Seasalt - the Seafood Place : Fish & Chips done right

Seasalt - the Seafood Place started on 8 December 2013 and they used to be at Salute, a hipster coffee shop in Jalan Bukit Merah before moving to the current location about a year ago. They are located just a stone's throw from Marymount MRT station. They aim to serve fresh and simple seafood with a touch of salty love as mentioned on their website. There is an ordering kiosk at the left of the stall, you are expected to order by selecting the items listed via touch screen and make payment using NETS.

For starters, I decided to order the fried calamari with marinara sauce ($8) that is listed as one of their recommended options on their menu. There is also a grilled calamari Cajun style ($8) as well. There are other interesting items on the menu like grilled mushroom salad ($5), fried country mushroom with cheese and lemon butter ($6), fried white baits ($6) and fried crispy crab bites with sambal ($6).

The must-try has to be their hand battered fish served with fries and green. First, you have to select the type of fish followed by the type of sauce. There are a few choices of fish, like the dory (soft and moist texture) at $9, snapper (flaky and moist texture) at $13 and premium haddock (cold water fish with flaky texture) at $13. As for the sauces, the choices include their signature lemon butter ($1), nacho cheese ($2), wasabi mayo ($2) and creamy salted egg ($3). I decided to go with premium haddock as this was the first time that I came across this fish and wanted it to go with their signature lemon butter. There is also a grilled and baked section and you have only the option of choosing either dory or snapper. I opted for the grilled snapper together with their signature lemon butter sauce. I picked up a pager from the counter and scanned it before proceeding with the payment using NETS. 

I waited for about 15 minutes before the pager buzzed. I went to the counter, collected the 2 main dishes and was told to hold on to the pager as the calamari is not ready yet. It buzzed again in a few minutes, and I went back to pick up the starter. I realized that it did not come with any sauce and so, I went back to the counter again. I was told to wait for a bit while they checked the order. The staff apologized and offered to send the sauce over to our table when is ready. 

The grilled snapper was a good choice, the fillet came in 2 pieces and was lightly seasoned so as not to overwhelm the flavor and also, to bring out its natural taste. It was served with a pile of rice that consists of sliced mushroom, it tasted rather healthy with a slight taste of coriander. 

The deep-fried premium haddock came in 2 pieces, lightly drizzled with the signature lemon butter sauce and served along with fries and green. It was lightly battered and perfectly fried to a desired crispiness but still retained its moistness within. Ernest explained that a lighter batter is used so that their customers will taste more fish in each bite and not having to eat a thick coat of batter just to get to the fish. My only gripe is more lemon better sauce should be provided as it complemented the fish rather well.

I totally enjoyed the fried calamari, it was lightly battered and fried to perfection without compromising its texture. It tasted so fresh and tender, this was amongst the best that I have ever eaten. I would rather eat it on its own and without the accompanying marinara sauce which did not have much effect in enhancing the taste further. Ernest, the owner, mentioned that they started with frozen squid rings but the texture was too rubbery and does not meet the required standard. They then started to experiment with fresh squid and have been using it since then. 

Ernest came over to ask, "How's the food?". I pointed at the empty plate and said, "This is really nice." He asked, "What type of fish did you order?" I replied, "Haddock." He said, "Usually those that know how to eat fish will go for it." He mentioned that their customers compared their fish & chips with the one by Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro and rated it of the same standard. And, some of these customers traveled all the way from other parts of Singapore just to eat it every week. To maintain its freshness and quality, only limited portions of certain popular fish choices are served daily as serving it fresh and simple is always their philosophy.

If you are a fan of fish & chips, you will have to give this place a try as they serve one of the better fish & chips in Singapore. 

