Possibly the best fish and chips you’ll find in Kuala Lumpur, if not certainly the most authentic.
Blimey! British food that’s actually edible? Cor Blimey British Fish and Chips serves up the traditional English dish in a nontraditional setting.
Ambience & Amenities
While the best fish and chip shops in Britain are likely cramped pub houses where the scent of old lager is now one with the wood panelling, Cor Blimey British Fish & Chips in Desa Sri Hartamas is a bright, roomy space with a minimalist colour scheme. The walls are plastered with Union Jacks, road signs to English cities, and Britishisms in the shape of the United Kingdom. Even the television at this location features the most famous Englishman on it, Mr. Bean. Suck it, James Bond!
To really cram ENGLAND into all your senses and orifices, the speakers play nothing but music from British artists. While all of us karaoke emphatically during Champagne Supernova despite having heard it over a hundred times, I am very curious as to how much the employees at Cor Blimey want to stick their head in the deep fryer from listening to nothing but Blur and Amy Winehouse all day, every day. Beetlebum was an okay tune, but if I had to hear Damon Albarn’s goddamned falsetto for the eighth time that day, I’d want to bottle someone… probably myself.
Menu
Click menu pictures to enlarge
Fish and chips, naturally, get prime real estate on the menu. The restaurant also helpfully describes the distinctions between the six fish varieties they offer. You have your choice of batter, including “Chip Shop Curry” which is sure to tempt Malaysians that are curious about foreign curries. I always keep it simple with lemon and herb for a traditional taste.
True to its authenticity, even the classic disgusting accompaniment, mushy peas, are an option as your vegetable side. Oh brilliant, and they come in mint flavour too! This is not a criticism of the restaurant’s chef – this is British people’s fault and their weird tastes in food. Somewhere in time, Brits wanted to introduce a pop of puke colour to a plate of golden food and decided that mushy peas were the perfect third wheel to chips and fish. For all their clever slang words, couldn’t they have at least named it something more appetizing than “mushy peas”? I’ve had fish and chips many times during our year living in London, and that side of mushy peas on the plate always looked and tasted like toothpaste to me. In that respect, there was only one real option for our vegetable side: coleslaw.
The menu is rounded out with nibbles, burgers, and strangely, the very un-British tacos. When you mention tacos in most parts of England, the people will respond in that faraway manner – the way the rest of us respond when Brits mention a chip butty – we’ve never tasted it, and we’re kind of confused on how to eat it. It looks like Cor Blimey has tried to put an English spin on the Baja Cali classic, but everything about it – from what’s in the taco to what it’s served with – is so far from the original dish that it just seems a little weird. On the upside, it does look like what a British person would create when given vague explanations of what a taco is, so there’s that.
Cor Blimey has also recently added other English favourites like fisherman’s pie (similar to shepherd’s pie, but with fish) and bangers and mash. To make it Halal-friendly, they’ve altered the dish to use chicken sausages and a vegetable-based gravy.
On the back of the menu above the drinks are four choices of dessert. We all know that the British are not known for good food, and that extends to their desserts. The reason why the word “British” is in quotes under “British Puddings” is because the trifle is the only somewhat yummy dessert to come out of the country. The other three options are American, Scottish, and where ever ice cream came from. They’re reaching, but when something as crazy as a deep-fried Mars bar is in front of our face, maybe they’re hoping we won’t notice that it’s not British.
Plain water, annoyingly, costs extra here. If you’re going to be paying for a drink anyway, I highly recommend that you get one of their lemonades. They come in a good-sized mason jar with real wedges of lemon and your choice of fruit. I got Cranberry Lemonade (RM9.90), but try an unusual combo like Mark did with the Ginger and Lemonade (RM9.90) . The sweet lemonade with the “in your nose” spiciness of the ginger was unlike anything else.
Food
At the time of writing this article, there are only three Cor Blimey! outlets in Kuala Lumpur. If you are here purely to try it, or the location is far away from your usual hangouts and you will likely not return to the area, I recommend making your visit count and splurging a bit on the fish. The cheap dory option is alright, but it won’t blow you away and your sole (heh heh) visit to Cor Blimey won’t be anything to remember. You will notice the difference in texture and taste if you order the more expensive varieties of fish. Even between the dory and the RM6 more cherry snapper is a noticeable step up. We don’t even order the Dory anymore because the extra RM3 for the Perch is worth it. Today, we selected the Perch (RM26.90) and Cherry Snapper (RM29.90). We haven’t yet been able to take the leap and order the RM41 Haddock, but an English friend of ours did, and he raved at how delicious and proper British it was.
The meal arrives like a Mount Fuji of fish, laying on top of a bed of chunky chips. Typical of the British, they like to conquer everything and a tiny Union Jack is planted on top. The chips are delightfully fat (like that government worker your mom is trying to set you up with) and calling for malt vinegar, which is conveniently provided on the table.
The batter on the fish is perfectly uniform and crunchy, with the fish inside still retaining its individual flavour. Don’t forget to use that wedge of lemon on your plate to add a spritz of citrus, even if you’ve chosen the lemon and herb batter. Not only does it help to cut the oily flavour, but it also adds much-needed freshness to a lot of heavy deep-fried food.
Depending on the flakiness of the fish you’ve ordered, trying to dip chunks of your fish in the tartar sauce will result in a chunky mess. You’ll just end up with a pot of tartar sauce that’s more fish flakes and batter than sauce. I’ve found that using your knife to scoop some sauce which you then spread onto the bite you are going to eat is a much cleaner technique.
Saturday Worthy?
My only negative is that meal here can easily get quite expensive, with us paying almost RM85 for what is pub food in the West. Though it’s missing some of the quintessential fish and chip touches like being served on chip shop paper and accompanied by a tantalizingly cold lager, Cor Blimey British Fish & Chips is a delicious and reasonably authentic facsimile of the classic British dish. It’s a good shout for anyone who either wants to try proper fish and chips for the first time, or those wanting to revisit their time in England. Just grab a chap, leg it to this place that’s the bee’s knees, and Bob’s your uncle!
Price for 2 Pax: RM84.25
Fish & Chips, Cherry Snapper: RM29.90
Fish & Chips, Perch: RM26.90
Cranberry Lemonade: RM9.90
Ginger Lemonade: RM9.90
10% Service Charge: RM7.66
Cor Blimey! British Fish & Chips
Ground Floor, No 58, Jalan 27/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50486 Kuala Lumpur
Tuesday to Thursday: 5pm – 10pm
Friday to Sunday: 12pm – 10pm
Closed on Mondays
Alcohol Served: No
