Lunch at the Fishmarket
Yesterday we finally went for lunch in the fish market. We got up and had breakfast early so we were hungry at just the right time.
The weather has been a bit temperamental lately but this weekend it has been lovely and warm (too hot for Sean, but I'm starting to get used to it). We walked to the fish market and were pretty warm by the time we got there. We had a look around and decided to get lunch from Christie's as they are well known as the best place for buying raw seafood in the fish market.
We decided to get a standard seafood platter for two, comprising fish, octopus, scallops, prawns, oysters and calamari. We had a problem once we'd bought it though; there was only one table free and it didn't have any chairs. We went outside to look for a table but they were all full with some people having resorted to sitting on the grass and many others hovering. We went back to our chairless table and managed to secure a single chair.
The platter itself was pretty disappointing. The fish was OK but not great, similarly the calamari. The prawns were drowned in thick batter and the octopus was in a sweet chilli sauce. The scallops were cooked in garlic butter and the best thing on the plate. The chips were also good - but we didn't come for chips!
We got two different types of cooked oyster to try, which was very exciting. The first was Oyster Mornay. I had seen these available uncooked to take home and also lobster mornay. This had led me to hope that in fact it was not the thick, slightly tasteless mornay sauce that I learnt to cook at school but more like a thermidor sauce. It was the former. However the other oysters - Kilpatrick - were fantastic. Topped with a mixture of tomato and worcester ("Kilpatrick") sauce and chopped bacon they were really tasty.
So although not a spectacular lunch we learned a couple of useful things: always get a table before ordering and choose what you want rather than having a mixed platter. I'm just looking forward to next time....
Yesterday we finally went for lunch in the fish market. We got up and had breakfast early so we were hungry at just the right time.
The weather has been a bit temperamental lately but this weekend it has been lovely and warm (too hot for Sean, but I'm starting to get used to it). We walked to the fish market and were pretty warm by the time we got there. We had a look around and decided to get lunch from Christie's as they are well known as the best place for buying raw seafood in the fish market.
We decided to get a standard seafood platter for two, comprising fish, octopus, scallops, prawns, oysters and calamari. We had a problem once we'd bought it though; there was only one table free and it didn't have any chairs. We went outside to look for a table but they were all full with some people having resorted to sitting on the grass and many others hovering. We went back to our chairless table and managed to secure a single chair.
The platter itself was pretty disappointing. The fish was OK but not great, similarly the calamari. The prawns were drowned in thick batter and the octopus was in a sweet chilli sauce. The scallops were cooked in garlic butter and the best thing on the plate. The chips were also good - but we didn't come for chips!
We got two different types of cooked oyster to try, which was very exciting. The first was Oyster Mornay. I had seen these available uncooked to take home and also lobster mornay. This had led me to hope that in fact it was not the thick, slightly tasteless mornay sauce that I learnt to cook at school but more like a thermidor sauce. It was the former. However the other oysters - Kilpatrick - were fantastic. Topped with a mixture of tomato and worcester ("Kilpatrick") sauce and chopped bacon they were really tasty.
So although not a spectacular lunch we learned a couple of useful things: always get a table before ordering and choose what you want rather than having a mixed platter. I'm just looking forward to next time....
posted by Zoe at 11:56 AM
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