Got fish?

When it's been a long day at work, the best reward is a surprise dinner at Big Fish Seafood Grill. I say surprise because Terz was eating with his mates by the time I finished work and called him, so I thought I was destined for a quiet dinner by myself at our neighbourhood coffeeshop --- but two colleagues had also been working late and we decided to go eat together. The surprise was further sweetened when we decided, impromptu, that instead of eating at boring Coffee Club, we'd try Big Fish Seafood Grill, which Ondine's been raving about for weeks.

There are many good things about Big Fish Seafood Grill: succulent deep-fried prawns and deep-fried brie cubes, slathered in a zingy marinara sauce; baked oysters au gratin, rich juices pooled in each shell; grilled fish on a skewer in meat-like chunks; perfectly pan-fried lemon sole, so smooth it peels sweetly away from the bone, then the entire skeleton lifts seamlessly to expose the other half of the fish.

There are many nice people in Big Fish Seafood Grill: the boss woman in a lime green shirt, who is happy to change the fried prawns in the mixed seafood to fish for my colleague's fish-loving, prawn-hating son; the cheerful young bespectacled waiter, who refills water glasses without needing to be asked; the obliging older man who took our orders and waited patiently while my colleague understandably dithered over so many choices, so many possibilities!; and of course the maestro himself, the uncontested king of the kitchen, who presides over every dish that's served up to the customer, with only two assistants (not sous-chefs) at his side.

You can see the maestro and his assistants all too clearly because the kitchen is separated from the restaurant dining room by a mere glass wall, and the chef never takes a moment to rest. If anything, that's his shortcoming: every dish is tenderly prepared by him, so the food takes a while in coming. We waited a time for the appetizers, then waited a time again for the entrees.

But why complain, when every bite of fish melts smoothly on your tongue?

I'll be back for more.

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