Good and cheap fish & chips!

Rating 4/5

Let me give you the verdict at the start. This is the best fish and chips in town for its price.  Actually, it is one of the most enjoyable fish and chips I have eaten (period)!

OK, granted that they don't use cod or haddock and the chips come out of a packet, but when you have a craving for fish and chips and a few bucks in your pocket, this is the place to satisfy that need.

One might argue that there are many western hawker stalls around that serve fish and chips for around the same price, but there are few things that set this stall apart. This stall uses the traditional British style batter which is a simple batter made from flour, water and baking powder. This gives the fish a thin and crispy crust while the fish steams in its own moisture within the crispy cocoon. When eating fish and chips, I always look for the bits of uncooked batter in between the fish and the crust to gauge the skill of the chef. This moist and creamy batter, acts like a creamy sauce to contrast the crispy batter and is something that differentiates the really good fish and chips from the ordinary run of the mill ones. If you are after the really traditional fish and chips, then bottles of malt vinegar are available for you to give your fish a good sour shower. They do sprinkle a bit of herbs over the fish which you might enjoy, but I would request that they omit that when I eat there again.

Stall owner Michael Molina is what we would call an accidental hawker. The 67-year-old retiree was simply passing through Singapore when he decided to open a fish and chips shop. Born in Singapore, he left for the UK when he was in his teens and worked in a fish and chips shop for nine years before becoming a London cabby.  He then went over to Greece and started a Chinese restaurant called "Wok Inn", a name which he now uses for the shop in Toa Payoh. When I asked him why he wanted to open a fish and chips shop, he simply said that he couldn't find a good one in Singapore and wanted to serve Singaporean an authentic fish and chips at a price that everyone can enjoy.

Indeed excellent fish and chips at an excellent price. What more can you ask for?

Rating - Food: 4; Service: 3; Value: 4

Wok Inn Fish & Chips

Toa Payoh Lor 4, Blk 95

Tel: 98976048

Opening hours: 11:30am to 9:30pm, closed on Monday nights & on Tuesdays

Also check out two other hawker food recommendations by Dr Leslie Tay!