SEASALT - THE SEAFOOD PLACE

38 Jalan Pemimpin #01-04 M38 SINGAPORE 577178

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm / 5.30 pm to 9.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Meld Grilled Kitchen at M38, Jalan Pemimpin

It is mentioned on their Facebook page that they serve fusion cuisine such as those from Switzerland, Italian, French and Japanese and is supposedly carefully prepared by a former chef from an established restaurant. I would think it is too ambitious in wanting to serve a bit of everything from different countries. Nonetheless, I was curious enough to order from this stall to see how good does it fare. I went with the item listed as M102 which they named it Chicken Boneless Crusted Cereal for $9.80. It comprises of a fried breaded chicken served with truffle fries, garden salad with their homemade sauce. There is no description of their homemade sauce on the menu. I was given a pager and I walked away, one of their staff came after me with the name card and said, I could refer to their Facebook page for their dishes. When I went back to collect my order, it was just left at the counter with no one attending it.

It was served on a large rectangular plate, the fried breaded chicken came in 2 pieces with truffle fries and baked bean served separately in the bowls and garden salad by the side. 

The breaded chicken seemed to be a bit too dark though no burnt taste detected and even so, it tasted quite bland. The homemade sauce was unexpectedly spicy which I did not like. The garden salad consists of a pile of lettuce, red cabbage and cherry tomatoes with a handful of sweet corns and olives with thousand island dressing.

The Western fare at this stall is quite disappointing so if you are there, you might want to go for other choices like Burgerlicious, the other stall just next to this stall or if you are adventurous enough, you might want to try the Indian stall at the corner or even seafood dishes from Seasalt - The Seafood Place.

MELD GRILLED KITCHEN
38 Jalan Pemimpin #01-04 M38 Building SINGAPORE 577178
Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 10.30 pm (Daily)

Burgerlicious : Keeping it real

Burgerlicious is a new burger stall that recently opened on 19 June 2017 at M38, an "atas" coffee shop along Jalan Pemimpin, within walking distance from Marymount MRT. It is brought to you by the same people behind Seasalt - The Seafood Place that used to be at Salute, a coffee shop in Jalan Bukit Merah before moving to the current location about a year ago. Ernest Ang is one of the owners and he was there when I placed my order.

I decided on the Burgerlicious Cheesy ($9.50) and when I was asked whether I want it with side dishes, I asked for a recommendation. There are choices of Potato Tots ($2.00), Sweet Potato Fries ($2.50) and Onion Tails ($2.50). Ernest recommended that I should go with Sweet Potato Fries which I did. Other than the classics burgers, some of their signatures are Grilled Pork Belly Confit Burger ($10.00), Pork Bulgogi Burger ($9.00) and Kung Pao Chicken Burger ($9.50). 

Burgerlicious Cheesy consists of a grilled Australian beef patty, mayo, greens, nacho cheese, smoking BBQ sauce, sauteed onions, bacon, tomato and a sunny-side-up egg. 

Ernest came over to our table and he asked, "How's the food?". He said he has been doing so to collect feedbacks from his customers in order to improve on it further. And, he said, "I also went around trying other burgers and comparing them to mines." He listed out some of the famous ones that he tried like the recently opened 25 Degrees, Two Blur Guys, Fatboy's The Burger Bar and even Corner Burger. And, the burger from 25 Degrees is amongst his favourite choices. He even showed us the food pictures that he took on his phone. He shared, "I ever went to a burger stall and asked for their recommendation before deciding what to eat. The owner was telling me that all of their 9 choices of burgers are good which I am not convinced, there must be something special or a more popular item amongst these burgers."

He said, "I do not cook the burgers all the time but I supervise and make sure that my workers can deliver the same standard. I have friends coming over and they requested that I cook for them but instead, I tell them that let my workers cook for you as they are the ones that do most of the cooking and who knows, they are able to cook better than me."

I was impressed with the burger but I felt that the price is a little on the high side which I shared with Ernest. It would be more acceptable if it is served with sides for $9.50 and not just the burger itself. Again, I suppose most of the customers would not mind paying a little more for better quality and also, to take into consideration that their rental is much higher therefore it is somewhat acceptable. 

I enjoyed chatting with Ernest. He is passionate, humble and rather knowledgeable in the food business, which impressed me. He said, "If you come back 6 months later and the burger stall is still here, this means it made it." We shall wait and see but I do hope that they will do well and stay around as they do serve one of the better burgers.

BURGERLICIOUS

38 Jalan Pemimpin #01-04 M38 SINGAPORE 577178

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 3.00 pm / 5.00 pm to 9.30 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)