Victoria Mini-Trip: Red Fish Blue Fish + Joes Seafood Bar

 

Bahahah.

It's been almost a month since I last updated.

 ...

I do apologize;; Life has been flipped on it's head-- In a good way, but flipped none the less.

But we can thank Ben of Chowtimes for this blogpost though; His new blogroll made me realize how long I had been neglecting all of this!

Haha, at any rate... I did, I did, I really did want to try more restaurants than I did when in Victoria, but we all just got so caught up with this one particular place, Red Fish Blue Fish.

 

I had read about the place in a few tourist fliers, and while those fliers cannot often be trusted, we decided to try our luck anyways. The lineup was long, which was a good sign, and the wait by the water was enjoyable enough.

I should really write right after I eat.. I can't remember all the specifics tastes of these tacones, but my god. These were amazing. Huge pieces of salmon in the BBQ Wild Salmon Tacone -- sweet smoked chili adobo, pea shoots, lemon pickled onions (1 $5, 2 for $9). Flavourful, moist.

 

But the BBQ Qualicum Bay Scallop Tacone --Golden shallot aioli, pea shoots, pelmon pickled onions (1 $7, 2 for $12), was definitely the star. Those scallops were huge. Almost the size of my palm, I swear (granted my hands are rather small... But still). They were juicy, nicely seared, meaty but not tough... Both the salmon and scallop tacone had a nice grill on them, giving the wrap and enjoyable crunch, but still flexible enough to hold everything together.

Their BBQ Wild Salmon Sandwich --Dill`d dijonaisse, organic greens, pickled cucumbers ($9) was also a good pick. That fillet of salmon was gigantic, covered the nicely toasted portuguese bun entirely-- and then some. We were barely expecting much salmon, let alone a whole fillet.

Finally, the BBQ Fanny Bay Oyster Sandwich  -- golden shallot aioli, tartar, tempura dill pickle, lemon pickled onions ($10) was a success as well. And I don't even like oysters. These were meaty, but bbq'd so that I didn't wretch at the usually slimy feel that turns me off so much. While not my favourite (personal preference and immature tastebuds.. I'm sorry.), with those three very nice pieces of oysters, this was done very well.

Across the way, Joes Seafood Bar has a takeout window to try to give Red Fish Blue Fish a run for their money. The rest of my family wasn't willing to give up stomach space to give this one a try, but I decided, hey. Why not.

I ordered the Blackened Local Queen Charlotte Halibut Taco. I remember that the price was somewhere equivalent to Red Fish Blue Fish, and at least for the one taco I tried, this definitely cannot compete. You could barely taste or see any halibut among the oversauced and overzealous amount of jalapeno cilantro mayo. Complete and utter disaster. I promptly gave up eating this and enjoyed the rest of my Red Fish Blue Fish meal.

Next time I'm Victoria, I'm definitely heading over to Red Fish Blue Fish again.