Battered Fish & Chip Co. brings a faithful British chippy experience to REXKL

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Spotted dick, faggots, coronation chicken… the British culinary canon has unleashed some truly fascinating creations upon the world, but none have taken to the rest of the world quite like its national dish, fish and chips.

Its near-universal appeal can be traced to its approachable cost and relative accessibility — modern supply chain systems being what they are, you’d be hard-pressed to find a city in the world where you can’t get fish, fresh or frozen, and potatoes.

Perhaps it’s also because the dish doesn’t need much marketing; after all, deep-fried food is pretty hard to beat.

And post-colonial hangover aside, Malaysians have come to embrace fish and chips with real gusto in recent years.

Wisma Cosway unknowingly became the waters for two fish-and-chip shops that opened in the same building just months apart in early 2025, but Battered Fish & Chip Co. entered the city-centre scene late last year.

Run by Hull-born siblings Danny, Charlie and Ashleigh, Battered is their attempt at evoking the essence of a classic British fish-and-chip shop, or chippy, in the hipster haven that is REXKL.

And it succeeds, for the most part, with some obvious adjustments for a Malaysian crowd: alcohol-free batter, perch rather than cod or haddock, and of course, all the marketing that tries really hard to remind you just how British it all is.

The irony is that Battered doesn’t need it. The devil’s in the details. The very traditional chippy tea set comes with your pick of mushy peas or curry sauce, and the sides run to pickled eggs and battered sausages.

Over at the condiment section, shakers of chip spice, a salt-and-paprika blend that’s a true Hull speciality, stand beside bottles of Sarson’s malt vinegar — though I guess a non-brewed condiment, the cheaper alternative found in most chippies, might’ve been more representative of the UK.

It’s clear there’s been an effort to translate the chippy experience for Malaysia while keeping specific traditions, even regional specialities, in the final product.

The menu was recently expanded to include a fish burger (RM28) and a few sandwiches: coronation chicken (RM26), fish finger (RM25) and posh prawn (RM28), the last of which I’m reluctant to order lest I incur the wrath of one Roy Keane.

I opted instead for the chippy tea set (RM34), just to cover as many bases as one can.

It’s the works, or as they like to say, the full monty: a battered fillet of sea perch, crisp with a light, airy coating; chunky, fluffy chips; tartar sauce; mushy peas, earthy, cool and redolent of mint; and a drink.

Flaky, moist flesh aside, the flavour of the fish itself is decidedly subdued, even after a squeeze of lemon and a few splashes of malt vinegar. I find myself wishing for a sharper tartar sauce, one with more capers, gherkins or cornichons.

Though nicely thick and fluffy, the chips, too, benefit massively from a generous dusting of chip spice, but for the more Antipodean-inclined, there’s also chicken salt, Australia’s quintessential fish-and-chip seasoning. Typically a mixture of salt, chicken bouillon and a few spices, it adds a welcome hit of umami .

It’s only later that I realise the buttered bread, which is meant to come with the chippy tea set, never showed up. The kitchen seems to have forgotten it, but I was so full and pleasantly battered into submission that I didn’t even notice.

A sharper tartar sauce would make it near-perfect, but for RM34, it is a well-fried reminder of why the chippy endures.

Eateries so inextricably linked to a country or its cuisine are, by nature, an impression of the real thing, and too often they feel like a simulacrum: distorted and lacking in soul.

Battered, on the other hand, feels like a fairly faithful rendition of the experience, which is more than can be said for plenty of its neighbours in REXKL.

It shouldn’t need to keep telling you it’s British; the chip spice, mushy peas and the bottle of Sarson’s on the table say it well enough.

Battered Fish & Chip Co.

REXKL, 80, Jalan Sultan,

Open Tuesday to Thursday, 12pm–4pm, 5pm–9pm; Friday to Sunday, 12pm–9.30pm

Instagram: @battered.kl

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.

* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more chippy chronicles.

