There are certain things you dream of doing as an expat. They pop into your head every now and then as you are walking in snowy streets in Montreal. We recently sampled some fish and chips in Canada at a take-out place which came highly recommended. We were not terribly impressed. First of all the fish was small and triangular. I don't know about you but this is a bit of a warning sign for me. Have you ever seen small triangular fish swimming around? Coming home after three years is a good time to remind yourself how fish and chips should taste. Today we went to Marshalls in Tynemouth, a 15 minute drive from Newcastle.
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| The correct way to eat fish and chips |
Take a long look at the beauties above. Chunky chips, a large fish-shaped cod and some other essentials - the pot of tea, the bowl of mushy peas and the bread and butter. Bread should be white and the kind that doubles as a washcloth (face cloth to Brits). A beautiful sight, no? Montreal of course is a foodies paradise and some very chi-chi places are now specialising in British cuisine which I hope to pick fault...er I mean test out for myself very soon.
Every bit as important as fish and chips by the sea is the walk afterwards, ideally not too far from the car. We made a classic choice - St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay with it's causeway and rock pools. Good for the digestion.
Amazingly temperatures reached 20C today and I flitted about in a dress without jacket (are you listening Montrealers?) I leave this educational post on British cuisine with this photograph of mushy peas. Look and learn.
yum yum....
ReplyDeletemaybe we should start an authentic fish and chips shop in Montreal?
Drooling over here, yum! It's true, Canadians just cannot do fish & chips like the Brits! Looks like a lovely visit you are having...
ReplyDeleteOh, you lucky thing, you! While walking with Mrs Dim around English Bay the other day (on a rare day off together) I got a real hankering for fish and chips. We found some on sale, made fresh within five minutes of where we were walking and they were really nice....but not the real thing. I was born in Sunderland, so Fish and Chips was a staple. Why don't the Canadians cook proper sized fish portions, eh?
ReplyDeleteThere are really good places for fish & chips in Canada - from East to West- and the best addresses are usually kept secret otherwise everyone would invade them! JP
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're tempted to cancel your return ticket Anne. I never got to sample Brit n Chips but it did look very busy. Mushy peas and serious batter will be hard to export I fear!
ReplyDeleteI once stormed out of an LA BBQ restaurant in a fury (can you imagine me in a fury?) over their insulting (to me) pretense at Texas BBQ. the place was, unfortunately, named something like Dr Hoggly Woggly's Authentic Texas BBQ. It came out lukewarm and covered with congealing sauce. SAUCE, I ask you! The real deal is hard to beat, nearly impossible to repeat. By the way, I really love your accent. the South African one? ;-)
ReplyDelete"Battered cheeseburger and chips?" My arteries are closing up just thinking about it, lol!
ReplyDeleteAhh, what a nice opening for dinner. I can't wait to taste that fish&chips again!
ReplyDeleteYou might want to try Brit&Chips on McGill avenue in Old Montreal. Unmistakable smell of fried fish!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI’ve been reading your blog for quite a while and I find it amazing.
So I really hope you don’t mind this: http://idlovetomeetmyself.blogspot.com/2011/04/well-unexpected-prize.html
Carol