My wife was telling me about this restaurant at Rall Mall. My eldest daughter seems to be raving about it already. She is nearly 3 and her newest word in her limited vocabulary is "Hooked!"

The ambience sucks and my wife says it feels more like a food court than a restaurant. Beware, this is no place for a romantic candlelit meal for two. However the food and the service hugely makes up for it. They ordered two kiddy meals ($10 each) and a bottle of wine - Sauvignon Blanc $50 which seems quite reasonable.

The waitress was able to change the deep fried battered fish into grilled fish. The deep fried "smiley" potatoes were a massive hit. My girls gobbled the whole lot up. My daughter was initially given a smoothie but the manageress's keen eye saw that she was not keen on her drink and spontaneously came over to the table and offered a swap to a Sprite at no extra cost. Now that's service! Well done! As a complement they were back yesterday. This time the deep fat frier was broken so no smiley faces! :-(
Brocoli and other veggies that my girls like were offered instead and recieved with great enthusiasm. Probably a healthier dinner!

I am off to Singapore this weekend and I am looking forward to eating there with my kids soon. I'll write another report once I've sampled the food. I'm a massive seafood fan!

Footnote by my wife: I don't think the decor sucks, it is just a little stark - it's quite funky so they should paint the ceiling dark blue, continue the fishy motifs on it and sort the lighting out. It doesn't really matter though as the food is super, far more classy than the venue and the prices would suggest,the wine is yummy and everything is incredibly reasonably priced.

Finding a carpark around this area is not easy. Arrived around 5plus on Sunday evening, there were only 1 table with 2 customers, the rest were emtpy. So pretty much quiet and we thought we came to a not-so-good food restaurant. It was worth the try in the end !
Ambience and decor was good, simple and nice, not too complicated/fussy.
The menu very extensive, even have those items for non-fish lovers, glossy and with pictures to assist in your selection.
Ordered ~ the classic Fish & Chips (Dory)$12.90, Baked Fish & Puff $18.50 and Pangrill Seabass ($17.50). Wanted to try out the crab claw, after saw some review that it was good, but was out of order for the day. Too bad.
Service was quick and prompt, friendly abit, not too irritating which is good.
The dishes were quick, given the consideration tt we are the 2nd table for the night.
Fish & Chips ~ crispy on the outside yet tender in the insides.
Baked Fish & Puff ~ loved the crispy & flaky puff texture, the fish meat inside the puff was moist with sauce and soft, not the usual dry & hard. Great !
Pangrill Seabass ~ The herbs sauce was excellent as a companion with the seabass to musk off the fish smell. Pasta was good also, soft and not too creamy. Overall, good combination.
The price, we would say roughly in the same market like Fish&Co, Manhattan. Anyway, its a good try if you want a change.

went and tried hooked! one day after reading so many raving reviews and after hearing from a friend who said the food was really good and worth the trip there.

we-ll. coming from clemnti proved to be an obstacle coz we had to cross the overhead bridge and walk the distance as we both don't have cars. =( but if i had gone from my place it would definitely be more convenient. =)

the place is good for large gatherings. or even catching up over meals with friends coz of its minimal deco and many tables. =D

service was pleasant and efficient and we got served quickly. the serive staff were also attentive to our needs. =)

we ordered the homemade fish pie. a fisherman's salad. sauteed potato. pangrill seabass and a seafood marinara. =D we topped up our mains to a set meal which cost us $7.40 more (if my calculations are right). which was worth it.

i didn't try the fish pie coz partly i do not like fish in pies. and perhaps partly coz i was not in the mood to be adventurous. =) but my friend went on raving about it and saying how good it was. how smooth. how yummy. =)

i tried the fisherman's salad. quite ordinary. enough said.

when the sauteed potatos came. we kinda regretted our choice. coz it was juz simple potatos bits sauteed with oil with bits of parsley. and the taste was actually a bit bland.

but but but. i personally love the main courses!!! =D friend had the pangrill seabass which was very nicely done. the skin was a tad crispy yet the fish retains the moisture and was juicy. =) and the sauce that was on the side complemented the fish very well. i like the smoothness of the fish and the fact of how when you cut the fish up you could actually see the different layers. freshness! =)

my seafood marinara was fantastic. =) the pasta was a bit too little. or was it coz the vareity and amount of seafood overwhelmed the whole dish? there were mussels. scallops. prawns. fish slices. and some other seafood which i cannot remember. and the tomato paste was good. not too sweet yet a bit tangy. =)

the mains would be the only draw for me to go back to hooked! the next time round. especially if i am craving for fish. =)

ive done a review for hooked before, but that was god knows how long ago.

