Hands up all those who remember Spike Milligan? Hands up all those who remember his excruciatingly funny television series called Curry and Chips, with Milligan in the part of a Pakistani Irishman, known to everyone as Paki Paddy? In today’s age of PC, taken to ridiculous extremes, it would probably be banned, but fortunately, nobody could ban a fish and chip shop on Pratamnak Road between Soi 6 and Tara Court (the building done in faux ‘castle’ architecture) and opposite the Argyle Apartments, with the name of Curry and Chips.
The Curry and Chips shop is the brainchild of Paul Markham, who has shown his abilities in this field with a previous chippy, but this new one is just him at the helm. (I could have said “at the fryer”, but he has trained staff to do that for him).
The building was purpose-built as a fish and chip shop, and Paul is proud of the cleanliness of his establishment. There is a patio area outside with five tables and chairs, so you can relax and have a drink with your meal al fresco, if you don’t want to take it home and wash the dishes afterwards! There is a wooden holder on the table with Sarson’s Malt Vinegar, HP sauce, tomato sauce, and salt and pepper.
Signs are up in English, Thai and Russian, so even though this is traditional English food, the Russians enjoy it as well. The menu begins with ‘Mains’ with Dory, Cod, Haddock and Shark. There are Dory Fish Bites, recommended for children, Fish cakes, Scampi, extra large sausages in batter, (original) Spam fritters, Roast chicken and Chinese spring rolls.
The next section is ‘Chips’ with Medium, Large and with Cheese on offer. They are followed by ‘Pies/Pasties’ with Steak, Steak and kidney, Minced beef and onion and even a Vegetarian one.
‘Extras’ are next with Mushy peas, Garden Peas, Paul’s own curry sauce (made on the premises), Mashed potatoes, Baked beans, and many more including a Spicy pickled onion.
The menu is rounded off with soft drinks (B. 25) but beers will be available when the necessary license comes through. In the meantime you can bring your own.
We chose Chips and Cheese (B. 95), a medium Cod and medium chips (B. 150 and B. 65) and a Steak pie (B. 95). The children devoured the Chips and cheese, and then attacked the Cod, but they were beaten by the size of the portion, with the leftovers put in the fridge and eaten the next morning for breakfast. The Steak pie was my choice, even though I was in a fish and chip shop, as the sign saying Curry and Chips does have “Not Just” before it. The pie was excellent, solidly filled with steak, and my plate was cleared!
Now to the review, I was so impressed with the children’s opinion regarding the cod that I went back two days later and had a medium cod, medium chips and curry sauce. I declined that British staple called “mushy peas”! The batter was excellent and the cod flaked well with just a fork. The tartare sauce was also very ‘more-ish’. Even though I only had medium chips, I have to admit that there was too much for me, and I left the last three chips. Sorry Paul.
The Curry and Chips slogan is the catchy, “We don’t just do fast food, we do good food fast.” We thoroughly enjoyed our evening meal, and it was “good food fast”. And yes, you can dine al fresco, or takeaway, or even delivery (local area). We did take-away the first night and dined al fresco for the second.
Friday night in our household was always fish and chip night, a carryover from the previous edict of no meat on Fridays, a custom that continued long after the rule was scrapped. (Not Just) Curry and Chips is a genuine Fish and Chip shop, in the British tradition, run by Paul Markham, a genuine Englishman.
Curry and Chips, Pratamnak Road (between Soi 6 and Tara Court), open seven days from 12 noon until 11 p.m., telephone 038 251 791, on street parking. And yes it has Wi-Fi.
