Nothing is as British as Fish n Chips. A popular Fish n’ Chip shop in Essex has been in a legal battle with Warner Bros over their name. Scooby Snax has been using their name for over 8 years. It refers to the favourite treat of a popular cartoon character called Scooby Doo. As the chippie can’t afford to pay thousands of pounds for a court course they have decided just to change their name to Johnny Mac’s Plaice. Hopefully, locals won’t care about the change of name and continue to eat their chip butties and battered cod at the award-winning chip shop.
Fish n’ chip shop language
- chip shop
- a shorter version of fish n’ chip shop
- chippie
- a slang version of the above
- plaice
- a type of fish
- chip butties
- a chip sandwich
- battered cod
- a type of fish which is covered and fried in batter (flour, eggs, milk)
To become truly English you need to know what to order in a fish n’ chip shop. Fish n’ chips are well-known but what about all the other things on the menu?
The menu
Seafood
- Cod
- a popular fish which is good for frying
- Haddock
- a relative of the cod but which is smaller
- Plaice
- a large flat fish
- Lemon Sole
- a more expensive type of flat fish with a slight yellow colour
- Scampi
- a large shrimp fried in breadcrumbs (small pieces of bread)
- Cod Roe
- the eggs of the cod fish
- Fish Cake
- pieces of fish mixed with potatoes and herbs fried like a hamburger in breadcrumbs
- Fish Finger
- the same as above except made into a long shape
Pies
- Steak And Kidney
- the most traditional type of pie which contains beef and kidney pieces baked in pastry
- Beef And Onion
- the same but with beef and sliced onion
- Chicken And Mushroom
- another variety with a less strong flavour
Sausages
- Sausage (Regular)
- a normal sausage which is normally made of pork
- Sausage (Jumbo)
- the biggest version
- Battered Sausage
- a sausage covered and fried in batter
- Saveloy
- a smoked pork sausage with added salt and pepper
Savouries
- Pineapple Fritter
- sliced pineapple fried in batter
- Onion Rings
- sliced onion circles fried in batter
- Spring Roll
- a Chinese long and thin snack which contains meat and vegetables and is fried
- Curry Roll
- the same but with curry sauce in
Pickles
Onion Gherkin Egg All of these are kept in a jar containing vinegar and spices for a long time.
Extras
- Mushy Peas
- peas that are soaked overnight and become like soup
- Baked Beans
- white beans in tomato sauce (very, very British!!!)
- Curry Sauce
- a liquid made of spices that is used as a topping
- Gravy
- a sauce made from meat juice
- Bread Roll
- a breadcake like a small bun that is cut in half and filled
- Chip Buttie
- chips but in a sandwich
To be really English, you should order: Curry n’ chips Chips n’ gravy Chips n’ mushy peas Scraps (these are the bits of fried batter which are left from frying the fish and they are free) Scallops (a slice of potato covered and fried in breadcrumbs).
Have a look at a typical London chippie:
If you come to study English in London why not try some of these fish n’ chip shops?
