Hello i am Dave I own a real English fish & chip shop in Haeundae, Busan. I use real potatoes, and excellent fish.

How to get to my shop.
Jangsan station exit 3, go up the hill 150m, on the left youcan see my sign. facing my shop there are 3 street food stands. Under my sign there are steps leading up to my shop on the 2nd floor.
All the best Dave.

Wow. That is so cool. See you soon then!

When you say "real fish and chips" do you mean that you have malt vinegar and use beer batter?

Went there today, it was excellent! Highly recommended.

A bit tough to find though. Here's the owners number if you get lost 010 3816 0533

It is tough to find, if you're at the KB bank you're almost there, look for a small red sign and a British flag, kitty-korner on ground level.
Fish and chips combo is 5,500 won, and they also have curry sauce that's good, plus baked beans and pineapple fritters.
Going to be expanding soon, to include a nice indoor seating area, according to the owner. And getting a larger flag...

I am looking forward to going.

Malt. Vinegar??

yes, Malt Vinegar. Give it a google and learn something.

Waht kind of fish? And just so you know, I work as a seafood trader and I know the business pretty damn well. I know there's no Atlantic Cod to be had in Korea and even Pacific Cod would be price prohibitive so I'm guessing based on your pricing that you're using Pollock or maybe Hake, neither of which really counts an "excellent" fish in my book. Both are lacking in fat content. Pollock is okay in some forms; Korean maeuntang isn't too bad (better with Pacific Cod by far) but that's probably more the garlic and the turnip broth more than the fish. Hake is okay as a white fish if you like zero flavor ala McFish sandwich at at a fastfood joint.
And yes, malt vinegar. I can make fries at home, but I will travel if you have malt vinegar.
How to make great french fries.
1. Leave the skin on the potato.
2. Par-cook at a low heat with a clean oil for five min. Take out of oil and let cool for ten min or more.
3. Recook at high heat for three to five min or more depending on how hot your oil gets and how dark you like your fries.
4. Douse with malt vinegar.
See, not so hard to do but as I have yet to find malt vinegar (lumberjack and I have looked high and low), I will gladly make the trip out if you have it.

Erm, I'm asking if Dave's has malt vinegar. I won't f&c without it.
And to think I knew that before Googles even existed.
Amazing, innit?

The best fish I've ever eaten in fish and chips would be barramundi in Australia. For more common varieties I agree you can't beat cod, but I do like halibut as well. Many fish and chip shops in England also use flat fishes such as plaice and sometimes sole. A fish I've had occasionally and works quite well is john dory.


I've never seen it Korea, but I got some on my last visit to China in Shanghai. I posted about the place here:

http://www.koreabridge.com/forums/index.ph...ic=4639&hl=

I have also seen it in the basement of the supermarket in the Iwataya department store in Tenjin, Fukuoka, Japan.

Dave hasn't answered yet, but if he doesn't have it I would recommend, as the next best alternative, Sarson's or Heinz white vinegar, which I did see somewhere in Korea, but can't remember where. Failing that I think that Japanese white vinegar is closer to these than the Korean varieties. The Japanese stuff is available in most foreign food sections and NampoDong.

I think when I do go down I will take my bottle with me to show him and to use.

Hello, can't find malt vinegar anywhere, I use whiting its smilar to cod, and just as white. Pollock is too watery, fish & chips in korea for 5500, not bad. In England we keep it basic, cheap and good. I'm not in England so I have to use what I can find. I think its not to different from back home. Thanks for your coments. Dave.

Yeah sure you were. That's what everyone read into your post. It was clear as day!

Hmmm No malt vinegar? That's a damn shame! Keep looking! Maybe you can find some distributor in Seoul or convince Mega Mart or Homeplus to start stocking it on their shelves? Would be worth the shot anyways.

Malt vinegar is at the GS Mart and galleria Department store. also have you tried EzshopKorea?

Whiting/Hake, same same.

"Western" (can't remember which brand,) white vinegar is available from the Yeoksam Sweet Space in Seoul. This store is to be found between the old Yeoksam tax office (all taxi divers know this place,) and Yeoksam E-mart on Yeoksam ro. Maybe a 5 min taxi ride from Gangnam or Yeoksam subways, if the traffic is favourable.) It is a vast improvement over the ottogi "apple vinegar" I was formerly forced to use on my chips...

tyster,

Just out of curiousity, is there any Atlantic cod fishery left? Have stocks come back at all from being almost wiped out?

Re. hake/whiting, hey I'll take it! As far as I know there's been no decent fish n' chips to be had in these parts since the place in Kyeong-sung dae went under. I too will bring my own vintage bottle of malt vinegar.

People sure are bitchy.

Glad there is another western restaurant in Haeundae. See you tonight.

