A fish & chips with tail from Muddy Murphy's

My first fish & chips that came with a tail. Did not expect that. I haven't been to Muddy Murphy's (#01-02 to 05 Claymore Connect, 442 Orchard Road) for well over a decade. The menu has kinda changed since and everything looked kinda pricy. I was initially apprehensive at the fried fish until I tried it. That savoury ale batter was thin and crisp unlike what its appearances suggested. Fish was red snapper according to them. Not bad tasting but it's not Smiths. For what they charged, I expected them to be more generous with their buttery mushy peas than just that smudge.

Burgers from Dubliners

Well, here's a burger from the Irish watering hole Dubliner (165 Penang Road, #01-00 Winsland Conservation House, tel: 6735 2220) and it pretty much looked like any of the other burgers that they serve here. The differences are the cheeses and whether if there was bacon or not. I'd say that the burgers here were pretty decent with a nice firm patty that wasn't too crumbly. Decent if not spectacular. My gripe was that it could've been a little bigger since the patty was noticeably smaller than their very regular sized bun. This was in no way a match for the one at Molly Malone's which had better toasted buns and a heartier patty.

The unexpected surprise was the salad on the side. It was a mix of romaine lettuces, rocket, diced tomatoes and bits of onions tossed with some mayo dressing. What's good was that this guys really tossed the salad instead of giving a token dressing drizzled over the top. Which coated the greens nicely and the raw onions added a much appreciated depth. A sharp aroma not over the top. So despite its relatively simple appearances, this salad was actually pretty good.

I had a blue cheese burger and as I've mentioned, was pretty decent but lacked the satisfaction of volume. I recall something similar which I prefer. Also, crinkle cut fries aren't really my thing.

Weekend roast at Molly Malone's

It seems that Molly Malone's does a weekend roast which rotates between beef, lamb, chicken and pork for $25 with accompanying soup. It turned out to be a little disappointing for the portions and the taste wasn't impressive either. Didn't think very much at all of the thinly sliced roast in pepper sauce which has got one of the saddest looking (and tasting) Yorkshire pudding I've ever come across. Looked quite shrivelled. Here's a first and a last time for that. Will stick to the regular items from the menu. They're much better.

Goat's cheese salad, Irish stew and fish & chips

Dinner at Molly Malone's again. I thought the goat's cheese salad on toast here was pretty good if you're into pungent cheeses. The stinky cheese had enough kick plus it was rich and slightly creamy. The salad it came with was nicely tossed. Dressing had a clean taste in spite of appearing like Thousand Island.

I don't really know what's definitive about Irish stews but I'm guessing it's the lamb and root vegetables like onions, potatoes and carrots. And Guinness. That's the impression I have of them anyway and this one was actually not bad. The lamb was pretty tender. The stew was served with a bowl of real mashed potatoes which were delicious. By real, I meant that it did not come from powder. It's just a hundred percent finely mashed potatoes with some butter where the earthy taste was still detectable.

It's kinda tough to find good fish and chips here. These ones at Molly Malone's are probably one of the better ones I've had around. Other memorable mentions include Fisherman's Wharf and the next in line would actually be Fish & Co already. I'll have to try the Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro to draw another line of comparison. The menu here states pacific dory and it's a nice fish and chips with crispy batter. The fish was served hot and came in pretty good portions. For $16, I would say that it's decently priced. Doesn't the golden brown beckon to you?

Molly Malone, 56 Circular Road

If anyone was wondering how I spent the hours of the national day parade this year, it was in this Irish pub. Interestingly, a Dutch friend who's in town (who was here with me) mentioned that Molly Malone's is in Holland too. And while I haven't any measure on how Irish the food here might be, the portions were pretty generous without being overly expensive. If not anything else, food here is definitely filling - from the piping hot fish & chips to the Calgary stampede burger, which I thought was kinda strange an idea for a burger here. What does Canada have to do with this Irish bar? The food was hearty rather than sophisticated. Expect not the subliminal layers of complexity. Simple fare that's good with beer here. Yes! There is Strongbow.

 

fish & chips

Calgary stampede burger

tuna melt

Muddy pub grub

Irish themed ale tavern/pub that has chunky chilli crab dip for chips. That's something to say about Muddy Murphy (442 Orchard Road #B1-01/01-06, Orchard Hotel Shopping Arcade). Well, maybe not so unusual here. I generally like Irish themed pubs because they normally do Strongbow on tap and I can find a couple of other reasons come back. Their bar snacks while was not amazing were things that I didn't mind . We had chips with chilli crab dip and green lip mussels tonight.

The chilli crab dip tasted like what one could expect from regular chilli crab sauce. It probably isn't as spicy, but it did taste the local and not just an attempt do a western rendition of the sauce. Don't expect Chinese restaurant standards. Those mussels we got were pretty fresh tasting, large and chewy - chewy in a good way that's full of bite. Something that the sweeter smaller varieties from Norway that Brussels Sprouts serve, doesn't have.