Yes; we are incredibly late to this game but whilst we have been around checking out new eateries around the island, one place that we had never quite been to is COLLIN'S. While we had checked out COLLIN'S previously in their very early days when they had operated out of coffeeshops (there was once or twice that we have had them in a coffeeshop around Marsiling quite a number of years ago), COLLIN'S had pretty much become a very different concept from how they had originated. With COLLIN'S now being a brand that is more easily found in shopping malls after the re-branding of the coffeeshop COLLIN'S locations as Common Grill by COLLIN'S, COLLIN'S is pretty much a big player in the local F&B scene serving up western cuisine that would appeal to the masses. Their menu comprises of sections dedicated to Appetiser and Salad, Pasta, Meats, Seafood, The New Sharing (i.e. sharing plates), Woodfired Pizza, Kids’s Meal and Dessert during our visit made to their Great World City outlet in February 2024, while their beverages menu includes espresso-based specialty coffee, teas, soda-based beverages, juices soft drinks and bottled kombucha — these are aside from the alcoholic beverages that they also carry on the menu.

Our impression of COLLIN'S has always been not too great since their days of being a coffeeshop establishment days since we had always preferred another now-defunct western stall in a neighbouring coffeeshop very near to the one that the COLLIN'S location at Marsiling was operating at. This is why we were actually quite surprised to find that the COLLIN'S Fish & Chips was an item that we found quite to our liking. COLLIN'S describe the dish to come with elements such as Shoestring Fries, Grilled Corn, Mesclun Greens, Bi Feng Tang crumble, homemade Tartar and Chilli Crab sauces I their menu. Our order came mysteriously missing out on the Grilled Corn though this worked out for us well since no one was really looking forward to having corn at our table anyway (ikr 😅). One thing to note about the COLLIN'S Fish & Chips is that the item isn’t quite the old-school English-style Fish & Chips that one would often be associating the dish to especially for places that are serving up proper western cuisine; the slab of fish at COLLIN'S comes with a panko crumb exterior though this would prove to be essential for the Bi Feng Tang crumble to work. We liked how the portion of fish being served up is of a good size for its price; the fried batter is crisp and also not being too thick while the fish did not carry any distinct muddy or fishy notes here — quite on point especially given how it also did not seem to be particularly greasy for a deep-fried dish.

The Bi Feng Tang Crumble here likely refers to a fried, crispy crumble version of the relish that one would associate with Hong Kong Typhoon Shelter Prawn / Crab dishes — the original Typhoon Shelter-style dishes often comes wok-fried with garlic, shallots, black beans and chili, though in this rendition it does feel more like garlic, shallots and dried shrimp to give the fried fish and extra note of umami and savouriness. While the tartare sauce provided that rich, creamy mayonnaise-like flavour with a zing that went well with both the fries and the fried fish, it was the Chilli Crab sauce that came as a highlight for us — there is distinct notes of tomatoes against chili with shreds of white crab meat that one can find; an absolutely delight that we ended up pairing most of the items on the table with. The fries were well-executed here; these were crisp, well-seasoned with salt and were not greasy, while the mesclun salad here was also worth mentioning for the dressing that they used seem include a slight citrus-y zing from possibly lemon that made it really appetising to have. Considering how COLLIN'S is a brand that one can find at multiple locations across the island, we would say that the overall experience of the dishes from COLLIN'S would likely differ from outlet to outlet — much like the same that one could expect from other commercially-run establishments all across the island with locations all around major shopping malls. That being said, we probably might be consider dining at COLLIN'S if the circumstances prevail, considering the experience we have had with the COLLIN'S® Fish & Chips at their Great World City outlet.