Made a trip down to Clark Quay. Fremantle is opened by the same people behind Ximending at VivoCity and ShoTeppan at ION.
The humid Singapore weather in June makes it wise to enjoy our dinner in the cool comfort of air-conditioning. Comfortable sofa seats and wooden tables.
During an interview with 8 Days magazine this week, the owner said that he enjoyed having seafood dishes at Fremantle in Australia, and always thought how cool it would be to have a similar restaurant in Singapore. And now, his dream came true.
There are 2 sections to Fremantle. One is the "market" palce where you can actually go there and buy "raw" seafood to bring home to cook.. They import their fresh seafood from Australia and New Zealand weekly, and here you can find lot's of new varities which are rarely seen in Singapore such as Australian Alfonsino and Hawaii Walu fish. There is also a takeaway Fish & Chips counter which is due to open very soon.
We ordered a non-alcoholic Ginger Beer and also a Mai Thai cocktail.
First ordered this giant Seafood Platter for 2 (S$48). The quantity can easily feed 3 diners actually. Lot's of sashimi, chilled prawns and mussels, and also raw Oysters. Almost all of the items here are fresh and in generous portion. The Sashimi were sliced thickly. However, one thing to note is that the oyster is extremely fishy.
I like the chilled tomato with cheese stuffings served in a small metal tin.
Also ordered a portion of Escargots (S$15) - Baked with garlic pine nuts and burnt butter on bread. I think the garlic was a bit too overpowering, thus covering the sweetness of the snails.
Grilled Barramundi fillet (S$20) served with hearty mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables with Japanese seasoning. The fish was really fresh and sweet. Those who are scared of fishy taste should come here and try their grilled fish. No fishy or muddy taste. Only the sweetness of fresh fish. The skin was also grilled till crispy, which I like. The mashed potatoes were commendable, but what I love most are the lotus roots. The carrots were a bit hard though.
Another winner here is the Fish & Chips (S$19). Comparing the standards to Molly Malone's, it's actually a tie! But of course, you get 2 more pieces of fish at Molly's as here they only serve 3 pieces. The chips are crisp on the outside and moist in the inside. Highly recommended.
I am happy to report that Fremantle Seafood Market has now been ranked as one of the best seafood place in Singapore serving Australian (Western) style seafood. If you enjoyed your fish and chips or seafood dishes in Australia, you must really come down here to savour authentic seafood dishes once again!
Fremantle Seafood Market
#01-05/06
Clarke Quay 3E
River Valley Road
Seafood is good for you because it is low in fat and high in protein. Most fish contain oils that are called omega-3. These oils can help prevent some diseases and treat certain types of illness. The eel is one type of seafood that contains a high fat content, but only a very few types of seafood contain fat.
ReplyDeleteOh yums, sounds good :) Saw this on 8Days too.
ReplyDeletethks for sharing! I wanna drop by!
ReplyDeleteI hope it is better than Greenwood fish market
ReplyDeleteWe went to this restaurant on Saturday 25 June and we were appalled by the service. We waited 20 minutes for our food order to be taken. The main course appeared before the starter. The staff looked shocked when we asked them to take the main course back and keep it warm. The drinks did not appear for about 20 minutes after the order and long after the food had appeared. They brought the wrong drink for our daughter. We had to ask for water twice. We asked for the bill 3 times and we were given the wrong bill twice. After waiting a very long time for the bill we asked to see the Manager only to be told that the Manager was busy. I don't know what the Manager was busy doing, but my belief is that the Manager's job should be to ensure that the customers are happy. My guess is that there was no Manager on duty as there had been no evidence of one that evening. The food is very average and the service is very poor.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Anonymous on this. The worst eating experience I've had in Singapore for 6 years, apart from that cabbage stew in a Bugis market stall that tore my intestines apart.
ReplyDeleteThe list of errors could go for ever.
- The cold sides: "Is this braised vegetables (cauliflower and soy beans) meant to be a salad?" We complained and some microwaved replacements arrived in a matter of, I'll be kind, minutes. Cool mash potatoes.
- The "45 minutes to prepare" barramundi that arrived in 20 minutes, while the rest of our meals arrived at 45 minutes.
- The TASTELESS watery peppered barramundi.
- There was that *extra* barramundi that came 5 minutes later, making us wonder if we hadn't got someone else's fish at first. (Wonder how they felt about that?)
- The second wine bottle that took three requests to find.
- The scallops and crab sticks all deep-fried together into one lump of thick-battered mixed seafood.
- The Masterfoods tartar sauce
- The tiny table the four of us we were expected to squeeze around until we insisted that they put two tables together (as they had done for the riverside tables).
- The absence of water (even a fish would notice this), or even the question of water.
- The generic sambal that came on several dishes and bowls (but that's Singapore.)
- Multiple servers took our orders or heard our requests and eventual complaints for this and that. It would have been so much better to have one person looking after our table.
To be fair, the spinach and the mushrooms were nice.
$150 each, including that second wine which eventually turned up.
I will be in the real Freemantle in two weeks, let's see how it compares to this one. Don't hold your breath waiting for my rethink on this place. Almost makes you feel ashamed to admit you are Australian.
Long Johns Silvers or Fish &Co arguably do a better job.
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ReplyDeleteI lie. The worst eating experience I've had in Singapore was at the Italian restaurant that was in the same venue before Freemantle opened.
ReplyDeleteThe site itself must be cursed. Or just the people who eat there.
Oh, oh, one more thing; of the seven (eight?) "whole fish" on the menu, only three were available. You can have any fish you want so long as it is the barramundi or trout, sort of thing.
Wow its amazing i show first time. i love food. i love fish. that prize is average. and go through the link . i am wait for u.
ReplyDeleteSo who should we believe in, a good place for dinner or restaurant need to improve their service ???
ReplyDeleteUp to who to believe. My friends and I won't going back.
ReplyDeleteAgree.....really bad service. Like they don't have any experience running a restaurant.
ReplyDeleteThe place depends on people who had a great experience eating at Fremantle IN Perth and hope to relive SOME the experience in Singapore.
Besides I think most diners don't expect the place to be the same as the one in Perth. The big letdown was the appalling service and the fish and chips were dry too.
I second what had been said by expat@large.. I've been to the Fremantle (Cicerrelo) in Perth... but the Fish and Chips tasted better as the batter here taste more of the beer in the batter. My husband always ask for the Barramundi grilled fish but it is always not available. The food is not really delicious but it only reminds me of Perth. Don't think that it is really worth visit. You can find out for yourself.
ReplyDeleteJust had a $14 1for1 Mojito and I must say that it was really a bloody joke. Tasteless and diluted! Service staff was not to friendly and helpful to. In all a place i would never go back to. Check it out yourself if you dare though. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteJust had a $14 1for1 Mojito and I must say that it was really a bloody joke. Tasteless and diluted! Service staff was not to friendly and helpful to. In all a place i would never go back to. Check it out yourself if you dare though. Cheers!
ReplyDelete