Actually, the Cod fishery is coming back nicely. Strict quotas and enforcement have seen to that. Depending on whom you believe, it's already back to sustainable levels though I personally think another ten years of quotas at the present level is needed to make sure it stays that way. There is also a growing farmed Cod industry in GB. Prices are anywhere from 50-100% higher but some people are making the switch. Farming is good for wild stocks but it is not without its own basket of issues including overuse of anti-biotics, pollution, depletion of feed fish stocks, and the concentration of parasites and diseases that could in turn unleash epidemics on wild populations. But that's a different topic.
Hake/Whiting (aka Pacific Hake) are good if you don't mind fish that tastes, well, not like "fish". The place Kyeongsung was using Pacific cod and it was not bad. The rest of their menu sucked but the fish and chips were pretty good.

Matt, the other fish you mentioned are all serviceable to various degrees in place of Cod for traditional fish and chips but again, none of those are really available at a reasonable price here.

Hike, thanks for the tip. I'll have to renew my quest to get malt vinegar. I travel to the States several times a year and even there I've never been able to track it down with any regular success.

John, there's nothing wrong with being a discerning diner. The fellow advertised "excellent fish" and I couldn't see it at his listed price. I was right. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat Hake. Malt vinegar? I'd go out of my way to get some properly salted and vinegared firies.

Question for Tyster, the fish expert. Mega Mart recently had 대구 on sale, one fish for about 5000. I was under the impression 대구 was cod. Any idea?

There are only three types of fish I will eat ( I despise most fish ) and they are: cod, halibut, and sole. Any chance we will see these fish at the place? Other than my finicky tastes, are you looking to expand to shrimp, oysters, clams or deep fried Mars bars like I've heard about in Jolly ol' England? As for the Malt vinegar and chips, I would drive into Busan to get that. That's saying alot.

Pacific cod. Good stuff. I think the higher fat content makes it an exceptional fish for pan frying or grilling as well as a firm texture that stands up well in soups and stews. If you want a truly sublime piece of fish from the
Cod family, look for some Black Cod (Silverfish in some parts of the US) 은대구. It has an extraordinarily high fat content just below the skin like Salmon or Chilean Seabass. Take the fish headed and gutted and butterfied but still on the bone. Score the skin with long slices a couple of centimeters apart and about a half centimeter deep. Grill until medium (the high fat content means it won't dry out so you can cook it a little more than say swordfish or tuna steak). This is a really exceptional fish with plain white rice. Eat the meat, then take the skin and wrap around some hot rice and savor the fat. A real gourmand's treat. I know guys in the industry in Alaska who only eat the skin and throw out the meat. Same with Atka Mackerel.

Does this place have substantial fry baskets? I mean can you order just a big crispy basket of fries and chomp them down? Curious. I want to eat good fries for a change! Help a brother out Dave!

I so didn't mean halibut, I meant haddock. Any chance of getting that over here?

Question for Dave:

Are you English? (that's not to say the English make the best fish n chips...well actually it is!)

If you are English you will understand the following menu addition suggestions.

mushy peas
gravy
tartar sauce on the side

And once business takes off why don't you go multi cultural and add start doing donner kebabs, now I would travel for that.

Just came back from Mega Mart. The deal is 2 large cods for 4850 won a piece or 1 large cod for 6850 won (quite a price diff for one!). And they fillet them fully and properly if you're international fish filleting hand gestures are up to scratch. Each fish easily supplies four substantial fish fillets.

If I was Dave I would get my ass down to MegaMart and buy tons of them, get them all filleted and freeze the lot. I am not sure what your mark up on your current fish is, but I would happily pay a bit more for cod.

Yes I am 100% British, if you can find me marrow fat peas in Korea then mushy peas will be on the menu. I have good tarta sauce and gravy. If I buy Cod and might, It will have been frozen, I am British and I know the taste of british chippies, If I can find English products in Korea then I would buy. Iv'e been to the costco's and around the markets, If anyone can find traditional products please let me know. Dave.

If you add malt to brewing vinegar will you get malt vinegar?

Hike monster, i looked at the website you suggested, a bottle of malt vinegar is just under 2 pounds the shipping fee is 90 pounds to order 3 bottles. Total cost was around 96 pounds for 3 bottles of vinegar. Ill keep looking.

Anyone making a trip to Oz, UK or Jesusland anytime soon?

Dave,
Congratulations on opening your own place. Running a resaturant can be stressful but it is a rewarding expereince. My wife and I run the nonaim cafe in front of PNU, so I know what it's like.
Don't worry too much about comments from people who haven't even eaten there yet or have no experience running a restaurant in Korea. It ain't easy.

Good luck!

I hope to check your place out on Monday.

Patrick

Hi Dave

Do you have a menu you could post here? My husband loves fish, but I hate everything from the ocean pretty much. We'd still like to come by, but do you have some otehr food items (besides fries) so I could eat too? Also, your shop is on the same street as the new O'Briens' right? How far past O'brien's is it?

