Moby Dick Seafood Restaurant

October 28, 2018Leave a comment

01.jpg by ukijojo on 500px.com

We hadn’t visited White Rock in a while, so decided to head there for a stroll. I love how there are so many restaurants along the promenade, but I had read online a restaurant that was highly rated. Moby Dick is a famous fish and chips restaurant which has been open since 1975. The white and blue restaurant will definitely catch your eyes. Even though we arrived pretty late (close to 2pm) due to difficulty in finding parking, the restaurant still had a line up. You can order to go or dine in. Given it was a bit windy, we decided to sit in, but were luckily given a seat quickly on the patio since we were only a table of two.

The fish itself is quite large, but a lot of it is actually batter. The batter was extremely greasy and you could see they reused their oil too many times as the batter was almost brown! The oil is so strong that I ended up just eating the fish as it got a bit sickening to eat. I much prefer the light and flaky fish and chips at Pajos. The fries are not bad but nothing special either. I have to say the portion for the price is very affordable, but the quality is just not there.

03.jpg by ukijojo on 500px.com

Onion Rings

We added a side of Onion Rings to our fish only order and the rings were on the smaller side. The batter was basically the same batter as the fish. Not bad, but I prefer the A&W onion rings.

02.jpg by ukijojo on 500px.com

1 piece Fish & Chips

The selling point at Moby Dick is that with every order of fish, you will get a complimentary piece of fish. For example, if you want two piece of fish, then you should only get the one piece fish and chips which is $11.95. If you want four pieces, then get the three pieces fish and chips. This so called deal is not really a deal though. I did some calculations, and the price of fish is actually exactly the same no matter how many pieces of fish you get. I guess it’s just a psychology thing to make you think you’re getting a deal!

04.jpg by ukijojo on 500px.com

1 piece Fish

As I didn’t want too many fries, I got the 1 piece fish only for $10.50 and it comes with a second free piece of fish as advertised. The fish itself is quite large, but a lot of it is actually batter. The batter was extremely greasy and you could see they reused their oil too many times as the batter was almost brown! The oil is so strong that I ended up just eating the fish as the batter got a bit sickening to eat. I much prefer the light and flaky fish and chips at Pajos. The fries are not bad but nothing special either. I have to say the portion for the price is very affordable, but the quality is just not there.

Overall, I don’t really see what the hype at Moby Dick is all about. Yes, the free piece of fish is a great selling point, and the large portions and price are pretty good, but the quality doesn’t live up to the hype. The restaurant itself is also not the most comfy. I found there were a lot of flies inside, and the outdoor patio is just alright.

Pros:
– Free piece of fish with every order
– Large portions

Cons:
– Quality is not there; batter is greasy and oil is over used

Price Range: $15-20 per person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 2.5 Service: 3 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: Paid parking around the area Overall: 2.5

Pajo’s

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015Leave a comment

The sun is rolling in and what better way than to head down to Steveston to enjoy some fish and chips at Pajo’s. It seems like Pajo’s have added some new items on their menu this summer, and I also got to try some new items, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to blog.

Large Salmon and Chips

S got the Large Salmon and Chips, which comes with 2 and a half pieces of fish and this is definitely quite a lot for one person. Good for sharing though! I usually get halibut or cod, because I always have a bad feeling that the salmon will become too dry after getting fried. Well, I thought wrong! At Pajo’s, they use pacific wild salmon, and surprisingly, the salmon is cooked to keep its moisture! I feel like you also get more meat compared to the other two fish. The batter is crispy and it is served with their fresh cut fries. Apparently the fries and soda are bottomless, something that seems to be new!

Soft Shell Tacos

For myself, I had been seeing pictures of their new item, the Soft Shell Tacos, and knew I had to give these a try. I was surprised by the portions, since I was expecting perhaps two tacos only. It ended up being three large soft shell tacos filled with deep fried cod, coleslaw and topped with a delicious Sriracha mayo. This was delicious, with the fish being moist and the batter crispy.

Overall, we were quite happy with the new items we tried. They are always very busy on sunny weekends, so be aware of the long waits. You can also head over to the one at Gary Point to see if there are shorter waits.

Pros:
– Light batter and fish is moist
– Patio is great for sunny days

Cons:
– Long waits on the weekends

Price Range: $15-20

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4 Service: 3 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 3 Overall: 3.5

Mama’s Fish and Chips

May 23, 2015May 24, 2015Leave a comment

On a sunny Friday, my coworkers and I decided to head down Granville St. in search of lunch. We decided to check out the food trucks, and we found Mama’s Fish and Chips parked at Granville and West 10th. Just look for the black truck with a cartoon fish painted. I’m not sure if they move around or if they’re always at this location.

Their menu is mostly fish and chips of course, but they also have salmon sandwiches and crispy prawns. Prices are quite reasonable for fish and chips. The wait is rather long though at around 15 minutes or so after you place the order. I was hoping a food truck would be a quicker option than at a sit in restaurant, but it’s not really.

