You enter an eatery called Fish & Co and there are naturally preconceived notions of what the fare will consist of. And yes, I don’t mean lamb, rabbit stew or lechon kawali. To my boys’ delight, they really subscribe to Fish & Co’s claim that it has the best Fish and Chips in town. Whether served straight up with a simple lemon wedge, or the New York Fish and Chips version that has cheese in the fish fillet, my boys regularly ask that I bring them to this long standing favorite of theirs. The Fish and Chips is served in a skillet; and very lightly breaded and “browned,” the dory really makes for soft and tender fillet cuts.
So it came as something as a surprise to make our regular monthly trek to the Greenbelt F&C and discover that Hainanese Chicken was now on the menu! From the day the restaurant opened, they had provided a number of menu items with the meat eater in mind, but to expand on those dishes was something of a revelation. The Hainanese Chicken, a poached half chicken served with savory ginger rice and the traditional dipping sauces and broth, is one of the four new “Island Spice” dishes that Fish & Co recently introduced. There’s also a Seafood Paella, consisting of mixed seafood, baked with long grain rice and in a coconut saffron broth. And there’s Baked Seabass, a whole fish stuffed with oriental herbs and spices and served with ginger rice. Last, but not least, as it was my favorite of the new dishes, there’s a Seafood Curry that consists of fish fillet, squid, shrimps and mussels, all baked in a spicy red coconut curry sauce, topped on steamed long grain rice.
The Curry was spicy enough for me to bestow mercy and not have the boys take a bite. They can take spicy food in moderation, but this dish was competing with their steady favorites of Baked Oyster and the Fish and Chips, so it was declared No Contest and I had the curry to myself. I wasn’t disappointed, and can highly recommend the dish. The Hainanese Chicken and Baked Seabass looked great as well, and I had a few bites of it. What is great to discover is that Fish & Co aren’t ready to live on their fish dishes alone. Not one to rest on their aquatic laurels (or would that be seaweed?), the restaurant continues to diversify its menu and provide fresh treats for its returning customers. There are presently three branches; one at the Mall of Asia and one at the EDSA Shangri-La Mall. A TriNoma branch is set to open this December.
Skewed world visions
Authors utilize unique ways of looking at this world that make all the difference when reading their works of fiction. The three novels today are richly steeped in imagination while consistently entertaining. It may be worlds not quite as we know it, or a richly created past, yet they still manage to say quite a bit about our present-day lives.
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff (available at Powerbooks): Ever since Sewer Gas & Electric, Matt Ruff has been a favorite author of mine. His works inhabit a unique, skewed world that brims with off-the-wall humor and compelling storylines. While there are fantasy elements in his novels, they are always rooted in today’s world, just a world that’s slightly, but crucially, different from the one we’re familiar with. In this, his latest, the premise has to do with supposing that vigilante justice is not a single-minded endeavor, but would be a highly organized effort. What kind of person would be recruited? We meet Jane Charlotte as she’s been arrested for murder, and the novel becomes a fascinating psychological portrait. A flawed heroine (shades of the TV show Alias), Jane claims to work for the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons (or Bad Monkeys). The interviews between Jane and the prison psychiatrist propel much of the plot, and it fascinates as we decide if Jane is telling the truth, is insane, or playing possum.
The Scandal of the Season by Sophie Gee (available at Fully Booked): It’s the world of epic poet Alexander Pope, his reputation as a poet just blossoming, a year before he writes his masterpiece, the Rape of the Lock. The Scandal of the Season is the very well researched novel by Sophie Gee, a book that’s reminiscent of Dangerous Liaisons. Staying faithful to the highly formalized idiom of that time, Gee still manages to make her characters come to vivid life. The flirting, the seducing, the pandering and teasing may all be done in a florid, stiff style, but the meaning and intentions crackle off the pages. There are conspiracies and plots against the reigning Queen Monarch in the hopes of bringing back a Catholic Stuart to the throne. There are masquerades and operas that act as the cynosure of social activity. And against this setting, the scandalous affair between Lord Petre and Arabella Fermor, whose lock of hair and the story behind its significance, becomes the inspiration for Pope’s poem.
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips (available at Powerbooks): This has got to be one of the major fun reads of the year. Marie Phillips takes the eternal life of Greek gods, and transports them to 21st century London. In her hilariously woven tapestry, Apollo is the host of a hokey psychic show on television, Aphrodite is into phone sex for hire and Artemis earns money as a dog-walker. Mortals, in the form of a meek house cleaner, and her even meeker boyfriend, have encounters with the three and the rest of the family. Mayhem and laughs ensue as we follow the misadventures of this motley and divine group. Zeus, with matching fatal lightning bolt, makes a cameo, as do countless other gods, all of whom are having their own difficulties dealing with eternal life and a 21st century where gods just don’t carry the weight and respect they used to enjoy. To her credit, Phillips manages to make all the myths and lore of the Greek pantheon of gods very accessible and familiar. This one had me chuckling throughout.