THEY say size doesn’t matter, but when it comes to parting ways with your hard earned cash in exchange for a bit of grub, it kind of does.
There is nothing worse than concluding a testing week of work on a Friday evening, for example, only to be confronted with a takeaway of underwhelming proportion.
Thankfully, Colchester’s White Gold Fish and Chips does not do anything by halves, as starving Daily Gazette reporters found out earlier this week.
Renu Ramanathan, who runs the traveling business, pulled his portable chip van up outside the Newsquest offices on Wednesday eager for us to taste test his vast menu.
The warm, friendly and approachable Mr Ramanathan, kitted-out in his royal blue uniform, moved to the UK in 1992 from Sri Lanka in the midst of a civil war.
After spending time in London, where he got his first taste of selling fish and chips, he moved out of the big city to Colchester and purchased his own convenience store.
Then, in 2020, he decided to start-up White Gold Fish and Chips, which serves hungry customers in villages across Colchester and Suffolk.
From his blue and cream van, he conjures up everything from traditional staples to quirkier delicacies, such as pineapple fritters and chilli cheese bites.
In addition to fish and chips, battered sausages, cheeseburgers, mozzarella dippers, fishcakes, chicken bites and chicken wraps are also all on offer, as well as much more.
Here’s what Gazette reporters made of Mr Ramanathan’s fairly priced - and fairly sized - dishes.
Fish
Coated in a lovely batter the huge and delicious cod we were served had both a crispy and then creamy and soft texture to it. Each bite was like a daytrip to the seaside.
Battered Sausage
A staple of any fish and chips dish in my opinion. The battered sausage is arguably hard to get wrong, and thankfully this big banger did not disappoint. It hit the spot.
Cod Bites
The name Cod Bites was misleading… but in a good way.
What we were given was a generous portion of a cod fillet, cut into strips – they were essentially big fish fingers.
They were coated in a lovely batter, and the cod was flaky and cooked to perfection.
Banana Fritters
The banana fritters made for a unique addition to a standard fish and chip shop menu.
The fritters consist of two whole bananas, both battered and drizzled with golden syrup.
Although they don’t necessarily look appealing, they tasted great. They are definitely worth a try for something a bit different.
Cheeseburger
The cheeseburger was just as I expected really and it gave me the midday boost I needed.
Pineapple Fritters
Freshly battered, I have to say these were not bad.
Of course, classing these as one of your five a day is something of a stretch, but they were much better and tastier than I expected.
They were not overflowing in grease and the dusting of sugar was noticeable to the pallet too.
I can’t say I could handle all six – two seems to be about my limit – but if you want something sweet and to justify you've just had some fresh fruit, this will do the job.
Chips and Mozzarella Sticks
The gigantic portions were certainly generous with the ample chips enough to feed a family (or a small army).
The Mozzarella sticks followed suit. No half measures here and they were both tasty and filling.
Curry Sauce
The curry sauce was a little on the thin side and was not overly thick or overpowering.
The price is less expensive than I’ve seen for curry sauce in the past, at just £1.
The portion size was decent too and accompanied my large portion of chips very well.
To find out more about White Gold Fish and Chips click here.
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