I admit it, I’m a long-time patron of Long John Silver’s. My family used to eat there in Tucson at least as far back as 1974. While it’s not completely 100% authentic English Fish & Chips, it’s not too far off the mark, and it’s been very consistent for the last 30+ years. (Remember, I live in the desert, seafood is not the specialty of the region.)
Long John Silver’s has recently opened up in Taipei and my curiosity is too much for me. I was looking forward to eating fish & chips, especially since the apparent demise of the Frying Scotsman, this was my only opportunity. I was also quite curious to see how they’d “adapted it for the local market.†(Which is usually a euphemism for “screwing up the food.â€)
The restaurant was bright and clean, and more upscale than in the US. The food was served on real dishes and silverware! Swanky!
The combos didn’t appear to come with fries, so we ordered some separately. Then it turned out that the combo did come with fries, so we had far too many. My combo was two pieces of fish, fries (chips), a salad and an American-size soda.
My wife’s combo was one fish, one piece of chicken, two shrimp, fries, the salad and the drink.
I tried some of both my fish and my wife’s chicken. Here’s the verdict.
Salad: Well, this just isn’t a US item, so I have nothing to compare it to, save that it was lettuce with some Thousand Island dressing. (Thousand Island is the ubiquitous salad dressing of Taiwan. Taiwan must be one of the thousand islands.). Edible, but tiny. Thousand Island had an unusual hint of something like horseradish in it.
Fries: Absolutely typical LJS fries. I’m not a fan of them, but they were spot on.
Chicken: I noticed no difference between this and the domestic version.
Fish: The cut of the fish, the batter, the look and the feel were all exactly right. The fish was well-cooked and fresh. One thing – I’m not sure it was cod. Domestic LJS uses cod, which of all of nature’s fish has been bestowed the ultimately gift: It doesn’t taste like fish. Except, once in a while, you get a piece that turns a darker color towards one end of the fillet. Then, it starts to get a fishy flavor. This fish, from start to finish, has that fishy flavor without being the darker flesh. It’s not terribly strong, but it is distinct.
Because of that taste, I preferred to eat the fish with sauce. Something which we presumed to be an odd-looking tartar sauce was provided, but it turned out to be something like a cross between Ranch dressing (minus the buttermilk) plus garlic and sugar. We ordered an extra side of Thousand Island dressing (NT$ 5) which was closer to tartar sauce. I didn’t see malt vinegar or salt anywhere.
I had a similar experience on my first trip to Taiwan. At the time, I ate a lot in MacDonald’s because everything tasted exactly like back at home. It might not be good, but it tasted like home. Everything, that is, with one exception: The Filet O’Fish sandwich. That tasted fishier than the real thing. I’ve always wondered, is the difference based on the supply chain or an adaptation to the local taste?
Still, LJS was enjoyable and they seemed to be doing a fair amount of business. Perhaps they’ll survive until my next trip here.
I found LJS Taiwan from Hungry Girl’s Guide to Taipei.
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