Stockys Takeaways

       REVIEW LOCATION:

New Plymouth

Store: Stockys Takeaways, 61 Omata Rd.
Price: $7.30

Amount of chips:     5/5
Chip quality:        5/5
Size of fish:        5/5
Fish quality:        5/5

Total Score:         20🎉

Well drained of oil?: Yup.
Satisfied?: Yup.

Comments: 

Yup.

Again with the names of these places in New Plymouth! I love it. Just do whatever you want. Just call it whatever.

But seriously though, Stockys was amazing. Hands down the best I've had since I moved back.

Being greeted by their signage from a mile away was a real treat. A massive fish in the style of small town NZ metal art. The decor had a nice feminine flair which is not really what I was expecting to walk into with a name like Stockys. It felt like I was picking up food from a Briscoes show room.

The reviews online rave about the Stockys burgers and it was one of those moments where my standard order of a fish and a scoop felt like a curse.

As soon as I opened my wrapped meal I let out massive "WHOOOOOOA". The quantity of chips unlike anything I had ever seen. The first thing that came to mind is that I wanted to see what tool they were using to scoop this massive load. They were such an absolute delight to eat that I ate every last one of them.

The house fish was a suuuuper chunky piece of Rig and it too was a pleasure to eat. Every mouthful better than the last.

All of the staff are happy chipper women and you can see there is some serious organisation and systems going on back stage. Apparently the area near it are the rough parts of New Plymouth but I would definitely risk getting a punch in the face for this experience again.

Terry's Takeaways

      REVIEW LOCATION:

New Plymouth

Store: Terry's Takeaways, 309 St Aubyn St.
Price: $6.40

Amount of chips:     5/5
Chip quality:        3/5
Size of fish:        5/5
Fish quality:        5/5

Total Score:         18

Well drained of oil?: Pretty good.
Satisfied?: All good.

Comments: 

From the moment I heard the name of this place I had high hopes for it. Terry's. It's brilliant.

Got a bit of a back story on Terry too. Apparently he started this shop back in the day and it was the place to stop on the way home from the pubs. Eventually Terry got sick of working his magic behind the fryer and took on a new career as a bus driver. The spirit of Terry lives on in the New Plymouth Fish and chips scene as the shop carries his name to this day.

The layout of this shop was cool. The counter extended the entire length of the tiny store with standing room only. An uncle standing behind a functioning bain marie looking pleased with himself trying to get a smile from anyone who would make eye contact with him. A wall of fizzy drinks surrounding him like stain glass windows was mesmerizing.

They didn't muck around. They were heaving and the super polite young fella behind the counter already knew which was our phone order and pretty much started ringing it up on the register before we had said anything. Super efficient.

The fish was flawless. A nice meaty chunk of Warehou cooked to perfection and dusted with the right amount of table salt.

The chips on the other hand left more to be desired. My nephew likes to think of himself as a bit of a hot chips connoisseur and said he'd score them a 6 out of 10 and I have to agree with him. They were a bit bruised and beaten and the cook hadn't given them enough love in the fryer. A bit wobbly. A bit flaccid.

I really wish I could call Terry's my go to spot but the chips were a bit of a flat tire if I'm gonna be honest.

Merriland's Takeaways

     REVIEW LOCATION:

New Plymouth

Store: Merriland's Takeaways, 201 Mangorei Rd.
Price: $6.20

Amount of chips:     5/5
Chip quality:        3/5
Size of fish:        5/5
Fish quality:        2/5

Total Score:         15

Well drained of oil?: Not particularly.
Satisfied?: Felt neither here nor there.

Comments: 

The thing I love about telling people that I review fish and chips is how everyone comes out of the wood work to let me know the best places in town that simply can't be missed. Merriland's Takeaways was one of those places. We had extended family joining us for dinner so I thought it would be safe to take a punt on one of the shops from my recommendation list.

It was off to a bit of an undie ripping start when their address on Google maps sent us on a wild goose chase. The location marker falsely said it was among a cluster of kit set houses. This first impression was soured again when we arrived at the actual store after the time stated over the phone only to see our order hadn't been cooked yet.

While waiting for everything to cook, I took in my surroundings. The pseudo Mediterranean colour palette of pastel yellow, red and pale blue combined with wild west slab serif fonts, golden waving cats and a goofy cartoon fish mascot gave me mixed emotions. Feelings of confusion. It was one of those things you just have to give up trying to make sense of.

The serving size of the fish and chips for this price bracket were quite impressive so I definitely wasn't left hungry.

The fish was a girthy piece of Warehou and the application of the batter was pretty good. However, it wasn't cooked at an optimum temperature which left it doughy in some parts and pockets of oil which popped in my mouth and sent shivers down my spine. Also there were a few mouthfuls of metallic muddiness thrown in for good measure.

The chips were dry hollowed out sticks which would have been impossible to digest without a beer.

In hindsight it seems like the Google maps blunder was the universe sending me a message. You'd have a higher chance of getting amazing fish and chips wherever that pin was located.

Hong Kong Fast Food

     REVIEW LOCATION:

New Plymouth

Store: Hong Kong Fast Food, 141 St Aubyn St.
Price: $7.60

Amount of chips:     5/5
Chip quality:        2/5
Size of fish:        5/5
Fish quality:        3/5

Total Score:         15

Well drained of oil?: Almost not a drop left.
Satisfied?: I'm stuffed.

Comments: 

As their name suggests, this food was definitely fast. I placed my order over the phone and it can't have taken me more than 8 minutes door to door but I arrived to find my food ready and waiting under a heat lamp.

This store was a visual overload. Menus upon menus, 3 coke fridges in a row and a screen playing channel 2 super loud. To the left of the counter was a dining room full of red velvet chairs to enjoy their western style Chinese menu. The woman working solo in the empty store was straight to the point and wasn't there to chitchat. As soon as I had paid for my meal she basically ran off to restock the coke fridge.

The chips were at a quantity unlike I have ever seen before. I had to tap out. There was no way I was going to fit that all inside my body or want to for that matter. A combination of bruised potato and fryer temp being too high left these chips hard outside and dusty on the inside. They digested slow and had the same mouth drying quality of a slice of quince.

The fish was a slice of lemon fish and the filet itself was pretty decent. They tried to lift it with a tiny wedge of lemon but the doughy under cooked batter brought it crashing back down.

The person cooking these was all thumbs and I'm glad I visited this shop alone so no one else had to go through this. Another one for the "Don't bother" pile.