Joburg's Fish Hook gets the nod from Gugs Mhlungu and food anthropologist Anna Trapido
Gugs Mhlungu and food anthropologist Dr Anna Trapido wax lyrical about the fish and chips from Randburg's Fish Hook.
Fish and chips. Facebook/Fish Hook
When one thinks fish and chips, one imagines seagulls and coastlines, but along the M20 between Cresta and Linden, in the suburb of Darrenwood, one will find Fish Hook: an old-school, one-table take-away joint replete with a resident chip-stealing pigeon in place of seagulls.
"It's a proper, old-school fish and chips shop. You know, you can have mushy peas, they've even got Yorkshire Pudding."
Dr Anna Trapido - Food Anthropologist
Old-school, not just in aesthetics and menu options, but in price too. Just over R150 can get you a small portion of hake and chips, and a small portion of calamari and chips, although the word 'small' is deceiving in this context.
"The fish wasn't actually that small. If that was their small, I don't know what their large looks like."
Gugs Mhlungu - 702 Weekend Breakfast Host
As for the overall experience, Fish Hook taps into the heart-warming, child-like excitement of a classic fish and chips shop, from standing in the queue, to getting the food in an old-fashioned brown paper bag.
"Everybody feels like it's a treat. If you're in the queue at the fish and chips shop, everybody smiles at everyone else, there's a nice sense of anticipation."
Dr Anna Trepido - Food Anthropologist
And the food? The batter is crispy and gives way to excellent, flaky white fish, and the chips are good enough to make it into the pantheon of perfect chips - it should also be noted that all the hake served at Fish Hook is sustainable.
The only down-side to the whole experience was there not being enough vinegar on the chips, says Trapido.
"They didn't quite understand the extent of our vinegar addiction."
Dr Anna Trepido - Food Anthropologist
Scroll up to the media player to hear more about the experience, as well as a bit of the history of fish and chips.