I want you to meet my new mate Sylviana, from Solar Seafoods – a woman of refined tastes. She must be, because she spotted me in the back of the car when The Boss pulled up outside and straight away admired my handsome visage.
The Boss says she knows how to cook fish too, but that’s beside the point. She appreciates a fine-looking hound and that’s more important.
Sylviana is the friendly “front of house” at Solar Seafoods, and Villa Rajamanickam, who recently reopened the business with his partner Jamal Chkhadeim, has a fine little golden named Luna, although Luna isn’t allowed in the shop.
The boss has been in there a bit lately – he’s very pleased to have a good fish shop again and he reckons Villa and Jamal are having a real go.
Villa is down at the Melbourne market three mornings a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, which is hard work but great for The Boss, who loves his fresh fish.
Villa said the market opens at 5am but he needs to be there 3.30am, otherwise he ends up too far down the queue to get the best fish when it opens. So they are long days but he said the market vendors are all very friendly and delighted that Solar Seafoods has got going again.
He and Jamal grow cherries out at Invergordon and they’ve been in business in Shepparton together over the years, although Villa was growing apples in Mt Gambier for some years as well. Villa has never run a fish shop but his family in Malaysia have been in the industry for generations.
Villa and Jamal happen to live near the previous owners, Dave and Jen Fairless, and were nonplussed – like The Boss was – when the business closed. So they decided to have a crack at it – and they’ve been amazed at the response.
Like the customers, they are wanting to have their fish as fresh as possible so are concentrating on whole fish as much as they can, although they’ll clean and fillet them at no charge – and The Boss saw plenty of whole snapper, farmed and wild barramundi, trevally, school whiting, flounder and mackerel as well as soft-shell crabs, flathead and orange roughy fillets and salmon when he spoke to them the other day.
They are already set up to cook the fish that people choose, offering value meals from $9 to a high-end seafood platter for two, including oysters, prawns, scallops, calamari, octopus and battered barra or salmon, plus chips and salad, for a princely $99.90.
There’s a range of packs designed for couples or families and Villa says they are providing fresh salads and snacks as well.
The Boss asked him what had surprised them about the business and Villa pointed to the diverse customer base – many of the city’s more recent arrivals come from countries where fish is a staple so they know what they want, how to cook it and make the most of it.
But he can’t believe Shepparton’s passion for oysters – they are moving 120 dozen oysters a week, and it is growing all the time. This was good news too: The Boss reckons Coffin Bay oysters from the cold waters of the Bight between April and October are the best in the world.
And like The Boss, Villa is surprised that people shy away from King George Whiting: even though the price per kilo is high, two slender fillets per person is enough for a fine meal – crumbed of battered or just fried, and a couple can enjoy this premium eating fish for just $13-15.
After The Boss pressed him, Villa agreed he would bring whiting fillets back on Saturday mornings and see how they go – so I’m urging all King George Whiting fans to take note. That will keep The Boss happy and I don’t mind a scrap myself. Woof!