my partner and i went back there yesterday (tough fight between ramen ramen ramen and hooked because both are not exactly creme de la creme) because we last remembered hooked being okay, and with decent prices taking into account both the food, environment and service.

so anyway we went in at around 9pm without even looking at the menu (complacency is the death of many things) and then when we sat down we realised to our dismay that the menu had changed somewhat, and prices for items that had been in the original menu had gone up.

so anyway we didnt think it in good taste to just bugger off like that and we just order a main each. the restaurant was completely empty save for one other couple that came in shortly after us.

anyway, we had:

baked seafood and chicken rice
crab and prawn au gratin


i had the crab and prawn au gratin because i love gratin (all that serotonin from the potatoes) and because i vaguely recall some review (not on hungrygowhere though) which said that the dish was pretty okay.
so anyway, it was okay but since it was a baked pasta like thing, i was kinda surprised that their idea of gratin was fried potato wedges thrown into the dish and apparently baked together with the crab, prawn, squid and fish bits under a layer of cheese. oh the dish also contains bits of onions and (for some unknown reason) a ton of sliced celery. i had actually asked if it was possible to remove the celery - but they said no can do because everything is already pre-made (as expected).the cheese was decent enough, and the dish was surprisingly spicy - they didnt say why in the description, although the name of the dish had two chillis by the side of it in the menu. as for the crab - dont expect alot, just a small pincer's worth, but you get like 5 medium prawns. After awhile the potatoes - ok they arent exactly the frozen wedges but they are chunks of fried potatoes with a wedge like batter - becomes a little too much. I thought the dish was okay. but at $17.80 a little pricey.

my partner had the seafood and chicken baked rice (you have a choice of linguini or rice) and he said it was okay. ive had the linguini before and actually rather enjoyed it. it was i think, 12.90 (or around there) then. It is currently priced at $14.80. Personally i thought the rice inside the dish looked a little sad. linguini would have been better! but my partner likes rice so there.

service was non existent after they took and served our orders. water did not get refilled. the server was polite though. He did ask how our meal was at the end of it and i told him that the gratin was not what i expected it to be. the potatoes i thought would have been boiled and baked together with the dish, not fried and thrown in. i think at worst, my prawn and crab au gratin could actually be considered a rather low skill dish of throwing precooked bits of everything in and then putting it in the oven for as long as the cheese needed to melt and then served. dude, i could do that myself probably. there was no service charge but i did not think their service warranted a tip.

so anyway, i dont think i will be back anytime soon. not because the food's bad or anything, but i dont think its worth the money! they would have sold themselves a better concept if they were willing to go more downmarket. downmarket really isnt a bad thing you know.

The spartan décor of this place belies the enjoyment you will get from your dining experience.

The first surprise to greet you when you sit down is the menu. It looks almost like a magazine from its glossy and colourful display. The range of food is so extensive that you wonder how big their kitchen is and how many people work in there. Fish dishes of all leanings are available, be it Western, Chinese, Thai, local, you name it. It even includes meat items, as if to say that should some carnivore stray into its premises by mistake, they are nonetheless welcome.

The appetiser items are all very nice. The highlight for me was the salmon and tuna tapas: it was truly delightful. We ordered one portion (plus other appetisers lah, in case you think we so kiam) consisting of 3 tapas. Our party of five cut each tapas into halves and had our respective half-tapas. All looked longingly at the one last half that remained, disowned but much desired. Can't remember who finally found the courage to appropriate it (hmmm, could it be yours truly?).

Baked seafood with rice or linguine deserves mention. It is covered with cheese, comes piping hot, full of flavour and tenderness. There are other pasta dishes. They are all very good. At the higher end, there are a variety of cod dishes – steamed, fried, grilled. We didn't order any but from the pictures in the menu, they do look like items I would eat at top notch restaurants.

Unfortunately, my own order was a mistake. It's my own fault really. I saw the red snapper wrapped in bacon and thought that would be a good idea (I love all kinds of food wrapped in bacon). But somehow, fish wrapped in bacon is a mismatch. The taste of meat in such close proximity to fish creates a discordant clash.

The prices are very reasonable. (There are pricier items that we didn't order) Definitely better value than Fish & Co and other fish market type places.

When we left, I realised that we had not ordered the most traditional item – fish and chips. I put it down to being “distracted” by too many interesting items on the menu. Next time. And why not - free parking, no jostling crowd, tranquil surbaban atmosphere.