It is now clear why New Mandarin had let its sign fall into some disrepair recently, it has now closed and is about to be replaced by a chippie.
I stopped using the New Mandarin regularly a few years ago when they inexplicable dropped their vegetarian curry from their take-away menu leaving me with just the spicy tofu as a sensible option but it (and the people who worked there) were a fixture on Ham Parade and it was nice to have a choice of decent restaurants locally.
A chippie will be quite different as there will be more of a focus on the take-away trade and it will tend to be busy earlier in the evening than the restaurant was. It is hard to see that as an improvement but I am prepared to give it a chance to prove me wrong.
Well, tries the new fish & chip shop, all looked promising with the que 20 deep and to be fair the food was OK but just OK and at £8.00 for cod & chips I would have hoped for more than frozen chips & soggy batter, albeit with a slice of lemon. Great fish & chips needs to try a bit harder or the ques will soon diminish.
ReplyDeleteWas pleased to find a chippie had popped up on the parade, but after trying them out I doubt I'll be back. It's a fast food chippie and everything seems to be straight from the freezer.
ReplyDeleteA little disappointing. The chips taste oven cooked rather than fried and were not very nice.
ReplyDeleteThey have spring rolls, but a few more vegetarian options would have been good.
It was the best fish and chips I had ever had. There chips are delicious. There fish was very nice it was cooked to perfection the batter was perfect it was not thick or soggy.
ReplyDeleteI am heartbroken the new mandarin is gone. We've been going there since I was born and their shredded chicken in chilli was incredible. So sad
ReplyDeleteWe went the day it opened... Once my wife found out the chips weren't proper chip shop chips (frozen oven chips), she has refused to go back. And we were pretty excited about a local chippy opening... Back to Fish Kitchen in Norbiton or the two reliable Richmond options until we hear it's changed.
ReplyDeleteI walked past today, and after seeing the nice looking German deli, i fancied a bag of chips. He firstly tied to serve the chips in a polystyrene box. When i asked for them to be wrapped in paper, the person started wrapping the poly box in paper. I pointed out that i wanted the chips wrapped in aper and i got them badly wrapped in a single sheet, so they almost fell out. The chips were soft soggy and lukewarm, and probably the worse chips ive ever eaten.
ReplyDeleteThe fish was good, served in a box which kept it crispy. But the chips, as others have mentioned, were frozen, they had a processed taste and texture and this was a real let-down. Come on Great Fish and Chips, get some real potatoes frying and we'll make sure you stay busy!
ReplyDeleteUPDATE! The chips are no longer frozen oven chips, they are now made from real, fresh potatoes - I got cod and chips the other night and it was all delicious. So they have listened to their customers - good for them. Also they have installed a cash machine, very useful!
ReplyDeleteALSO note one review above that mentions chips in a poly box is about a different fish and chip shop.