Fich at Petersham

There is no doubt that fish and chips is an iconic duo in Australia. My highschool days are full of so much great memories of visits to local fish and chips shops. The aroma in the air and music of frying batter to seeing dashes of chicken salt sprinkled on the hot chips was a jolly sensory experience for me. I have enjoyed so many fish and chips in my life but not as much as my recent visit to Fich Petersham.

Right in the center of Petersham is where you’ll find Jose Silva (Sweet Bellem co-owner & ex-Bennelong chef) and Manny Paraiso’s (also an ex-Bennelong chef) seafood restaurant. All the seafood used are fresh and top quality. From the mussels to calamari and fish.  The space has a mix of Scandinavian and coastal interior design that gives out a bright and airy relaxed feeling. I’ve been waiting for Fich to open and have been a long time follower of Manny on Instagram. So I was so excited to have finally visited them.

I tried their take on a classic, Fich and chips ($18). Hands down, this is my favourite fish and chips in Sydney right now. Fich uses a tasty, sweet and juicy New Zealand ling fish that is  battered into thick baton-like shaped and deep fried. Not only is the batter’s thick wafer- like texture amazing but it tastes so damn good too. The perfect golden hot chips appears to be battered too and is crisped on the outside and is fluffy on the inside. Both fish and chips are well seasoned. Also, you need to try this with their mayo aioli!

If you want to sample a few seafoods, then try their Ficherman’s basket ($22). Deep fried battered fish, calamari, and mussels with their perfect golden hot chips. Oh, have I mentioned how much I like their spuds??! hahaha

Also, I freakin love the watermelon kombucha here!! 

Public Service Announcement: y’all have to try their ice cream sandwich ($8 each)! It is lit fam! They rotate the ice cream flavours. We had chocolate on our visit. But the flaky sweet pastry with salted caramel is the highlight!!!! It is so damn good!

I love Sweet Bellem and their Portuguese tarts. The best in Sydney in my opion. So, I was so happy when chef Manny sent us a tweaked Sweet Bellem tart on the house (normally $7). It had strawberry, pistachio and meringue. 

If you need a reason to visit Petersham, this is it! Delicious fried fresh seafoods, crisped hot chips, decadent desserts and excellent service. 

Fich Petersham

Shop 3-4

98-106 Audley Street

Petersham NSW

Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 12pm to 9pm

Brooklyn Social, Surry Hills

The initials you see on that burger bun is not what you think it means. It doesn't mean "Bull Shark" I swear! hahaha. It's the initials of a newly opened bar and dining joint called Brooklyn Social. The Surry Hills dining scene just got a lot tastier with the addition of this establishment.

Brooklyn Social is a bar restaurant influenced by American diners with a rock and roll theme. Some remnants of the old Mexico restaurant are still around. But the transformation that Brooklyn Social made has utilised the space well. It gave the place better lighting and some industrial hipster vibe. There's a huge gin and whiskey based cocktail list and a menu full of milk bar/American diner classics. After seeing the photos of food taken by Alana of Alana Bread a few days ago, I knew in that instant that I needed to visit this place. A lunch with JB Jose and The Heart of Food paved way to this visit.

Uptown sour cocktail

I tried one of their cocktails, which was the uptown sour ($17). It had monkey shoulder whiskey shaken with Lairds applejack, lemon juice and cinnamon syrup served over a cider block. If you like a citrusy cocktail that does not hold back on whiskey, then this baby is for you!

Southern fried chicken

The Southern fried chicken ($10) is one classic one shouldn't miss when ordering. The rippled batter was full of glorious crunch and it also had that sweet-ish Southern spice blend with strong notes of cayenne pepper, garlic and onion. It also came with a delicious truffle aioli dip.

Onion rings

The onion rings ($6) had a perfect light crisped batter and soft sweet onion on the inside. It was nicely seasoned and super addictive!

1/2 Rack beef ribs with sticky bbq sauce

They also have beef ribs ($17 for half rack) in the menu that came with some basic slaw and a little jar of extra barbecue sauce. The sauce had some nice sweet and tangy flavours with a very light note of bourbon. Even if the meat was not as tender as I thought it would be, I still really enjoyed it.

Hell's Kitchen dog ($8) - pickled jalapenos, smoked ancho-chilli and tomato salsa

Meat-packing district burger (1/4 pounder)

I must admit that when I was about to dive in to the "meat packing district" burger ($14), I could hear DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down For What " song playing in my head. The monster burgers are not normally my thing but this was an exception. It was both monster in size and taste! The double wagyu beef patty was absolutely flavoursome and juicy. I couldn't help but adore the sexy melted American cheese, which also provided a nice texture to the burger. The tomato, pickles, onions and the Brooklyn Social special sauce were the other components that complete this burger for me. The soft sweet bun used makes the handling of this burger much easier (phew!).

I saw a lot of other awesome items on the menu that I would love to try! I would definitely go back to try their caramel-injected donuts. Another good thing about this place is that it's just right across from Central Station!

Brooklyn Social

17 Randle St

Surry Hills NSW

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/brooklynsocialsydney

Instagram: instagram.com/brooklynsocialsydney

Trading hours:

Daily 12pm to 2am