Fry Day I'm In Love

Sometimes grocery shopping can make me feel that food is really expensive, and that eating out is about the same in price to eating in. I am training myself to look way, way below the surface. Take Friday's Fry Up for instance. I had cleaned the deep-fryer and had thought to use it again for a fish and chip dinner. Kit agreed to the meal, and left the purchasing to me.

Being a last-minute decision, there was no time to buy frozen fillets and bread them. Neither were we going to bother defrosting calamari, cutting them into rings and battering them. Giant's selection of frozen seafood was pretty poor. Chicken there was by the boxfuls, in every form and size and flavour, but there were only two brands of battered fish fillets. I decided on Pacific West because I am familiar with the quality.

Pacific West is the way to go for good fish fillets for fry ups!

The abominable Franken-hash, Pacific West fish, and calamari.

I was a bit taken aback when the box of five fillets came up to nearly RM20; but upon reflection, one serving of fish and chips at Friday's costs RM29.90 for about three fillets. Kit, Sharon Lee and I had three between us, and had to leave some over, due to the fact that we also had chips, fried calamari, Thai fish cakes and this pseudo hash brown. Unlike the fish, I decided to go for another brand, because of maybe a RM1 difference, and what I got was this awful potato patty filled with, I swear, instant mashed potato. I love spuds in all shapes and sizes, but this was an abomination. It soaked up oil like you would not believe and it came out looking so flaccid that my thighs felt like Jane Fonda's in comparison!

Calamari and chips rule, if they're done well.

I tried a local manufacturer for the Thai fish cakes and both Sharon and I agreed that they got their recipe down pat. It was the right mix of the quintessential Thai flavourings of galangal to lemongrass, and though the fish cakes looked horribly over-browned, they were very good. The only thing which could have improved it, would have been the addition of thinly sliced green beans, like how the street peddlers do it in Bangkok!

A good effort by a local company!

At the end of the dinner, we still had half a box of the fish cakes left, two more fillets, and half of the RM25 bag of Pacific West calamari. Not to mention the Franken-browns! In essence, the meal probably cost us RM35 for three of us. Certainly more value and variety than a plate of restaurant fish and chips!