and service charge - a little over RM75. Which isn't exactly small potatoes, yes?

Undeniable as the quality of the fish and chips may be, it still looks like it'll remain a rare treat for us.

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