Blue Crab, Black Pomfret, Red Snapper Or Lobster: This CBD Restaurant Does Fresh Sea Food Right

Part of the Citrus Hotel on Cunningham Road, Fish Factory is heaven for seafood lovers where they only serve fresh catch of the day. None of that frozen stuff here!

A semi-alfresco area in the Citrus Hotel, the Fish Factory is a green space where you can unwind with drinks and seafood. Not your typical seafood restaurant, this one mixes an open grill, a regular kitchen and an Oriental style teppanyaki portable grill. There is also a board that lists the fresh catch. Better still, an open freezer showcases the seafood you can load up on — from red snapper, pomfret and barramundi seer fish to lobster, crab and tiger prawn. We started with a peppery lobster bisque, which was just spicy enough to let the lobster flavour come out. It nicely whet our appetite.

Next was the surmai tawa fry which was piquant, and satisfying. Especially compared to the usual miserable fried basa. Lady Fish rava fry brought in that much needed Konkan representation, though we lamented at not being able to finish all six that arrived. The marinade that made a mark however, was the Arabic samak harra that was slathered onto the pomfret. A tangy mix of onions, bell peppers, tomato and Arabic spices, it added a lovely lemony zest to the slightly bland fish. Quail 65 was meant to be spicy, but it was quite disappointing. Not only did they forget the order originally, but it was not quite a 65 sauce. It was quite clearly the honey chilli Chinese version. Ah well, maybe next time it’ll be better.

Filled to the gills {gettit?}, we declined the Mangalore fish curry, chilli crab and calamari. But don’t leave without loading up on the seafood biryani — aromatic long grain rice, with squids, prawns and fish. It’s like a dream mix, that should be finished off with the lemon cheesecake to take the fishy taste out, and of course, end on a sweet note.