The Orange Tree, Totteridge, London, N20 8NX, 18 September 2015

Hello hello hello Friday, tonight at The Orange Tree in Totteridge, continuing my Fish and Chips study.

Let’s not mess about, the only reason I am here tonight is Fish and chips, here we are, Beer-battered line-caught cod with twice-cooked chunky chips, minted pea purée and tartare sauce £12.50.  Funny, £12.50 does no longer sound expensive, ah, people are having glasses of Procecco in this place…. And, Cooooool, the waitress takes order via iPhone which send order straight to the kitchen, no room for mistake here!

1.  Fish 10/10.  Delicious!!!! Skin is on, which is always good sign, fresh, juicy and flavoursome.  Batter perfectly coated fish, not too thick, not too thin, well integrated with fish.  A fantastic texture, does not feel greasy at all until the last bite.   No strange twists (i.e., herbs in batter) as this kind of pretentious places commonly apply to their foods.
2. Chips 10/10 OMG.  They are divine. Again, a fantastic texture, crunchy outside, perfectly fluffy inside, packed with absolute fresh, honest potato flavour.  Not a hint of greasiness.
3. Peas 8/10.  Delicious.  Only minus point is that this was rather crushed pea, not pea puree.  Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with crushed pea, you just need to describe better.

Shame, tartare sauce should have been in the pot.  As foods were so hot, tartare source soon melted in the dish made it very messy and became “uncontrollable”.  I did not necessarily want my foods covered by melted tartare sauce, as they were so delicious as they were.

OMG, this may be one of my best experience so far, I can give firm 9/10.  I will be back soon, to test “consistency”.   Previously I was disappointed often in this category.  One good fish and chips is certainly good to celebrate.  However, if you can reproduce the quality then there certainly be a reason to celebrate and earn my recognition.

Good night!!!