MDR: When Pan-Seared Sole becomes Tilapia

[HappyTexan44]

You would think since shellfish is such a common allergy, that would have been mentioned in particular.  

Although, there is ZERO excuse to substitute out a listed ingredient without a heads-up.   

[orville99]

1 hour ago, darkNstormy14 said:

I cut into the first piece, very tasty, flaky white fish.  Going to grab another piece, I notice it has a green/red tint coming thru the batter.  I cut it open and its.... a fried lobster tail - reclaimed from night 6.  In addition, there were also battered shrimp in the basket. 

That used to be called a "fisherman's platter".

[HappyTexan44]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

That used to be called a "fisherman's platter".

 

I like Fish and Chips, but I'm not always in a mood for that.  I think I'm always in mood for fried lobster and shrimp.  But, you'd want to know what you are getting. 

[cruisegirl1]

If an item is being substituted (for supply issue/cost whatever) the passengers should be informed.  
 

m

[not-enough-cruising]

7 hours ago, time4u2go said:

That's pretty bad.  I can immediately tell the difference, and I also would not be happy about it.

I need an education, how do you tell the difference?

[orville99]

25 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I need an education, how do you tell the difference?

For starters, tilapia tastes and smells like fish - sole does not; sole melts in your mouth, tilapia needs a blast furnace

[barbeyg]

39 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

If an item is being substituted (for supply issue/cost whatever) the passengers should be informed.  
m

I agree.  And Royal has been so good about this and allergies in the past.  It appears the ball has been dropped on training the servers.  Or possibly a training 'refresh' is in order. 

[time4u2go]

59 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I need an education, how do you tell the difference?

 

32 minutes ago, orville99 said:

For starters, tilapia tastes and smells like fish - sole does not; sole melts in your mouth, tilapia needs a blast furnace

That's a pretty good description.

 

There's only so much that can be described in words.  It's all about the smell, the texture, and the taste.

[poocher]

35 minutes ago, orville99 said:

For starters, tilapia tastes and smells like fish - sole does not; sole melts in your mouth, tilapia needs a blast furnace

Never found that to be the case.  Although I agree sole tastes better, I enjoy tilapia.  If you use a blast furnace on it, it will dry out & be tough but that’s true of any overcooked fish.  Tilapia is thinner than sole so it’s easier to overcook.

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, poocher said:

Tilapia is thinner than sole so it’s easier to overcook.

HUH???? Sole is so thin that you can read a newspaper through it. Tilapia can be an inch thick.

[poocher]

I don’t know what to tell you.  I’ve never had paper thin sole.  Or inch thick tilapia.

Edited November 30, 2022 by poocher

[mawvkysc]

Tilapia is the only fish that I truly dislike the taste of. 

[Merion_Mom]

11 hours ago, BND said:

I actually had someone argue with me that the "dolphin" was actual Dolphin.  I just can't with some people.  

 

Also, I love catfish.  I grew up eating it and my grandfather used to catch it in TX.  We didn't eat the mudcats (flatheads)  just the channel cats. People are misinformed about catfish and what they eat. And, they don't live in the mud.  Channel cats eat mussels, crawfish, plants, insects and fish.   What I get now in restaurants is farm raised, but we used to eat what my family caught in ponds as well as what local fish fry places served back in the 60s and 70s.  All you can eat catfish and hushpuppies.

 

I'll take the hushpuppies.

 

Hold the catfish.

 

😉

 

[ARandomTraveler]

Better than swai fish at least. I've seen many a "high-end" caterer buy cheap swai at the Asian supermarket and label it as some other white fish. Most people never question it.

[pcur]

14 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I'll take the hushpuppies.

 

Hold the catfish.

 

😉

 

I'll eat your catfish, and give you my hushpuppies.............

[Merion_Mom]

Just now, pcur said:

I'll eat your catfish, and give you my hushpuppies.............

