Had given up on finding fresh seafood to cook at home. All the places that sell fish and other sea faring critters that I have come across have sold either frozen (and sometimes thawed) seafood or smelt really fishy (in a bad fish kinda way) and looked unhygienic.
So what do you do when you really want something but can't seem to source it locally? You buy it online! I am a big fan of buying things online. I don't do it often, but when I do, I am most usually very happy with the result. After perusing a few online fish shops I decided to go with Wing of St Mawes. Why? (I hear you ask..) Because:
1. They had the best selection of seafood. Though they don't stock the elusive razor clams which I have been wanting to have again ever since my first time here.
2. They had the best looking website. This is really an Adam criteria, but in this instance I think a clean, fresh and professional looking website instills more confidence as would a physical fish shop of the same description.
3. They claim to sell fish LANDED DAILY. That's already fresher than fish you could hope to buy in a shop.
4. They sell FRESH, not freshly frozen, fish and other seafood (unlike several other websites). They even sell live crab and lobster, that's how fresh it is!
Being my first purchase and all, I decide to test the waters with some mussels, it seem like middle ground between fish and crab/lobster. They were a great price too and by that I mean they were around Sydney prices - only £4.50/kg, that's about $9AUD. Having put in my order before 10am, I anxiously awaited their arrival the next morning..
They arrive mid morning in this relatively clean and non-smelly styrofoam box..
4kg of mussels and 250g of super awesome looking smoked salmon which they threw in for free as it was my first purchase. You can also see some ice packs in there to keep everything johnny coool..
And they were live! They always say you should cook with live mussels and these babies certainly were.
'Nother freebie - a teatowel
So far so good! Was very happy with the packaging and the product. I'm sure the mussels could have lasted a fair while in that box. They charge £7 delivery for orders under £100 which I find preferable to the alternatives - spending a few £ on public transport getting to and from the fish shop for "not as fresh" fish. Or there's Billings Gate, which I hear is the big fish market that's only open from 4am - 8am or something ludicrously early like that. Considering cost, time and effort, £7 for delivery is worth it don't you think?
I'm happy to report that the mussels were very tasty. Half were done in kind of Provencale style and half in a kind of Thai Green Curry. I say "kind of" as I "kind of" made up the recipe as I went along. Anyway, it doesn't matter as I didn't make them tasty, these guys would've been just as good steamed by themselves and eaten with lemon, salt and pepper.
Now I'm looking forward to trying that smoked salmon!
Wing of St Mawes
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