Did the lawns, and then grabbed some lunch....

[AussieChris]

Pushed the mower around the backyard for the first time at the new house, tons of huge broadleaf weeds I have to deal with and some cat heads in one part that is a bit drier.

Got it all done and the missus asked if I felt like some Fish n Chips, seemed like a good idea.
Went to a recommended place the best in town! and grabbed the family a few pieces of crumbed fish, chips and scallops. I checked with the guy who served me that the fish was not Basa and was informed it wasnt.

First bite when I got home, friggin Basa, that garbage mudgudger from the Mekong delta, the taste and texture is unmistakable. At $7 per piece I expected and asked for better, not even a slice of lemon to mask its putrid flavour, nothing can save you from the texture.

Basa is basically a freshwater catfish that grows remarkably fast for an aquaculture fish, pellet fed, minimal maintenance with a high fillet yield. In saying that I would honestly rather a chippy serve me Redfin Perch if they intended to serve a freshwater species, as long as it was fresh, I actually prefer eating Redfin to Trout most of the time.

Back in the day people would pass off and rubbish flake as being just shark but Gummy Shark is tops on the plate, unfortunately some lesser quality species were also served under the same banner.

I think its disgraceful that finding good quality Fish n Chips is basically the same as playing the lottery, most of the time you just end up with oop: oop: oop:

 

[Manpa]

I will not buy fish from a shop that has it pre battered, fillets in the display fridge is the only way to go, at least you can see what you are getting. Thankfully there are still a few around Adelaide that do it that way.

 

[7.62marksman]

 

[LONEWOLF]

I Know what you mean with Basa. One bite and I can tell too... I would have taken it back and asked for $$ back.. Or Prove it isn't basa matey. .. Good Fish n chips is very hard to find these days.. All our quality seafood ends up over-seas where they can charge 10x the price.
Just like a good burger is also hard to find....

LW...

 

[Wishfull]

I went to a so called restaurant here one day wih my wife at lunch time. Ordered king George whiteing...love that, anyway half way through I started chewing on plastic glad wrap not just one piece but two. They didn't even bother to take all the wrap off properly. Sent it back to the kitchen and never went back again. They closed down in 6 months.

 

[Guest]

On the south coast it's the same thing, ask what type of fish it is and get the same story every time, cheap frozen fish from NZ or gummy shark that isn't gummy shark at all. If you ask for local fish it's double the price. I gave up on these take away shops a long time ago.
What really gets me is these fish shops are on the coast and the mongrels still import most of their seafood and have a display of fresh seafood that are so expensive that it's just for rich people to afford.

 

[Ded Driver]

A trick to use at fish'n'chip shops is to ask to see the fillets before they cook them (helps to know what you're looking for tho). But not all like this approach. I had one bloke tell me to bugger off once, if I didn't trust him to go elsewhere ... so I did.
I knew a couple once who bought a shop & the prior owner told them to split the thicker hake fillets & sell as whiting & snapper. Once battered no-one would know ... apparently. All great until one day an Asian guy who knew his fish brought his back & went ballistic threatening to report them to Consumer Affairs. They gave him a refund for making an 'error'. I wasn't impressed with them as I like honest fish n chips too. they sold up only 12months after taking it over.

 

[StoneTheCrows]

Yep take it back
Hate that crap as well

 

[AussieChris]

It's crazy because legislation requires retailers like Woolworths or Coles to disclose both the species and the country of origin, but restaurants and takeaways do not fall under the same legislation, Nick Xenophon tried to introduce an amendment that would change the exemption for food cooked and sold for immediate consumption but was shot down by both major parties.

So, for now, restaurants and chippy's are not required to disclose species or country of origin, even crazier they are allowed to pass off Basa under any name they wish. A common name used to fool customers into believing they are getting something far better than they actually are is disguising it as "Pacific Dory"

Basa is nowhere near related to the Dory family, people just know the name "John Dory" one of Australia's best table fish. For years Oreo Dory and Mirror Dory have also been passed off as John Dory, at least one is part of the Dory family and the other is pretty close. In the USA/Canada they are dealing with it in a similar way with Tilapia an invasive species that sits up there with European Carp

Hoki (Blue Grenadier) and New Zealand Hake are also often cut and sold as a higher quality fish, although Hoki being probably the best out of all the lesser species used by the majority of Fish n' Chip takeaways in Australia.

Hopefully, the next place I go might serve real fish rather than mushy Vietnamese catfish that tastes as bad as it looks.

 

[Tathradj]

It's called " Pollock. "
I copped that about 2 months ago.
I love my fish and chips but just could not
eat the oop:
And down here on the Far South Coat we have a very active fishing industry.
Fresh fish straight from the ocean is first taken to Sydney and has to go through
the markets then bought back again.
We are treated like under dogs with our own food.
I quite happily pay a bit more for good fresh sea food but when I pay just as much
for crap that maybe should be used for burly. ] ] ] :skull:
Oh, The oysters for the bash are pure, fresh oysters from Tathra. :Y: :Y:

 

[aussiefarmer]

The best fish and chip shops are the ones that sell freah fish n prawns :Y: and even better are the ones that crub or batter after the order :Y: :Y: :Y:

 

[Wishfull]

Mmm not sure about fish these days, don't get me wrong there is almost no other meal I love more than fish, it's just that the fish live in a septic tank these days. All the pollution in the sea. Fukushima which is still not contained. Went to Bali years ago and the amount of plastic at the bottom of some of the bays was not a good sight at all.
I love my steak but, even that is a worry now. Cerial crops. All the spays they put on them and then burn the paddocks after harvest. You gotta wonder what is actually safe to eat thes days.
Sad days indead.

 

[AussieChris]

Tathra, funny enough I actually dont mind Alaskan Pollock, slightly stronger flavour than Cod but otherwise quite nice, best thing is it flakes well.
Has a bit of a bad name for itself in the UK as people prefer more expensive Haddock and Cod, both fisheries being hit heavily.

I miss living near the coast, only fish I had to buy back then were blocks of WA pilchards ?