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吉隆坡，10 月 29 日——斑点布丁、肉丸、加冕鸡……英国烹饪经典为世界带来了一些真正迷人的创意，但没有哪一种能像其国菜炸鱼薯条那样风靡全球。

它之所以如此受欢迎，可以追溯到它价格亲民、相对容易获得——现代供应链系统如此发达，你很难在世界上找到一个买不到新鲜或冷冻鱼和土豆的城市。

或许也是因为这道菜不需要太多营销；毕竟，油炸食品很难被超越。

抛开后殖民时代的遗留影响不谈，近年来马来西亚人对炸鱼薯条的喜爱程度与日俱增。

Wisma Cosway 不知不觉地成为了两家炸鱼薯条店的聚集地，这两家店在 2025 年初相隔几个月在同一栋楼里开业，但 Battered Fish & Chip Co. 于去年年底进入了市中心市场。

Battered 由出生于赫尔的兄妹 Danny、Charlie 和 Ashleigh 经营，他们试图在潮人聚集地 REXKL 唤起经典英式炸鱼薯条店（或称 chippy）的精髓。

而且，它在很大程度上取得了成功，当然也针对马来西亚的顾客做了一些明显的调整：不含酒精的面糊，用鲈鱼代替鳕鱼或黑线鳕，当然，还有所有竭力提醒你这完全是英国风味的营销手段。

讽刺的是，Battered餐厅其实并不需要这些。细节决定成败。这家非常传统的炸鱼薯条店套餐包含豌豆泥或咖喱酱，配菜有腌鸡蛋和炸香肠。

在调味品区，薯条调料（一种盐和辣椒粉的混合物，是赫尔的特色）的瓶装调料罐摆放在萨尔森麦芽醋旁边——不过我想，在大多数炸鱼薯条店里都能找到的非酿造调味品（更便宜的选择）可能更能代表英国。

很明显，有人努力将炸鱼薯条店的体验移植到马来西亚，同时在最终产品中保留特定的传统，甚至是地方特色。

菜单最近进行了扩充，新增了鱼肉汉堡（28 令吉）和几款三明治：加冕鸡肉三明治（26 令吉）、鱼柳三明治（25 令吉）和高级虾三明治（28 令吉），其中最后一款我不太想点，以免触怒罗伊·基恩。

为了尽可能满足更多需求，我选择了炸鱼薯条套餐（34 马币）。

这是全套，或者正如他们喜欢说的那样，是完整的套餐：裹着面糊的海鲈鱼片，外皮酥脆，轻盈蓬松；厚实蓬松的薯条；塔塔酱；泥豌豆泥，味道浓郁，清凉，散发着薄荷的香气；还有一杯饮料。

撇开鱼肉鲜嫩多汁这一点不谈，鱼本身的味道确实比较淡，即使挤了些柠檬汁，淋了些麦芽醋也无济于事。我倒希望塔塔酱的味道能更浓郁一些，最好再加些刺山柑、酸黄瓜或小黄瓜。

薯条虽然厚实蓬松，但如果撒上足量的薯条调料，味道会更上一层楼。不过，对于更喜欢澳式风味的人来说，还可以选择鸡肉盐，这是澳大利亚炸鱼薯条的经典调味料。鸡肉盐通常由盐、鸡汤块和几种香料混合而成，能为炸鱼薯条增添令人愉悦的鲜味。

后来我才意识到，原本应该和炸鱼薯条套餐一起上的涂黄油面包根本没上。厨房好像把它忘了，但我当时吃得太饱，肚子也鼓鼓囊囊的，所以根本没注意到。

如果塔塔酱味道更浓郁一些，那就近乎完美了。不过，34令吉的价格，这道炸得恰到好处的炸鱼薯条，足以让人想起炸鱼薯条店经久不衰的原因。

与一个国家或其美食密不可分的餐馆，本质上是对真实事物的印象，但往往感觉像是一个仿制品：扭曲且缺乏灵魂。

另一方面，Battered 感觉像是对体验的相当忠实的再现，这比 REXKL 中的许多邻居都要好得多。

它无需反复强调它是英国的；薯条香料、豌豆泥和桌上的萨尔森啤酒已经足以说明一切了。

炸鱼薯条公司

REXKL，苏丹路80号

周二至周四，中午12点至下午4点，下午5点至晚上9点营业；周五至周日，中午12点至晚上9点半营业。

Instagram：@battered.kl

* 这是一篇独立评论，作者自行支付了餐费。

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