Thanks!

Could you post a map here? Dave?
Thanks.

Thanks for the kind words, some people say bad things but haven't eaten here, not too sure if I would like to see them anyway. If they came down and told me these things to my face I would have more respect for these people.
I do have other things such as half chips rice and curry sauce, also pineapple fritters and baked beans.
My shop is near O'Brians. If youare at 2001 outlet cross over the road and the road that I am on is between the pet store and the new opticians shop. Go up this road 150m you will see 3 roadside food carts, I am on the opposite side of the road, you can see my Great Britian flag and my sign. Any problems call me on 010 3816 0533.
Regarding my menu I will scan it in another attachment. Thanks Dave.

Another suggestion

Battered sausage

I'll try to find some malt vinegar and bring it as an open-house gift. How much for a basket of fries?

Small basket is 3000
Large basket is 5500.
Hope this is ok for you. Dave.

Are the baked beans vegetarian?

yeh sure, no meat or animal content, just beans in the tomato sauce.

Went there last night. Was quite impressed. Keep up the good work mate.

reading this thread makes my day. I just laugh for 5 minutes after reading it~

This must be the most gourmet group in all the world...

Dave, good on you for stepping out and trying to provide people with another option...


I love when I read from people who cannot boil water questions like "are the baked beans vegetarian?"


Dave, I have not eaten there but I will as soon as I get out to the beach, and again, awesome of you for taking a leap of faith!

Um... I can't boil water? Since when?

Anyone know what kind of hours this place keeps? Any chance I could get some fish & chips at like 1pm on a Saturday?

Sorry i didn't mention the times of my shop opening. At the moment with the cafe opening soon the hours are set at,
mon / wed / friday I am open from 9.pm till 10.45pm. Tue / thurs open from 7pm till 10.45pm. Sat noon until 11pm and Sun noon until 10.30pm.
These times will change a little in a few weeks, I will post new times when I have moved into the cafe.
I am still under contract at my Hagwon so for a time I open kind of late, but this will change in the future. Plus when I am in the cafe full time I will be doing English breakfasts also in the morning.
Cheers Dave.

Went to eat today at Dave's and once again was thrilled with everything. Dave is the man. Great fish and chips for $5.50, cant beat it, and he makes an amazing indian curry on weekends. Also, he will soon be serving english breakfast, so guys, check the place out..

I went today and it was fantastic. Having eaten the fish and chips at O'Briens that many people raved about I wasn't taking the enthusiasm of this thread particularly seriously and wasn't really expecting much but the food he produced far exceeded my expectations. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of even fatter foreigner's around soon, and hopefully some fatter Koreans too.

I know there are directions already in the thread but I found them a little confusing so I will put my own up based on the land marks I know (and found today).

Starting at Starbucks which is on the corner of the main intersection at the Jangsan subway station. Walk up the street away from the beach parallel to top mart and the 2001 outlet (they'll be on the other side fo the street). Pass the little arcade that has Quizno's in it (it's the first left after starbucks) go passed the Coffee Beau and Tea (a wonderfully authentic looking imitation of coffee bean and tea leaf) go passed the Paris Baguette (this is the building with Kangsan travel in it too) and you'll get to a pet store on a corner.

Admire the puppies for a minute, feel some obligatory sympathy for them and then turn right and walk up the hill. First you'll pass a KB Bank and then you'll pass a Pusan bank. About this time you should be able to see two story kind of strip mall thing on the other side of the street. The fish and chip shop is in there on the second floor (take the stairs up from the street) about halfway down the length of the building. There is a big orange (I think) sign that says Dave's Fish and Chip Shop (or something to that effect).

Oh... and he had a good selection of beers - XXXX, VB, Moose Head, Newcastle Brown plus all the usual beers you see everywhere.

Wow thanks, I really appreciate the excellent feedback, I will always do my best to give excellent service to all my customers.

Just one thing, some people in the pass expected me to served frozen chips when they came, I serve real chips, the English traditional way. Thanks again Dave.

Do you mean turn right at the pet store? I hven't been tehre yet (maybe this weekend), but your directiosn don't make sense if I turn left.
It's too bad we are out of here in 10 days, although better for my hubby's cholestoral that you haven't been there the whole time Dave!

I went there yesterday and will certainly be returning.

As Dave himself said he serves English style chips and I must say he certainly does, exactly what I would expect to get in my local chippie back home. Superb! Combined with a serving of curry sauce on the side you could be fooled to thinking you were back in Ol' Blighty. Don't expect french fries, these are thick cut, chip shop style chips.

The fish was also very good.

The original directions were easy to follow.

Next time I will definitely be armed with my bottle of malt vinegar.