Hey Hive!
Even though there are still people getting covid, it's basically being treated like a cold these days so thankfully almost everything is back to normal now! There are no more restrictions on dining these days and you don't even have to wear a mask anymore if you don't want to! It's a huge relief and this allows us to try different food places again!
Sean gets to try out different restaurants more than me since his office is in the city center and recently he tried this place that he was really excited about and decided to bring me there! It's called The Ship and the reason for that is because the whole restaurant has a nautical theme and is made to look like an actual ship!
It's super cool and apparently also quite exclusive in a way, since you need a reservation to even enter the restaurant. So we made sure to book a table ahead of time just before peak dinner time in case it was fully booked.
After waiting for another party to be seated, we were shown to our table by whom I assume to be the restaurant manager.
They weren't kidding with the nautical theme that's for sure. There were so many flags on the walls, porthole windows near the kitchen and even the chairs had patterns resembling the steering wheel of the ship!
It seemed like everything hanging on the walls was a reference to something nautical like the lifesavers and maps!
The booths by the window also had these lights that you'd find on small boats. I thought the nautical theme was going to be quite cheesy but everything tied in really well together, and it was actually quite pleasant and welcoming.
We were lucky enough to get one of the booths by the window so we could enjoy the view of the streets below.
For the menu, they mainly specialise in Western cuisine, but Sean raves about their Special Sliced Fish Soup, which is the only Asian dish on the menu. I thought it was quite odd but he assured me that it was indeed delicious and he would be ordering it.
The dinner specials definitely did look the most value for money since it has main course, soup of the day, dessert of the day and a drink. But I did take a look at the rest of the menu as well, which was regular Western fare.
I guess their other special is the Lobster Thermidor which is really expensive of course.
They also have a variety of Grilled meat options like lamb, pork, chicken and steak.
And of course some pasta, sides and dessert.
For beverages they had mostly sodas, alcoholic drinks or juices.
I was torn on which of the dinner specials to get but since Sean was getting the fish soup I figured I'd try something with the grilled meat.
About 10 minutes after we placed our order, my Soup of the Day was here! Because Sean's main already has soup he didn't get the Soup of the Day but we were going to share anyway.
The soup comes with a bun and some salted butter, and it tasted like minestrone soup to me. It was a little tomatoey which is not my favourite but was subtle enough that I could still enjoy it.
After that Sean's fish soup arrived! It was quite a big bowl and came with some fried fish slices which he liked so much last time so he ordered an extra plate of fried fish!
The soup was indeed very tasty. It was milky but light and savoury and was perfect mixed with just a bit of the chili soy sauce to give it that little spice kick. The noodles were pretty standard rice noodles but the soup was amazing, and definitely fit the rainy weather we were having that day.
The fish was fried to crispy perfection but the meat wasn't too dry. The batter was nicely seasoned and I liked dipping it slightly in the soup and eating it with the noodles. It was very crispy and was nice dipped in the soy sauce too.
Overall, this was probably some of the best fish soup I've had. I can see why Sean rated it so highly. I was skeptical since it was an Asian dish in a Western restaurant but it was undeniably delicious!
For my dinner special, I chose the Ship Combo which has pork, chicken, prawns, and chipolata sausages served with vegetables and sauteed potatoes. It had the most variety of all the other dishes and I did want to try their different meats.
The pork cutlet was pretty average, but the rest of the plate was really good! The prawns were grilled maybe not as much as I would've liked but still had a subtle smoky taste to it. The sausages were also slightly grilled and tasted alright, similar to a mini bratwurst you'd find in buffets.
The fingerling potatoes were pretty good and nicely seasoned with some sea salt. I wish they had more veggies but I appreciated the broccoli and carrots more than salad.
The best part was definitely the chicken. It was fried crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, and paired really well with the brown mushroom sauce. The sauce did make the skin less crispy but I still really enjoyed it.
It was a very filling meal, especially after all the soup we had. But we still had the dessert of the day and we had two options: crème brulée or ice cream. Since both our specials came with dessert we decided to try one of each!
The chocolate ice cream had mini chocolate chips inside and it was nice. Not too sweet and not too rich but very chocolatey for sure.
It'd been a while since we had crème brulée and thankfully it was just a small cup since we were so full.
I kinda forgot what crème brulée was until I tasted it and realised it's custard with a layer of caramelized sugar on top. As such it was very sweet and a bit too much for me. The custard was nice though. I ended up mixing the ice cream and the crème brulée together which and the chocolate actually helped alleviate the sweetness of the sugar a little.
It definitely got a lot livelier as the night wore on and dinner crowd came in. Thankfully we were finished with our meal by then.
I didn't expect a themed restaurant like this to get this packed but I guess they are indeed very popular despite being in a somewhat hidden location. We even saw a lot of other people ordering the fish soup too so it must be a popular item as well.
Overall, it was indeed a very delicious meal and I'd visit again if I have a hankering for some fish soup or good Western mains. It's not the cheapest but for the central location and the portions I'd say it's pretty worth it. I think lunch time has better prices too so if you're in the mood to get nautical, definitely check out The Ship!
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
