First Look: Edita’s Does Fish’n’Chips With a Pacific Islands Twist

For siblings Tima and Stan Tausinga, fish’n’chips were a weekly family tradition. At Edita’s, they’re taking the tropes of the typical neighbourhood fish’n’chip shop and adding their own Tongan Samoan Australian flair, using the familiar model as a gateway to share their culinary traditions with the wider community.

“To get Samoan and Tongan food, you pretty much just have to go to a Samoan or Tongan household,” says Stan, a builder who manages Edita’s operations while Tima leads the kitchen. “As first-generation Pacific Islander Australians, we’re in a good position to represent our culture.”

What began as a market stall at local rugby matches quickly grew into a food truck, followed by residencies at bars, including the now-closed Beyond the Palms. A permanent location was always on the cards and last year, the family finally settled into a former fish’n’chip shop in Carlton’s Rathdowne Village.

The Tausingas only use fresh fish, and the chips are hand-cut and triple-cooked using Heston Blumenthal’s signature method. While the restaurant is named for Tima and Stan’s paternal grandmother, the best-selling fish burger is a tribute to their dad’s favourite. “We grew up with church every Sunday and, after church, there was always a McDonald’s run,” says Stan. “My dad was relentless with his Filet-o-Fish, so we put that up there as the signature.”

The Edita’s version features a thick fillet of fresh flake or blue grenadier (depending on what’s fresh at the market), house-made tartare sauce flecked with dill and red onion, plus a slice of American cheese all sandwiched in a Martin’s potato bun – the only menu item not made in-house.

The menu also features prawn tacos; spring rolls filled with sapasui; a beef-and-glass-noodle stir-fry sometimes referred to as Samoan chop suey; and the family’s take on dim sims, made from battered and deep-fried pork meatballs.

The family-run kitchen is often bustling with up to eight people at a time – including the Tausingas’ parents and other siblings – preparing everything to order. There’s an emphasis on freshness that the siblings say is a nod to their grandmother Edita’s Tongan kitchen, where nothing was ever frozen.

“Back then – in the ’60s and ’70s – if you didn’t grow or catch your food, you weren’t eating,” Stan says. “And on the island, you didn’t have a fridge to put fish in. If it was caught that morning, you were eating it that afternoon.”

The Tausingas aim to be a beacon not just for Tongan and Samoan communities but for the wider Pacific Island diaspora. They plan to host themed days with special menus to celebrate Pacific Island culture and holidays including Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s national day, on February 6. They’re also working on a sandwich shop in Richmond, which will allow them to share Pacific Island food with an even broader audience.

Edita’s Fish’n’Chips
382 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North

Hours:
Wed to Sun midday–3pm; 5pm–9pm

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