Fish & Co: The Thing with New Couples and Old Friends - A YCLC Reunion

Yesterday marked exactly one month since my kabarkada's call woke me up from my sweet slumber with an alerting, "Smarla, where are you?"

"Huh? At home, why?" I racked my brains for any barkada outings that I could have forgotten that day but I couldn't think of any. 


She continued on with her prying, "Where are you going?" 

Feeling cornered and caught in the act of oversleeping I shyly replied, "Uh Shangri-La. For a YCLC reunion...why?"


Suddenly I heard Fave's voice in the background and it all made sense. She was also going to the YCLC lunch reunion since she's now together with Fave. Oh yeah!

I don't know if it's just me but I tend to get really confused when different groups of friends intersect. Pauline is from my high school barkada (translation: gang - not the rowdy type) and Fave from my YCLC group of friends and I tend to see them in that grouping. Now that they're together, my brain finds it hard to readjust its orientation.  

YCLC - Top Photo: Smarla and Stephen; Bottom Photo: Fave and Pauline

We later met up in Shangri-La mall and soon, the choosing-the-restaurant task daunted us. My friend, Stephen and I both used our I-don't-frequent-this-mall card which forced Fave to be the "decider" of the day. Heeding my request not to eat in the food court, Fave chose the restaurant, Fish & Co. 

According to their website, Fish & Co aims to provide a mid-level fish and seafood restaurant that provides good value seafood coupled with excellent service and outstanding quality in a relaxed and entertaining environment. 


I have seen Fish & Co before in Greenbelt but I've never attempted to try the place. It didn't appeal very much to me for its lack of personality. But since Fave recommended the place, I opened myself for a surprise.

In line with their tagline, "Seafood in a Pan", the restaurant was coated in a royal blue color with nautical ornaments on the wall such as life savers and fishes. The relaxed atmosphere was perfect for our long catching up on each other conversations.


To warm our stomachs, we all ordered a steaming bowl of soup - two ordered the Pumpkin Soup while the others, the New England Clam Chowder. 

Soup of the Day: Pumpkin Soup; New England Clam Chowder (Php140/each soup)

I had the Pumpkin Soup lightly seasoned with bacon bits on top. It was a unexpectedly light with a minor hint of creaminess to it. Despite being generously seasoned, the pumpkin taste surfaced and stayed on my palate. 


I didn't get to taste the clam chowder but it is basically a hot cream based soup with chunks of clam. 

The Best Fish and Chips in Town! (Php405)

Since we were in Fish & Co, we definitely tried their classic signature dish, The Best Fish & Chips in Town! It's a healthy serving of fried dory fish fillet, topped with lemon butter sauce and served with a salty fries. 

Honestly, I think it's the cream and garlic sauces that carried the fish through. Though the fish is moist and tender with a slightly crunchy breading, I felt it lacked flavor on its own. I wouldn't declare it as the best fish and chips in town but it's a good contender. 

Poached Salmon (Php565)

After ordering their signature dish, we decided to try one of their new dishes in the menu, Poached Salmon. It is poached salmon topped with miso sauce and served with seafood rice and steamed vegetables. 

I always tell my friends, you can never go wrong with Salmon. Salmon is so flavorful even in its raw form so it's really easy to handle it. 

In the case of Fish & Co, the salmon was moist and tasted naturally salty but nothing special. The seafood rice outshined the salmon as it was more flavorful. The rice had a perfect fluffy texture with a strong buttery aftertaste. 

Overall, I found Fish & Co's prices a little too steep for the quality of its food. Generally their food is okay and I wouldn't mind having dinner again here if someone would treat me out. However, there seems to be a disconnect between the price range and the restaurant's too-casual aura. 

During our visit, the service was okay, just like in any other restaurant. If Fish & Co really wants to take pride in their service, I think they need to use more gimmicks to make it stand out.

Again, I think the Fish & Co needs to reinvigorate its brand and build a very distinct personality too. Their tagline, "seafood in a pan" doesn't really evoke any particular emotion that its customers can relate to in its current use in the restaurant. Probably it would help if they added a gimmick to communicate the same Mediterranean delight in immediately cooking and serving freshly caught fish in a pan. 

Despite having a thin wallet after this YCLC lunch reunion, I still had a great time catching up with my old friends. Nothing beats sharing a meal with great company! I really missed you guys. And yes, even after spending hours with Fave and Pauline that day, I think my brain still needs to cope with relationship changes amongst my friends. But hey, I'm really happy for them. :)

To end our lunch together, I had to satisfy my green tea ice cream craving yet again so I bought a scoop in the nearby Arce Dairy stall. While we were there, we bumped into another old YCLCer, Verne of Environment Philippines. Now that's how you end a reunion, with another reunion! 

PS. Just because Stephen & Fave sort of left us out in their NBA fantasy conversation, I'd like to get back with a "Fill in the Dialogue" game. What do you think are Stephen and Favian saying to each other in the photo below? 


Fill in the dialogue of the picture below and leave it in the comments section below. Be as crazy as you want :) 

Fill in the dialogue. Leave it in the comments section below! :)

Here's my own take on the fill in the dialogue game:
       Stephen: Why are taking my fries away from me? What did I do to you? 
       Fave: These fries deserve to die! *insert evil laugh here*


Haha, go make your own dialogue! If I find your comment is the funniest, you might just win something from Everyday Sweet Notes. Hmmmm... :)


More Info on Fish & Co:
Address: Shangri-la Plaza Mall, EDSA cor. Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

Map: Click me

Commuting Directions: Ride the MRT train up to Shaw Boulevard. Exit the escalator with a sign "To Shang" and follow the bridge. 

Budget: Php250/person

Contact Number: (02) 910-2140 to 42

Operating Hours: Su, M, T, W, Th: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

                          F, Sa: 11:00 am - 12:00 mn
Other Branches: Trinoma, Greenbelt 3, SM Mall Of Asia, Alabang Town Center 

Other Reunion Related Posts:

• Kogi Bulgogi: Korean Restaurant, Eastwood, Reunion & Friends
• Izakaya Kikufuji Japanese Restaurant: Internship Days Flashback 
• 12 Baskets Bakeshop: Reunions, New Displays and New Breads!

~It's the little sweet notes everyday that matter. :)~