The Hop Factory

If a bar doesn’t even do decent fish & chips to accompany their beers, then they fall far short of the already low...bar. Fortunately The Hop Factory doesn’t do a decent fish & chip. No, they do a bloody good chippy for $20.

Two fish fillets are battered with the Factory’s special beer batter before they take a bath in boiling oil to achieve a golden brown perfection. The plumptious twins are flaky and stunningly savory, and that tremendously tasty tartar sauce on the side just elevates the fish even further.

Rounded out with a salad to keep guilt levels relatively low and a basket of wonderful, golden brown chips, this is a pub grub classic not to be missed. Pair it with a lager or an ale, and you’ll certainly be a lot chipper.

Australia was as slow to embrace craft beer as Singapore, but when they did, they went full on aggro in pumping out top quality craft brews. A witness to this fact is Nail Brewing’s Oatmeal Stout.

A heady aroma of chocolate, roasted cocoa beans, and coffee emanate from the stout. It’s smooth, lowly carbonated and pretty rich, but the taste was a little lacking. Chocolate and the sweetness of molasses come to the fore, but there isn’t much else going on. The finish is roasty and bitter, but it’s still somewhat sweet overall.

At 6%, the ABV is a good summation of the stout. It’s decent, but you’re left sitting there wondering if there is anything more to the beer.