UK - Fish and chips
 

Whats cool about it, why is it so popular there? I tried it for the sake of trying and its just that - fried fish + fried potatoes. Whats the secret here?
Just wondering, no disrespect to tradition.

ps: I ate it without sauce, that probably made me not fancy it too much.

The most common dish in the UK now is actually Chicken Tikka Masala lol says a lot about the country,

You have to get Fish and Chips from a high quality "chippy" and put vinegar all over the batter and a bit of tartare sauce it is very tasty

There is a lot of really bad fish and chips around - As Wilsy said you have to find the right place - A good fish and chips is actually a really great experience...

Absolutely has to be a decent chippy, even my mother-in-law from Argentina can't wait to have a proper portion of fish and chips when she gets here, she loves an English Breakfast too :2 cents:

chips from the chippy in a paper wrapper eaten as you walk home from the pub using a wooden fork is sheer bliss!

But is it in the sauce? I can not imagine fried fish or fried potatoes being much different in various places.

no, it's the batter and the quality of the fish

:thumbsup :thumbsup ...

I see. I am not one of those picky types - I do not see much difference in taste of the fish (speaking about the same kind of fish).
As for batter I agree, it gives much to the taste.

You just cant beat quality fish and chips, in paper, loads of vinegar

Try the Bangers & Mash if you dont like Fish & Chips.

Plenty of salt and vinegar and don't forget the scraps!

Pie, mash and liquor is what you need.

Fish and Chips, yep comes down to the quality of the chippy.

go to whitby if you want the best

i cant a4d fish n chips... :(

+1
Its where I used to live, sitting on the harbour wall on a cold day, bag of fish and chips keeping your hands warm

Yup, or Padstow, or indeed anywhere where it comes straight of the boat and straight into the fryer! 8)

Actually, to give the yanks a fair crack of the whip here, I had some *FINE* fresh shrimp & chips on Pier39, San Francisco. Really was right up there

You gotta have mushy peas or curry sauce

I miss pickled eggs that much i started making my own.

Not really sure what you think it says about the UK (which is not just one country btw) but Indian food is easily my favorite food regardless of where I am. I don't know very many people who don't like Indian food. I was born and raised in the UK but have lived in Canada for 3 years now, everyone here loves Indian food too, does that say the same about Canada as you think it says about the UK?

I am from the UK too I live in the Midlands I was just pointing out the fact that Fish and Chips used to be our countries favourite food but now it is masala,

there are a few fish and chip purveyors in Manhattan that I am a fan of.

You northerners have no class :winkwink:

I had Fish and Chips in London while on vacation not too long ago. It was less than I had expected.

It's more the experience if you're a tourist. :)
If you're a local, it's just lunch.

Don't expect fine dining. You're eating cod out of a newspaper in the street.

exactly, basically the difference between a good one and a bad one is how often they change up the oil, in my opinion anyway. The fresher it is the better it comes out.


ps i love chicken tikka masala too.. both are pretty popular in canada as well.

The best are made with beef dripping. Not many places do it though.

That's because fish and chips is shit :2 cents: though, there are varying degrees of how shit it is, of course :) It most definitely isn't some kind of great meal though, just a case of good marketing throughout the years.

Same here, but maybe it was because I expected too much because of the hype.

So whats good in terms of lunch food? I mean if we do not speak about fine dining, but more of the "people's food".

Lived in the UK for 4 years, but some of the best fish and chips I ever had was in a place on the coast near Brisbane Australia. The fish were straight off the boat, straight onto ice, you picked it out, they gutted it, and fried it, right there. Unbelievably good.





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I don't eat fish so I can't really say about the quality but Fish and Chip shops in general have great food. I'm flying home to Scotland in 3 weeks and my first stop for food will be my local "chippie" for a sausage supper :thumbsup

You gotta have a decent piece of fresh cod (or my favourite, haddock) - beer batter is the best covering and the chips (along with the fish) must be cooked in reasonably fresh oil... problem with some chippies in London is they are just shit and are a dime a dozen. Find a good chippie and you'll know the difference. I used to hate mushy peas but now love it with fish n chips... as well as having lots of salt n vinegar plus the tartare sauce - mmm, I'm hungry!!!

Also love indian food, usually get at least one take away from a decent one local to me, they know me now so always give me extras... most "Indians" are run by Bangladeshis. Again, I wouldn't trust some in the heart of London... some real health scares there *yikes!*

I have to admit the Australian's do a good Fish And Chips - The Kiwis as well - It must be in their genes...

as like in the oil? or the batter? never heard that one before.

i forgot to mention fish freshness.. clearly overlooked considering i live inland and fresh around here is normally farmed ;) (which i don't mind, just not the same)

yup.. the two best frying oils for chips.. are Lard and Peanut oil. Lard definitely makes the best chips, but it tends to piss off the vegans.

As others have said, lots of vinegar, with peas or curry sauce. Too much salt ruins it for me.

I agree... I don't think many Indian's actually eat Tikka Masala... it was invented in Birmingham's curry mile I believe... and it's an extremely popular choice in most Indian restaurants.

Yep... funny you should say that... most chip shops are not English owned, and most of them will serve fried chicken, sausages, pies and kebabs. Finding a good kebab house is a challenge also.. I think the best ones are Turkish owned there.

This isn't a racist rant, but I prefer eating ethnic foods from the 'experts'.

Case in point, the other day I went to a Vietnamese restaurant with some friends who all promptly ordered from the 'chinese' section of the menu. I stuck with the Vietnamese food. All their food was pretty crap to be honest but my dish was amazing and they all regretted what they ordered. I told them you wanted chinese you should have went to a chinese place.

Oh btw... fish and chips.... it's great in the Black Country. ;)

Apparently the Faroe Islanders have gotten the taste of good 'ol fish 'n chips after the British solders imported the idea there during world war 2

true, and to be honest, it shows that they are not English. the chips from those places normally are rank. The best fish and chips are made in proper fish and chip shops not a takeaway that tries to shoehorn in the chippy in amongst its more exotic foods.