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DOS HERMANOS: GO EVERYWHERE, EAT EVERYTHING

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Saturday, December 13, 2008

THE LAUGHING HALIBUT: FIRST FISH & CHIPS FOR LEX















No apologies for another post about Fish & Chips, indeed, when has there ever been any apologies from DH for posting about Fish & Chips?

In this instance, however, my reasons were born not just of greed and desire for deep-fried goodness but because I had been given the task of introducing my young friend, Lex to the wonderful world of Britain’s favourite food.

Those of you who have been reading along for a while will recognise Lex as the irrepressible student I encountered on my trip to Kuala Lumpur. Now, she is in London and as well as putting her in touch with someone to give her a job and a roof over her head, she demanded I take her for her first fried fish experience.

The Laughing Halibut in Strutton Ground, Victoria has been on the radar for a while, and when we bundled in at Midday from the sheeting rain outside, the place was just getting ready for business.

Being informed that our order of cod & chips, haddock & chips and mushy peas would take at least ten minutes to prepare was a good sign of fresh cooking and I took the opportunity to drag Lex up to the fryer to see the fillets being battered and dipped into the hot oil.

The end result was not bad at all. Not the best in London by some stretch, that honour still remains with Masters Superfish in Waterloo, but not bad. The chips were fresh and crunchy and I instructed Lex in the fine art of vinegar dousing. The peas were suitably sludgy and the fish was cooked properly. Only the batter disappointed. It was crisp, but the mix was too thick so it had not bubbled to an airy crunch and had a soft under layer.

It didn’t seem to put Lex off and she declared her first experience of fish & chips to be a positive thing, including her introduction to pickled onions and eggs. Me? I would put this a notch below the very best in town, below Masters, The Golden Hind and my recent visit to The Golden chip Bar but mark it down as worthy of a revisit. In DH terms, that’s not faint praise and not a bad way for Lex to begin her own noble quest for the perfect Fish & Chips.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Frequent Traveler said...

Hope that you have a good weekend, Hermano.

Saturday, December 13, 2008 9:43:00 pm  
Blogger Chris Pople said...

The Laughing Halibut (who, by the way, never ever serve any halibut) was the closest chippy to my old office on Victoria Street, but we always found it was worth making the extra effort and walking to Seafresh. Glad you didn't think the LH was too bad, but it was never one of my favourites.

Monday, December 15, 2008 9:36:00 am  

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