The devil owns fish & chips

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Fish and chips here cooked to perfection


HARRY Ramsden may not be in business anymore but if you still pine for good fish and chips, you can go to the Faber Creek Pub.
By Denis Tay
02 March 2006

HARRY Ramsden may not be in business anymore but if you still pine for good fish and chips, you can go to the Faber Creek Pub.
This place serves the dish as its signature fare.
The batter and fish are just excellent.
The fish is crispy on the outside but soft and fresh inside.
The chips that come with it are just as appetising - crispy, brown and straight from the pan.
The cook, Cheam, is just 19-years-old and a final-year mechanical engineering student at ITE.
He attends classes in the morning and works at the pub after school.
One would think the batter is easy to prepare but Cheam says he got the technique right only after much trial and error mixing together three types of flour - corn, plain and self-raising.
He adds a little beer to get the three kinds of flour to blend together and that helps give it the crunchy taste.
He learnt the technique from a friend from Melbourne, who in turn learnt it from his mother.
That is why it is called Aussie-style fish basket on the menu.
The fish used is fillet of 'sutchi' - ocean-fresh fish which can be obtained from any NTUC supermarket.
No need for fanciful snapper or kurau, it seems.
Cheam mixes the batter and fries it all in a deep fryer.
The finished dish is ready just 15 minutes after you have placed your order.
For just $8, you get four to five pieces of fish with a generous serving of chips all in a basket that keeps the fish and chips fresh and warm as you feast.
Unless you are very hungry, it is enough for two persons.
Add Hollandaise sauce and a pint of beer and it's just like the traditional English fish 'n chips.
The only difference is that it is not served on newspaper!
Faber Creek's menu - called 'Lucky 13' - includes deep-fried tofu with a 'secret' chilli sauce and fish or chicken club sandwiches.
The pub is located among three other stalls - Margarita's, which serves Mexican fare, Giovanni's Mediterranean and Faber Valley's North Indian curry stall.
The pub is a boon for those who work at NUS or the Jurong industrial parks and is worth the five-minute drive after work.
Go there on weekends when your maid has her off-day and there is no home cooking.
And don't forget the golfers from Jurong and Raffles clubs either.Denis Tay is a retired senior publishing executive who likes to find good things in unusual places.

FYI
FABER CREEK PUB & RESTAURANT WHERE: Faber Creek, 104 Faber Drive, at Faber Hills Estate.OPERATING HOURS: 6pm to 10pm, seven days a week.TEL: 6778 3363

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