Fish and Chips – Take 2
The restaurant currently occupies a single shop with the kitchen, Air-conditioned seating inside and terrace outside with additional air-conditioned seating on the gallery first floor, but shortly after we go to print The size of the restaurant will triple to be three shophouses wide when combined with the vacant restaurant next door. Its located in the Cheap Charlies sub soi home to an eclectic sub collection of diverse dinning options in the bohemian buzzing Sukhumvit Soi 11.
“Back in New Zealand I had an unfulfilled dream of owning a fish & chip shop,” says Craig McLean the honorary New Zealand Ambassador for Fish & Chips. “Having lived in Thailand now for 14 years I saw a gap in the market, and decided to bring the best New Zealand Fish & Chips the way we Kiwi’s like them back a home. The Anglo Saxon staple diet of fish and chips complement by a range of yummy NZ seafood and a selection of 37 beautiful New Zealand wines to wash them down. Fish & Chips is only 20%of the menu but 80% of what we serve.”
“What gives us the edge is having been previously in the food export business we are able to personally source sustainably caught cold water fish that are imported exclusively for us. They are New Zealand Red Gurnard a well regarded medium flavoured, moist and tender white fish, a kiwi family favourite. New Zealand Lemon Sole, an internationally renowned white fish with a delicate a slightly sweet taste. New Zealand Southern King Fish a mild flavoured and medium textured fish and New Zealand Blue Warehau, a medium flavoured, firm textured white fish both caught in the remote waters of the Southern Ocean. New Zealand Tarakihi is a tasty in-shore deep reef white fish that is the pick among NZ fishermen. The collection is completed by New Zealand Southern Hake, a mild favoured moist and flakey white fish white fish reminiscent of a northern hemisphere.
“What differentiates New Zealand Fish and Chips from their British cousins are.”he says, “we serve a fish with a distinctly stronger depth of flavour cooked in a lighter crisper batter due to the addition of soda water. Alternatively they are served crumbed or pan fried skins on. Our chips imported frozen from New Zealand are made with a dense textured yellow coloured Russell Burbank potato served as a 12X12 mm regular cut or 10×16 mm thick cut. We have tried making chips with local potato but found the sugar level was too high resulting in a mushy chip, not crisp enough for Kiwi’s but proved popular with the Brits. They are served with must have malt vinegar and salt for the chips and a family recipe traditional tomato sauce with a chutney like consistency presented Squeeze plastic tomato dispenser”
Time for a quick Fish and Chip class to explain its nostalgic culture. Lesson one some customer have questioned why the red plastic squezze tomato ketchup dispenser is on the table. The answer nostalgia its a dining icon retro 70s seen on the table of ever Wimpy House in UK and dinners in the States at that When I was a kid in the UK in the early 70s my Dad bought us one but despite having contacted H.J. Heinz’s Head Office in the States and Wimpy UK, its origin remains a mystery but its nostalgic value has earned its place at the table. Lesson two why are fish and chips served in newspaper? In austerity Britain during World War II Fish & Chips were the only food not subject to rationing as a result it became a stock meal of the British working class which subsequently migrated to New Zealand. Fish & Chips to Britain and New Zealand is what Pizza was to America. It was the first take away meal served hot. in post war make do Britain it was insulated by wrapping in used newspaper to keep it warm, the luxury of a styrofoam boxes today was not an option then. Snapper respect that heritage by serving Fish and Chips and a sheet of the Bangkok Post which is covered by hygienic white baking paper so the food and newspaper never touch each other.
As a contrast to demonstrate light healthy options for the diet conscious we were served Yellow Fin Tuna Tartar, lime marinated diced tuna elegantly stacked on a layer of diced avocado topped with diced mango served with crisp bread.
Not only do they served great NZ Fish & Chips but also great Kiwi burgers. The NZ
fish is served with traditional Kiwi mayonnaise a blend of condensed milk, boiled egg yolks, seeded mustard, malt vinegar, canola or olive oil, cream, salt and ground pepper or an optional dash of wasabi paste zapped together in a blender. A New Zealand rib eye beef burger served with a fried egg and a New Zealand Lamb Burger with pint paste both accompanied by their divinely delicious thinking man’s tomato sauce, that could make traditional ketchup redundant.
Even as a Brit I have to concede that they do make deliciously fresh light and crisp, Fish & Chips.
Snapper NZ Restaurant
1/22 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Bangkok 10110
Tel 0-2651-1098
Email [email protected]
Average cost with drinks THB 500
