BEST PLACE FOR PLAICE
It’s easy to get hooked on the fish and chips at La Marina Foods, and you can trawl the aisles for gourmet delicacies like Spanish ham, writes
Modderfontein is better known for its dynamite than its dorado. But you’ll find dorado (and more) at La Marina Foods, owned by dynamo Kirsten Jooste. La Marina’s humble beginnings (first at a garage in Blairgowrie and then a hole-in-the-wall in Strijdom Park) evidence a long walk to freezerdom, with state-of-the-art storage and distribution facilities at the Longmeadow North Business Park, its home since 2008.
If you’ve eaten fresh Scottish salmon or Irish scallops in a Johannesburg restaurant, you’ve more than likely sampled La Marina’s wares. The main business is keeping Johannesburg’s chefs supplied with fine seafood (and many other comestibles).
In the middle of the retail area is a café comprising a few tables and chairs, where shoppers can sample the wares before buying or simply have a meal. It’s surrounded by counters stocked with whole Spanish hams, fine wines and, in the corner, fresh fish on ice — salmon, sea bass and dorado. Above the counter is an interesting stack of tins containing all you need in the way of advanced chemistry to make gels, foams and flavoured spheres — you too can be a molecular gastronomist!
As far as aesthetics go, the restaurant at La Marina isn’t going to be photographed for a coffee-table book — it’s essentially a bunch of tables and chairs in the centre of their deli. So don’t expect a view or even a table cloth. The only reason to eat in is to get hold of fresh fish as close to the source as you’re going to find it in Joburg.
The lunch menu reflects what’s available in store and leans heavily towards quality seafood. It’s not a place for those wanting limp and battered hake served with slap chips doused in brown vinegar — it’s an upmarket chippie with a wine and malt licence and an opportunity to indulge. It’s also a good place to spot celebrity chefs, for whom La Marina is a regular destination.
Six black tiger prawns will cost you R110, Scottish salmon strips in wasabi butter with chips R125, and sea bass and chips R125. We opted for the sole and chips (R115) and the seared tuna and chips (R125). The fish was fresh and perfectly cooked. The tuna was seared on the outside and very simply presented, beautifully pink in the middle with a lemon butter sauce on the side.
Don’t expect garnish or fancy crockery. Klap a fish and chips before you get lost among the fresh and frozen fish selection and the fancy deli items — a favourite of ours being the white anchovies.
For those able to engage in a midday indulgence, there are oysters with a glass of bubbly (six oysters for R85) or crab legs with wasabi mayo (priced per kg).
There is also a sushi menu. We ordered the 18-piece salmon platter (R150) as a takeaway, which the lucky recipient pronounced excellent and up there with the best she’d had in Johannesburg.
Wine is available by the glass, along with local and imported beers. For dessert, there’s Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
After lunch, shopping! There’s more than seafood on the shelves: quail, foie gras, caviar, and duck breast and confit. Chocaholics will find the selection of Valrhona chocolates irresistible. If you’re going shopping for your next round of MasterChef, time your trip to include lunch. ...................................................... LA MARINA FOODS 7 Platinum Drive, Longmeadow North Business Park, Modderfontein. Tel (011) 608-3277 Mon-Fri 8am to 4pm; Sat 8am to noon.