Port Melbourne :: D'Lish Fish

We had such a good time at the Queen Victoria Night Market that D and I met up again to explore the Melbourne Museum. I’ll admit that I’m not usually a museum person while travelling – I’d rather spend the day wandering outside. Unless if there is a strong cultural significance to the museum (i.e. the museum in Hiroshima, Japan…very moving) I usually skip it in favour of some sun. However, after drinking in the culture in Melbourne, it certainly seemed like a worthwhile venture. From there, we hopped on the tram and took it all the way to the end of the line for some fish and chips!! Worth it? Oh yes.

Port Melbourne’s D’Lish Fish Verdict: Great – best fish and chips! Meal: Lunch Location: 40/44 Little Bourke St Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

There are a few things that Toronto does not do especially well. It’s not our fault, really. Every city has its forte and unique offerings. Not to say that all of our fish and chips are awful – I’ve enjoyed them from Irish Embassy for instance – but I’ve also had terrible experiences, such as Fresco in Kensington Market. I also had more than one Aussie tell me that on their visit to Canada, they were not a fan of our pub food. Sorry guys. You win – with your parma-fetish and meat pies.
Anyways, D’Lish fish was really great – fresh, cleanly deep fried, and thick fillets of barramundi were enjoyed. The batter was so good – was it the freshness or the ingredients that made it so much better than what I’ve tried back home? Probably a combination of both.

While we use halibut or cod, they use barramundi – a very popular fish in Oz. Mmmm. Also offered was “Flake” which turned out to be shark. Anyways, deep-frying food isn’t as consistent or easy as it sounds so this was great – not oily or soggy at all.

The “Potato Cake” that R insisted that I must try is much better than the chips – so if you wander on over, I definitelry recommend you go for that. It’s basically a thick slice of potato that’s been battered and deep fried to golden perfection. On the menu, I also spotted “Dim Sims” and “Dim Sum”

…huh?

Ordering Dim Sum (and I had no idea if Sim was a typo) seemed very odd at a Fish & Chips shop, and it was inexpensive….so I tossed them in with my order. A deep fried roll arrived, stuffed with ground pork as well as a fresh-skin serving, which arrived in a little baggie (which I’m guessing is how they steam it). As I travelled, I saw these more and more, often available as a side along with chips.

Along with my fast food fetish while travelling, I like trying the different juices – a quirk of mine, I suppose. I picked up a bottle of pear-flavoured Nestea. I love how different countries have different flavours to suit their culture.

The neatest thing that I’ve seen is a slushy-Coke in Hong Kong: Once you open the bottle, the coke slushes up!



It might seem odd to dedicate a blog post to fish and chips – but these were differently memorably. Perhaps I’ve simply been deprived of good, straightforward oceanside food but either way, if you make your way over to Melbourne I recommend taking the same tram down to the Port, watching the giant boats leave for Tasmania (sigh…how I wish I could’ve gone on one of them!) while enjoying a box of fish, potato cake, and dim sims.