I am always on the hunt for a good piece of fresh fish, coated with a crispy, but not too heavy batter, and wrapped up with some slap chips. I like chips soft with loads of salt and vinegar, but my husband prefers them crispy.

I know you want to hear where I’ve found the best so far – it’s at Lusitania Fisheries, just around the corner from my office in Cape Town. You can get a side order of pickled onions too, and the peri-peri sauce is awesome.

I wasn’t quite expecting the fish and chips that arrived on my plate at Mosaic Restaurant in Pretoria last week, though. It was one of the eight courses at a fabulous Sunday lunch and was described as fish and chips on Coco Beach. On the plate was a delicious, fresh, salty sardine wrapped in spaghetti-thin potato strips, which had been deep-fried until crispy, and set on finely crumbled cocoa beans and chocolate cake to resemble, I suppose, a beach. It was beautifully composed and the textures and complementary flavours were sensational. I could have had a few more, but I was only on the third course at that stage!

This time I didn’t go for the ice-cold Stoney ginger beer that I usually have with the traditional fish and chips from around the corner, but opted for a perfect wine match instead – a glass of Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc 2008 from just outside Napier in the Cape. The flavours of baked apple and apricot and its silky texture made for a perfect match in this little piece of heaven.

Guess what’s for lunch today? Snoek or hake or maybe even a fishcake!

Happy eating!
Abigail

photograph by foodie.jenius