It had been a long, stress-filled week, ending with an extremely busy Friday afternoon and when I finally had my feet up, I realised I had not eaten all day!
By le connoisseur
A treat was definitely in order, so I called a friend and made plans for lunch at The Fishmonger the following day.
The restaurant is in East Road, Avondale, with parking across the street and a guard keeping a watchful eye. I was running late and wasn’t too sure of my destination but recognised my friend’s vehicle, parked, joined her on the verandah and we ordered a club special and Malawi shandy.
For starters we were immediately tempted by the prawns, calamari and trinchado. I could not decide, so checked out the main courses. I knew I just had to have prawns, everything else was secondary! After much ooh-ing and ah-ing we made a decision; garlic prawns for my starter and a sailor’s platter for main course. My friend opted for tempura prawns followed by sole.
My starter, beautifully pink prawns smothered in a creamy yellow sauce, delivered a scintillating aroma. I took my first bite and just fell in love with the delicious flavour of this dish. The garlic was not overpowering and the creamy texture of the sauce was a great contrast to the prawns.
I recall ecstatically moaning and clutching my chest. When I opened my eyes, I realised I had made a spectacle of myself because the little girl at the next table was regarding me with undisguised concern! I had to pull myself together and continue with that delectable dish with less dramatic flair. My friend thoroughly enjoyed her starter. Her batter dipped prawns were served on a platter with a special sauce.
They were cooked perfectly, crisp tempura batter and succulent prawn meat.
After this outstanding start, we anticipated our main courses with relish. My sailor’s platter comprised hake fillet, prawns, calamari and chips. It looked fantastic. The hake was well cooked but lacking in seasoning and the rich sauce rather overwhelmed the fish.
The calamari, in a mildly flavoured sauce, was quite chewy. The prawns were superb, especially with a little squeeze of lemon, and the freshly made chips were great.
My friend’s sole, served with mixed vegetables which included carrots, baby marrow, onions, butternut, red pepper, aubergine and yellow rice, created a combination of many tastes that did not quite connect, with the delicate and subtle flavour of the sole, like my hake, rather overpowered by the accompanying rich, buttery sauce. We concluded that the main courses were all right, but lacked the pizzazz of the starters.
For dessert, we ordered chocolate mousse and pavlova. My mousse, served with a scoop of ice-cream, strawberries and mint garnish, was sumptuously rich and delicious, and though by now altogether replete, I just could not resist devouring every last morsel!
My friend’s pavlova comprising chewy meringue, cream, lemon curd sauce, strawberries and blueberries, was definitely enjoyed too because it disappeared very quickly from her plate! In fact, her only complaint was that it wasn’t three times bigger! We rounded off our meal with some filter coffee, having enjoyed our fishmonger experience.
Family Restaurant 4 Plates Expect to spend US$30 to US$50 per head 50 East Road Avondale
