Roma's Hook and Chook

Closed seems like the old owners have sold out and there is a new establishment at the City location on the corner of Gordon St and Joske St which we will investigate soon enough.

We've been forced to reopen the books on where to get good fish and chips in Suva, and barring any new discoveries, Roma's Hook and Chook is currently filling that gap in our lives.

The first shop in Samabula was the basis for this review, but Hook & Chook has just opened shop number 2 in the centre of Suva, on Gordon Street, right next door to a certain curry house.

The Samabula shop offers an express lane for pre-cooked, kept-in-the-warmer chicken, chips and anonymous fish ... and the 'Student pack'

All else is pick & point: cooked on demand; starting from $5.50 for the fish cakes, and climbing up through the various fillets to Ulavi, somewhere around the $10 mark. The choice of regular or spicy batter is a nice touch in our chilli-mad nation.


I was excited when I first saw scallops on ice, but my enthusiasm has been somewhat dampened. Scallops should not be dipped in batter and deep fried. They should be seared ... or if you really must fry them, then roll them in breadcrumbs.

That aside, the other bitsy seafood packages live up to their calling: calamari, mussels, and the cheap anonymous seafood equivalent of sausage: 'seafood sticks'

The "chook" part of this eatery's name deserves but a brief mention: there is little anyone can do to make chicken and chips sexy ... and Roma's doesn't try. And in any case, if chicken and chips is your thing, then you need a serious injection of culinary verve.

Also on offer: salads. These appear to come from an MH deli (convenient, okay, but sometimes on the trailing edge of fresh).

Extra tomato and tartare sauce sachets are available if the included condiments don't meet your requirements.

In addition to the standard range of soft drinks, there is an espresso menu.

Both shops are small and rather cramped with seating at a premium - plan to eat takeaway.

It heartens me greatly that the serving staff were able to tell me how fresh the different fish options were ... even more heartening was that most of it had come in that morning.

For good fish & chips, and a choice of venues, Lunch in Suva gives Roma's Hook & Chook a thumbs-up.

In Summary

Roma's Hook and Chook

Waimanu Road, Samabula

Gordon Street, Suva

Opening Hours:

?

Spend:

$5.50 - $12 per person

Dorothy's Kitchen

Pizza! Quite possibly the best pizza in Suva ... and from the most unlikely place.

For years I thought the sign at the front of Dorothy's little shop was either a joke or a reminder of past glory: the place doesn't look like they sell pizza. There's no pizza menu visible when you walk in. It just looks like any other run-of-the-mill Chinese takeout: the small food warmer, the glass case with pre-cooked sausage rolls, the Coke fridge, and the faded, fake brick paint job on the small glass shop front

But Dorothy's is anything but normal. The secret is to ask ... and then you receive!

"So, do you really sell pizza?" I asked on my first tentative foray.

A laminated menu was produced from beneath the counter, boasting a pizza range equal to any of the dedicated pizza shops in town (and with a full Chinese menu on the reverse) ... and the discovery began.

Several trips later, I can happily recommend the Dorothy Special (pictured below), the Sweet Vegetarian and anything with chicken on it. These are good pizza: a good crust (not too thin, but not overwhelmingly thick either), fresh toppings, and held together by real cheese ... cheese that stretches when you try and pull a piece off.


Dorothy's also does a respectable meat pie; and on Saturday's only, sells Chinese steamed buns (chicken or red pork) that are worth a special trip up to Tamavua.


Service is usually fast and efficient, but you may want to phone in your pizza orders. Takeaways are the order of the day: there are only 3 eat-in seats (yes, seats, not tables).

For excellent pizza, friendly service, and a very respectable "made-to-order" menu, Lunch in Suva gives Dorothy's Kitchen a thumbs-up.

In Summary

Dorothy's Kitchen

MH Superfresh Shopping Centre, Tamavua

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 10:00am - 2:00pm, 4:30pm - 8:00pm

Sat: 10:00am - 8:00pm

Spend:

$1.80 - $7 per person

Phone:

3385427

Verdict:

Thumbs-up

Photos by dsheehy

The Daily Catch AKA Cakaudrove Fish & Chips redux

New review of The Daily Catch is now up. Head on over and give us your feedback.

Cakaudrove Fish has opened again, at their original location, but under new management, and with a new name. Whilst the concept seem to have survived, the fish and chip business is but a poor reflection of what it used to be.

Prices have gone up; the fish: soggy and oily; the batter is wanting. The chips are passable, but certainly not special enough to make up for the disappointing fish.

Their fry-on-demand approach keeps them a cut above the vast majority of brown-bag chip shops, but the original Cakaudrove Fish & Chippie has moved on, and so have we.

We'll give the new owners a few months to get their groove on, but until then, they get the thumbs down.

Soup Works

Soup Works does not fit neatly into any of the usual categories of lunching establishments: it does not have it's own premises; it does not reside in a food court; it does not offer eat-in service.

Soup Works exists behind a counter in MH Superfresh, Tamavua. It is inside the supermarket, squeezed in between the cheese fridge and the delicatessen.


The place is clean, neat, simple, and has a substantial menu ... consisting exclusively of soups (over 40 at last count). There is a significant bias toward the Asian soups, but these are widely sourced: Laksa from Malaysia, Tom Yum from Thailand, and all the favourites from China; alongside a selection of European cream-of-vegetable and minestrone variations.

My favourite is the Tom yum Seafood, pictured below.


The general idea with Soup Works is that you place your order, and then spend the waiting time (between 10 to 15 minutes) wandering the aisles of MH, collecting the various necessaries listed on the shopping list which you have kept handily in your pocket for just such a a moment as this.

All soups are cooked on the spot and to order, so you have the opportunity to specify variations to the house recipe.

Your soup comes handily packaged for the road. A warning however: the soup is hot! If you're planning on driving away with it, it's best to have a side-kick along to keep the soup containers upright while you navigate the potholes.

For excellent soup -- and a simple, well-executed catering concept -- Lunch In Suva give Soup Works a big thumbs up.

In Summary

Soup Works

MH Superfresh Shopping Centre, Tamavua

Phone:

3623 362, 9290 088, 9355 679

Opening Hours:

Mon - Thu: 9:00am - 8:00pm

Fri - Sat: 9:00am - 9:00pm

Sun: 9:00am - 2:00pm

Spend:

$5.50 - $9.00 per person

Verdict:

Thumbs-up

Photos by abuke_2004