Hello my fellow travellers,
Colombo is a perfect mixture of new and old; local cuisine and imported recipes. The Manhattan Fish Market is the very example of a Malaysian brand (with branches around the world) doing successfully well. The restaurant serves up an amazing batch of fish and chips (some of the best I’ve had) and makes a great impression with presentation.
The interior was cutesy and the menu was pretty clever with a fold out option and lots of pictures to show what your meal could look like. We were welcomed into the store by enthusiastic serves who seated us right away. We ordered two plates of fish and chips, a grilled fish platter, and two plates of dessert – Tiramisu and Chocolate molten cake.
The grilled platter wasn’t as delicious as I was expecting. The cod fish did not have any flavor and was soggy. No one likes soggy fish. The accompanying calamari and prawns were chewy and tasteless. I almost felt like the food was cooked a lot earlier and given to us 15 minutes after the fact. I wasn’t too impressed.
Mixed platter grill – 2/5
And though it may seem like things were going downhill the best thing on the menu was yet to arrive.
I cannot rave enough about the fish and chips. The fish was crunchy, did not have that characteristic fish smell, and I could barely taste the oil. The texture of crunch and warm soft fish was amazing. The tartar sauce that was given with the fish was addictive. I kept double dipping. The french fries were really well done, once again, without the characteristic oily taste. I would definitely go back to MFM for the fish and chips.
Fish and chips – 4.5/5
The Desserts
I loved the presentation for the caramel molten brownie. The server poured the caramel into a hot plate and like lava, the caramel encircled the brownie sizzling for several minutes. As for the taste, the brownie and ice cream were tasty but the caramel reminded me of omani halwa (a traditional sweet from Oman). As a kid I wasn’t that fond of Omani halwa so the taste kind of brought back that childhood tastebud tingle. Though everyone else loved the dessert.
Brownie plate with molten caramel – 3.75/5
TIramisu
Oh, the tiramisu is something special. Some of the best I’ve had. It was so light, fluffy, and the perfect hint of coffee.
Ain’t that cute? It’s supposed to look like a lobster.
Overall, our entire party had a wonderful evening at MFM and I’ll probably just keep swimming back for some more fish and chips and tiramisu.
Average rating: 4/5
Address:
No. 31 Deal Place (Duplication Road), Colombo 03, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Contact: 011 2 301901
Travel Sized Bites 