After hearing so much puffery about Romas Hooks & Chooks, I decided to pay the establishment a visit to find out why there was so much noise being made about it. So, taking a very light breakfast yesterday morning, I went down to the fish and chip shop around 1:45PM with a mate.
One of the first things which caught my attention was the smell inside – the smell of overheated oil mingled with smoke gave me the impression I was inside Dan’s Fish and Chips – I think we all know what that smells like. While many may argue that it’s a very acceptable smell and nice to be around, I beg to differ especially when you come out of said place smelling like you had a swim in a vat of lard. Perhaps what compounds the situation is if the smell gets into your clothes and you have an executive meeting to get to and you turn up smelling like you’re moonlighting as a kitchen hand in a fish and chips shop – this is where the business deal can go smelly.
Anyway, once we were successfully inside, we joined the queue of people waiting to place their orders – perhaps having a second cashier would be very useful during peak hours, particularly the lunch hour rush. There was quite a range of fish available to choose from. Ranging from tuna to parrotfish, the fillets displayed were rather tantalizingly displayed and people seemed to be somewhat lost since very few know what each of the fish really taste like and simply choose a fish which has a nice sounding name. I made a selection for my mate and me – however it would be unfair of me to name the fish as this could compromise the choice you would make should you choose to go there.
Once you’ve placed your order, you’re given a ticket with a number which is used to identify you to your order. My mate and I were number 51 as we took a seat as far away as possible from the kitchen to avoid the smoky smell. After about fifteen minutes, our order was ready and the waitress placed two baskets of steaming fish and chips in front of us with cold seafood salad. The smell coming from the baskets was warm, inviting and reminded me of freshly caught fish which was then cooked in a black pan over a bonfire on the beach. The chips looked tempting but similar to that which is found in all fish and chip shops. It had the same texture and size to the commercially sold bags of chips one can find in leading supermarkets around Fiji.
The fish itself looked fairly interesting – it didn’t look dodgy and the batter seemed to be done just right which meant it wasn’t overly crispy or too soggy. The meat seemed tender and didn’t give of any sulphuric smell to kill the people around it – it looked and smelled just right which is generally a plus for any restaurant owner since the food had to smell and look right if you’re going to have people carry out the actual exercise – eating it.
A bite of the fish didn’t initially bring any memories of any special events which I could associate with the fish – it tasted very similar to what I could get at Dans and that place at MHCC which has opened very recently. In fact the fish tasted just average. There was nothing spectacular about it which is also a good thing because fish and chips should never be subjected to anything spectacular and left as they are. The fish tasted normal and chips along with the seafood salad complimented it very well – I suppose congratulations are in order to Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia. The man has raised the bar by serving fish and chips in an environment similar to that of a Turkish bath – no, I’m not much of a “wood” fan.
All in all, the eating experience in Romas is rather unique because you get to choose everything about your food from the fish type to the batter which can be either spicy or normal – perhaps Ratu Sakiusa will introduce the beer batter and tempura options later on which would genuinely appeal to those rolling out of O’ Reilly’s and Traps at the weekends looking for alcohol laced food or food laced with alcohol. While I wouldn’t make a song and dance about the whole affair, the place seemed to instill a level of calm in the lives of its customers – I genuinely felt like I had nothing to rush about while inside Romas and the sight of Ratu Sakiusa standing and eagerly watching people flock in and out of the place gave me an impression that the bloke was genuinely interested and wanted to make sure his clientele were getting served properly.
The world of fish and chips is a complex one and it is important to remember that while the batter may be one containing exquisite herbs and spices, the idea is to ensure that a person can still taste the fish behind all that decoration – never overdo a fish and chips dish. Leave it to taste the way it should – like fish and chips; something Romas has certainly been able to achieve in its very short period of time in the bustling and cut-throat world of cuisine.