 

Best synergy ever!

[pcur]

I love tilapia.  I think sole is, well, the cardboard of seafood.

 

Anyone who has ANY allergy needs to give that information to their waiter. Don't take chances.

[pcur]

Just now, Merion_Mom said:

 

Best synergy ever!

Never eat fish without me.  I will eat ANY and ALL fish, crustacean.  Well, I don't like calamari ever since I read the urban legend they were substituting sliced pig's anus for calamari.

[Merion_Mom]

17 minutes ago, pcur said:

Never eat fish without me.  I will eat ANY and ALL fish, crustacean.  Well, I don't like calamari ever since I read the urban legend they were substituting sliced pig's anus for calamari.

Pfft.  I love calamari.

 

[bonsai3s]

So, we had pan seared sole on the menu tonight, Day 3, on the Navigator....I decided to order it just to see what I'll get...(drumroll please)...it was sole, not tilapia. (Actually very good. Came with rice and broccoli.)

Edited December 1, 2022 by bonsai3s

[joeyancho]

18 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I lived in hawaii where you could catch tilapia and they threw it back as it's a bottom feeder. They assure me farm raised here is different but I too still wouldnt eat it. 

Farm raised is even worse.  Wild caught is a much cleaner fish. 

[joeyancho]

I used to enjoyed tilapia until I learned how they raise it.  It usually comes from Viet Nam or some other south east Asian country. There is little over site. The fish are fed chicken droppings. That was enough for me to swear off of tilapia for good.  Tilapia is usually the most inexpensive fish at the market.  It reproduces at  much younger age than most fish and grows quickly. Thus the lower price.   Sole is not farmed and is wild caught.  It is delicious when it is pan seared and served picatta style. 

[PWP-001]

18 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I do not know what you are talking about. There is not a single tasteless pun making fun of this issue currently in the thread. 😉

It's like a Truman Show moment, isn't it?  

 

And if you ever wondered, I deplore the practice of salting food before tasting it... with the exception of fried or poached breakfast eggs.

 

I have laughed at and like the puns that I can see.  Some humor interjected to a topic lightens things up.  Enough other people have commented specifically to the topic of the fish substitution.

 

I avoid tilapia for the same negative reasons others have posted.  I also mentioned the arugula & radicchio salad that was presented as romaine.  I was promised the correct salad, made special for me, the next night, which was last night.  It came along with an explanation that they took the very last bag of arugula from Giovani's Table.  A cargo container in port was not released to the ship on our embarkation day, causing the arugula shortage (and the sole?,,,hmmm)

 

I agree with another poster, that if a shortage situation arises, I think it's better to just 86 the menu item.  Yes, the wait staff is a large team, but they are supported by a group of very attentive head waiters:  so it's really not too difficult to properly disseminate the information:  "I'm sorry but we do not have the ________ that's on the menu tonight."  As a passenger, I'd be less disappointed to learn I can't order an item, than I was to receive a substitution without any explanation.

 

To me, this whole issue rolls up to the Executive Chef.

 

The MDR staff is VERY attentive and have treated me very well.  

 

 

[BND]

Just as long as they don't serve "Butterfish" lol.

[nelblu]

3 hours ago, joeyancho said:

I used to enjoyed tilapia until I learned how they raise it.  It usually comes from Viet Nam or some other south east Asian country. There is little over site. The fish are fed chicken droppings. That was enough for me to swear off of tilapia for good.  Tilapia is usually the most inexpensive fish at the market.  It reproduces at  much younger age than most fish and grows quickly. Thus the lower price.   Sole is not farmed and is wild caught.  It is delicious when it is pan seared and served picatta style. 

If that is Tilapia in the plate, it's a very tick piece of a very large fish.  Tilapia that I buy frozen in bag at supermarket (including frozen shrimps) come from South America and each piece is slightly ticker than sole.

 

By the way, give me a piece of Bluefish anytime.