I’ve been going to Fish and Co for meals occasionally because everyone seems to like to go to Fish and Co for gatherings. But has anyone actually tried the Manhattan Fish Market? There are only 2 outlets I know of, one in Plaza Singapura and one at Eu Tong Sen Street. Fish and Co, on the other hand, has many outlets, which I believe are franchises?

I went to the Fish and Co at Suntec City last June and I tried the Manhattan Fish Market today at Plaza Singapura. I compared the two outlets and the result is that I prefer the Manhattan Fish Market. The reason is simple. The service is great. The food is also good.

I ordered the Flaming Platter for one, which comes with fish, rice, chips and 3 flaming prawns. I believe this is the rival of Fish and Co’s seafood platter for one. If I were to talk about the food, I would prefer the flaming prawns from Manhattan as they simply blow my mind away with their superb sauce which is burnt right in front of you.

When I arrived at the door of Manhattan Fish Market, there was a couple right in front of us. They were still looking at the menu and deciding whether to enter. When the waitress serving them saw us, she led us straight in when I informed her I wanted a table for two. When I was at the Fish and Co, the waiter took his time to talk and chit chat with the group of people in front of me who hasn’t even decided whether to dine there, nor did they settle on the number of people who is going to dine there. No one came to serve us even when we were ready to enter. Winner: Manhattan Fish Market

When I went inside the Manhattan Fish Market, the waitress promptly informed me of the soup of the day and past me my menu. When I was ready to order, all I did was turn my head and the waitress asked if I was ready to order. At Fish and Co last June, I had to wait for a waiter to decide to come to my area before I could order. Winner: Manhattan Fish Market

For food arrival time, Manhattan Fish Market was fast in delivering their food to my table. Fish and Co took a longer time. Since this is subjective to the crowd at the moment, I will not and cannot decide the winner for this category.

At Manhattan Fish Market, my glass of iced water wasn’t even emptied before a smiling waiter came to fill my glass up again. At Fish and Co, my glass was empty and I had to wait for about 15 minutes before someone walked past me for me to get his attention to my empty glass. Water is extremely important especially when you are enjoying your food. Winner: Manhattan Fish Market

The servers for Manhattan Fish Market came to clear my plates promptly after I finished the food. They even asked me how I found their food and whether I am willing to fill up a feedback form, which I happily did. Fish and Co took their sweet time to clear my plates. Winner: Manhattan Fish Market

The bill for Manhattan Fish Market came fast. Fish and Co didn’t take too long either. (I guess its the money) Winner: None

The bill came with an accompanying sweet. Manhattan Fish Market had 2 flavours, one mint and one honey. Fish and Co’s came with their superb mint sweets. Winner: Tie since both sweets were effectively good

It is no surprise that Manhattan Fish Market won the comparison. They had more staff and their staff are more attentive to customer’s needs. They need no reminder to know that the customer’s glass is going to be empty and they need no prompting to be right there when you need them. Their food is also comparable, if not better, than Fish and Co’s. Their staff wore smiles throughout and even asked for comments on their food with a smiling face.

I had a wonderful experience at Manhattan Fish Market, and a totally unpleasant one at Fish and Co. You can be sure that I will not be patronizing Fish and Co anymore. Manhattan Fish Market won my heart and soul by their excellent service and great food. If you like Fish and Co, you may want to try Manhattan Fish Market. Feel their better service today!

Well the other day I went to Suntec City (at City Hall) for dinner and I went to try out the food at the Food Republic food court. Food republic is a “higher class” themed food court. The food court at Suntec City has an old western design theme.

I went to try the Fried Hokkien Mee stall, which promises fresh prawns. Most food court stalls that sell hokkien mee has lousy prawns that seem to turn to powder everytime we bite into it. This means that the prawns are unfresh and probably a few days old. Fresh prawns have this crunchy bite into it. Smaller prawns have lesser bite feel I think. Fresh prawns also have the ‘fresh’ taste which unfresh prawns do not have.

I paid 5 dollars for the prawn mee and it is the cheapest available already. (See what I mean by high class food court?) The serving is big and the plate is about 30cm in diameter? Its served with 4 prawns and a small bowl of prawn soup.

Now the prawn soup is a bit diluted. You can’t really taste much prawns in it, but it has those herbs like the gou ju zi, which is supposed to be good for the eyes. The 4 prawns (which other food court gives 4 prawns? They normally give 2 and they are stale) are fresh and crunchy. The fresh taste is not as strong as those prawns from hotel restaurants but I’m not complaining. Most of the shell is peeled off, making it easy for you to peel off the remaining shells. You know its fresh when the shells peel off easily and the prawns are still in their nice shape. Stale prawns normally break easily and don’t taste solid.

Thus I recommend people out there to try this Hokkien Mee when you can. It may not be the best hokkien mee in singapore, but it is good enough for me in an airconditioned food court in City Hall.