2 pcs Fish and Chips

I got the 2 pcs Fish and Chips to share with S and the portion was actually quite large. It comes with a side of coleslaw, fries, and some tartar sauce. The first thing I noticed was how dark the fish was fried. It was an golden orange, which I’m not sure if that means the oil is rather old. I was expecting a lighter yellow. However, the fish was very crispy. It was moist, but I wouldn’t say this is one of the top spots for Fish and Chips. Fries were crispy, but they didn’t wow me. As for the coleslaw, this was actually quite flavourful. Overall, the fish and chips are decent, but I wouldn’t say they are the top in Vancouver.

Pros:
– Decent fish and chips
– Reasonable prices

Cons:
– The wait to get your food is rather long

Price Range: $15-20

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 3 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: N/A Parking: N/A Overall: 3

Go Fish

April 28, 2015April 28, 2015Leave a comment

It was a sunny day after work and with the extended summer hours in place, we finally got to try Go Fish. Go Fish is located just off Granville Island in a little wooden shack. It’s quite the hidden gem, since it’s not in your typical tourist area of Granville Island. I had no idea that this area even existed! They have some seating at the shack as well as some long wooden tables near the parking lot.

You order at the shack and they will call your name when your dish is ready. Service was hip and friendly.

Fish & Chips – cod

Of course we came here for what they are famous for, so we got the Fish & Chips. The best part is that the fish come in dim sum boxes! I am a sucker for these gimmicky details.They have various portions, and we chose two pieces with coleslaw and fries and added an additional piece. You can also choose from cod, salmon, or halibut. We went for cod and the fish was moist. The fish is battered with their homemade Granville Island beer batter and I found it crispy without being oily. It is served with tartar sauce, as well as a Pacific Rim coleslaw, which was seasoned very well. I normally hate coleslaw, but I found myself eating this up! As for the fries, they were crispy and I liked these much more than Pajo’s.

Overall, I was extremely satisfied with Go Fish. Prices are comparable to Pajo’s and other fish and chips spots. It may be one of my favourite fish and chips spots now! I found the fish less oily than Pajo’s. Plus, you get a beautiful view of Granville Island’s fisherman’s wharf while eating here. Definitely a hidden gem!

Pros:
– One of the best fish and chips spots in Vancouver
– Great scenery

Cons:
– Line ups when it’s sunny and closer to dinner time

Price Range: $10-15

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Parking: 3
Overall: 4

London Fish & Chips & Wicked

May 13, 2014May 22, 2014Leave a comment

In the evening, we continued exploring the main tourist spots. We found the famous London Eye, which is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe. You’re supposed to get some pretty spectacular views of the city from the top, but we didn’t feel like paying the price and to wait in line for this attraction.

We headed over to see the Big Ben instead, which I was actually really disappointed about. I have no idea why, but I always thought it would give me some wow factor, but I immediately thought…”really, that’s it?” I guess I had just expected a lot more in terms of details since it’s so talked about in pop culture. Anyways, the tower itself is really known as the Elizabeth Tower. Big Ben actually refers to the bell of the clock. The four-faced chiming clock is the largest in the world. The clock tower as a whole is the third tallest free-standing clock tower in the world.

It began to get dark, but we still made it to the Westminster Abbey. It’s a huge Gothic Church and has traditionally been known to a be a place for coronations and burials. I don’t think we were able to enter the church, but the exterior details were quite impressive. In this area, you’ll also find many important buildings. There is this little map on the street that shows you what each building is.

We walked towards the Trafalgar Square after, which wasn’t a very impressive view at night. We had a Broadway show to catch, so we quickly looked for some food around this area. We found London Fish & Chips on Bedford Street, and since London is supposed to be famous for fish and chips…of course we had to try some! K and I shared the Big Ben, which was battered fish fillet with six tiger shrimps. The shrimps were basically like popcorn shrimp. It also came with some chips, ketchup, tartar sauce, and a drink. The fish was lightly battered, and I thought it wasn’t too bad. I wouldn’t say it was amazing though. Just average and not too oily. I rather go to Pajo’s at Steveston in Vancouver though, since this meal cost around 10 pounds.

We had bought tickets online for a Broadway show prior to arrival. We were watching Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater. Luckily, this was not the Apollo Theater on Shaftesbury Ave, since the ceiling of that theater had literally collapsed just a week before we arrived in London.

Wicked was a pretty cool story. It was funny and whimsical, and although I got confused at the end, I’m sure if you’ve read the book, you would have no problem understanding it. It’s also known as The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz. You’ll get some references about Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz since it’s told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. You’ll find both adults and kids in the theater since it’s very family friendly.

This was inside the theater. The set up was pretty cool. Even though we didn’t have amazing seats, we were still able to see everything clearly. You can’t really see the facial features of the actors, but other than that, everything is pretty clear. We found the prices in London much more expensive than say in New York, but it was still a great experience!