ps. Please excuse the low quality of the photos. I had forgotten to bring my camera and so had to rely on a camera phone for the shots.
Since its opening years ago in Singapore, I’ve heard rave reviews about Manhattan Fish Market from my friends. My personal dining experience at the Plaza Singapura branch a few years back, however, wasn’t all that great, a subpar experience marred by mediocre food and lukewarm service.
At that time, Fish & Co., its biggest competitor, seemed indisputably superior (although that statement has to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt since I’m a huge F&C fan). Wanting to give the Market another go, though, I headed down to the Marina Square outlet with my friends. While the prices for the food were competitive, I’d say Fish & Co. still reigns supreme in the Western seafood department.
My friends and I all ordered the pacific dory fish n’ chips, a platter of fried fish that looked like a bang for the buck (only costing about S$9, several dollars cheaper than Fish Co.’s fish and chips).
Cooked different from Fish & Co.’s signature dish, the Market’s fish n’ chips was deep fried, with a thick shell of crispy golden batter, served with a side of fries. While the initial taste of the fish was flavourful, the overwhelming amount of grease and oil soon resulted in a feeling of bloat, not to mention the resulting guilt at having shoved essentially deep fried flour (which out-volumed the almost two-to-one) down our gullets. The fries were decent but unremarkable, although it has to be said that they were surprisingly oil-free.
The service, though, was much improved since the last time. The service personnel were friendly and attentive and we had constant refills of iced water without even having to ask.
The main draw of the outlet, at least from the viewpoint of a poor student or NS-man, would be the competitive pricing and admittedly, the prices were cheap. On top of the S$9 fish n’ chips, they also had several set meals catered towards students, offering up dishes like fried fish pieces, fried mushrooms and garlic rice at pretty affordable rates (alas, we only spotted the menu for that after it was too late to change our orders).
Still, I’d recommend the food here only for those on a tight budget or who are looking for their deep fried grease fix. For anyone else looking for good Western seafood, I’d advise heading to Fish ; Co. instead.
Of course, that’s my opinion from only having tried one dish (albeit one that’s supposed to be highly recommended). How have your experiences at Manhattan Fish Market (this or any other outlet) been? Any particularly outstanding dishes?
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