Features

Willowbank

Chips $3.60 | Fish $3.30
Upon reaching Willowbank we were so eager to sink our teeth into plentifull greasy fish and chips that it seemed possible we had set our standards too high. A warmer housed stacks of chips and fried chicken with a deep brown, cracked batter, beneath a lurid yellow light. We had to order fish specially, though what we were presented with a few minutes later was hardly what one would call “special”. Unless of course you dig a tasteless, oversized, crumbed fish finger. Fellow reviewers called it “foul” and “very odd”. Though we were ripped off on the “fish” side of things (if you could even call it that), the chips were glorious. Boasting chicken salt and grease, they were thick-cut, soft and hot as if they were straight out of the fryer. Willowbank also offer scoops of gravy on your chips for just 60c. Go there for chips alone, but don’t bother with the poorly-crumbed portion of sea creature; stick with the chicken.

Golden Sun

Chips $1.20 | Fish $1.80
The woman at Golden Sun yelled at me to buy their chips, instead of their (notably better) competitor’s, when she spied us heading next door after parking in her carpark. So we followed her instructions and were fairly unimpressed. The chips lacked any kind of feel-good grease factor, though they were pretty standard for your usual takeaway. The fish was about as interesting as a Saturday night spent at St Margaret’s, encased in an unpleasantly doughy batter lacking that desirable crisp factor. A picnic bench sat somberly outside with a few pathetic seagulls roaming around for scraps. One of the team noted that Golden Sun probably makes their money from the hungover locals who are too impatient to wait in the queue at Mei Wah. I’d agree with that.

Mei Wah

Chips $1.50 | Fish $1.90
Mei Wah is a popular deep fried haunt that delivered with its fleshy, well-battered fish, but let us down in the chip stakes. What we anticipated to be a crowd favourite was ultimately mediocre due to the dry and unevenly salted chips. Pop along for a piece of fish and a pineapple fritter (my personal favourite), but don’t expect the chips to wow you. Sufficiently satisfying, but no more.

The 24

Chips $2.90 | Fish $2.90
The 24 we frequented is nestled at the bottom of Park and Regent Streets, one of the most infuriating intersections in North Dunedin. We were privy to a shocking example of Food Warmer Failure whereby the chips left a bitter aftertaste in our mouths, and had turned an off-putting, speckled brown. The fish was practically swimming in a dull and oily batter (see what I did there?). We took joy in spitting the chips into the nearby rubbish bin, with comments of “these chips are not okay”, “good God” and “fuck that” echoing loud and clear. It is incredibly disappointing that a convenience store cannot provide its locale with a decent spread of fish and chips. These guys need to change their frying oil. Eat at your own risk.

Squiddies (WINNER!!!)

Chips $2.60 | Fish $1.90
The Flying Squid, or “Squiddies” as it is affectionately known, was our final stop, but a welcome one at that. After a run of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly, we went ahead and optimistically ordered chips – both fatties and skinnies – and a few pieces of their standard fish. The skinnies were a let-down, but seeing as I personally find skinnies to be the dregs of the takeaway chip world, we’ll let it slide. The fatties on the other hand were a solid effort, nicely greasy and consistently soft. The fish is pretty good value for $1.90, with a crisp batter. Their hot dogs are superb at just $1.90 also, with batter coating the entire stick. Cheers, Squiddies, for redeeming the humble art of fish and chippery.