Pinoy Food & Other Cuisine :: Food PhotoBlog and Events |

Last night, Fish & Co invited several bloggers over to try out a few new dishes on their menu. They wouldn’t tell us what they were at first, but I was hoping they would be serving some sort of new version of their bestselling fish and chips – which I haven’t tried yet. To be perfectly honest, fish is one of my least favorite foods because I don’t like how most fish dishes taste so slimy (malansa). Lately, however, I’ve been a little more adventurous about eating fish and developed a taste for Teriyaki Boy’s fish and chips. Their fish and chips dish is so tasty, it’s become a PMS craving and the only thing I order at “T-Boy”, as the conyos call it. I wouldn’t mind trying out the other fish and chips offerings of other restaurants, which was why I was particularly looking forward to this event.

Finally, we were served chips (with no fish) as the organizers gave us a little introduction about what we would be eating tonight. Aside from mouthwatering fish and chips, Fish & Co is also known to give huge servings that are good for two. However, the owners noticed that there are some people who want smaller servings because they don’t feel like sharing a dish or they want to dine by themselves. So they launched the new Just for Me Meals: five delectable fish, chicken, and beef dishes that will surely satisfy the solo diner. And the best part is that everyone got to try out all five of them!

First up was the bangus a la pobre. Despite my new found adventurousness, I still approach fish dishes with a little bit of skepticism and was hesitant about trying the bangus. After trying out one tiny forkful, I ended up eating one fourth of the bangus. The red stuff on top is actually a garlic and onions sauce, not chili, and it complemented the bangus very well. The bangus a la pobre and several other dishes were served with Fish & Co’s trademark seafood rice, which tastes a lot like seafood paella minus the stickiness and the toppings.

Next was the barbecued chicken, which ended up being my favorite in the bunch. The chicken was so tender, I could easily cut off a piece using only my fork. And the moment I placed it in my mouth, I knew it was the best barbecued chicken I have ever had. It had a distinctive smokey taste that I’ve never experienced before, and the meat was flavorful enough without the sauce. The sauce itself was also excellent – very powerful with a hint of alcohol in it. Actually, I would recommend just eating the chicken alone and using the sauce to add flavor to the veggies and rice; otherwise, the sauce’s flavor ends up overpowering the chicken.

My ears perked up when I heard that they were serving dory fish, but I guess I missed out the part where they said it was dory fish napoletana. The fish itself was covered in soft batter, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese, and was delicious by itself. I’m not sure I like the dory fish together with pasta. While the heaviness of the noodles did balance out the lightness of the fish, I felt that the dish needed more tomato sauce.

I was looking forward to trying the beef and eggplant curry – I love Indian food and I love curry. The dish came with a whole siling labuyo just in case the sauce wasn’t spicy enough for you – which it already is. My biggest complaint about the dish is that the meat was a little tough, and there wasn’t enough sauce. What good is curry if there isn’t any sauce? Also, I was expecting red or yellow curry, but the beef and eggplant curry was made more of coconut milk. It was pretty good, but not as good as I hoped it would have been.

Finally, there was the salmon belly, which I liked the least out of everything that was served. It wasn’t because this one in particular was bad; it’s because this is the part of the fish with the slimy, fishy taste that turns me off. To be fair, I gave this one a tiny little nibble. I ended up disliking it immediately and eating more of the chicken barbecue to get rid of the taste.

Overall, I really enjoyed my five-dish meal at Fish & Co last night and suggest that you try it out. But before you head to the Fish & Co nearest you, you might want to become a Facebook fan of Fish & Co first. Right now, Fish & Co is giving a special treat to their Facebook fans: if you bring two friends to any Fish & Co restaurant, you get one Just for Me meal of your choice for free! So go be a fan now and avail of this awesome promo.

Also, check out Marco’s take on the Fish and Co Just for Me Meals.

Fish & Co can be found at Shangri-La Mall, Greenbelt 3, SM Mall of Asia, Trinoma, and Alabang Town Center.

Tags: Seafood