If you’ve felt despair in front of the fish counter looking at the sad, grey fish with cloudy eyes, you will find this new local company interesting! We bumped into My Fishman (a seafood subscription and delivery service) online looking for a hassle-free solution to feed surprise dinner guests. We ordered a steamboat set and soon realised that the founder, Audrey, is a fount of knowledge on anything related to fish in Malaysia. She hails from a family of fisher folk in Kuala Selangor, and for her, the business seems to be about much more than just selling food.
Photo: My Fishman
While studying abroad Audrey was exposed to different food cultures and local seafood. She also learned a lot about what other countries have done to protect their marine environment. She returned to work in Kuala Lumpur, and eventually realised that many things had changed back in her hometown over the years. Due to the high demand of certain fish types, the populations had diminished. As a consequence Malaysia now imports in-demand seafood from the neighboring countries during peak times, while the local, less popular fishes are exported.
This all seemed counter-productive – it takes longer for the fish to reach the consumer and issues with freezing technology can compromise quality. Audrey came up with the idea of providing fresh seafood delivery service to customers in Klang Valley while supporting the local fishing community – and started My Fishman. The name of the company is a testimony to Audrey’s roots: everyone used to call her father, a fishmonger, mai yu rou – a man who sells fish in Cantonese.
Photo: My Fishman
While it may seem obvious that we should eat what is near us, most consumers are used to certain types of seafood, often the big, premium fishes. Overfishing is a sad reality in this region, and many popular big fishes are hard to come by. WWF has published a sustainable seafood guide, but according to Audrey many of the fishes on the list can’t be found in Malaysian waters anymore.
This is one of the reasons My Fishman has set out on a mission to introduce consumers to different types of seafood that they would not otherwise choose. There are many species that are not commonly known and available only during certain times of the year.
Most parents know fish should be part of the family diet, but many of us freak out at the fish counter! Some may be used to eating fish from other parts of the world, and many go for the easy option and buy the convenient imported salmon fillets. We hope you find Audrey’s recommendation on choosing the fish and the right cooking method useful:
While you can order specific seafood types from My Fishman, they also offer the Freshbox: a mix of your preferred seafood with a selection of other seasonal seafood fresh off the boat. It is like a mystery seafood box! For example, Tongue fish and Pomfret are now in season. I have no idea what they look or taste like but quite like the idea of being encouraged to try something new that we wouldn’t otherwise know of.
Seafood is perhaps the most delicate commodity to handle and it has a very short window of delivery without affecting its quality. Audrey tells us some items are frozen within hours of the boat docking, whereas some are delivered fresh. Many think frozen fish are somehow inferior to fresh ones, but if done soon after catching, it is actually much better than storing fresh fish in ice for days – as I was told by my local fishmonger years ago when I craved some homemade sushi. Freezing preserves the freshness, retains nutrients and kills parasites in the fish.
My Fishman’s fish is cleaned, gutted, and individually packed. With over 50 types of fish and shellfish found in Malaysian waters, the selection and prices change according to the seasons.
Freshbox is delivered from Thursday to Saturday, depending on your area, so requires a bit of planning. The boxes can also be set up to be delivered weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Freshbox 100 is recommended for a small family (2adults + 1 kid), Freshbox 150 for up to 6 persons and Freshbox 200 serves up to 10.
I ordered the Freshbox for Kids (MYR150), which consisted of two small pomfrets, two big slices of seabass, two slices of mackerel, block of large prawns, packet of fish slices and a bag on msg-free fish balls. I’m told there will soon be labels on the fish to help people like me who don’t know one fish from another.
Do check out My Fishman’s Facebook page for more information and reviews.
My Fishman Giveaway
We are giving away two My Fishman Freshboxes – for a chance to try it out for yourself hop over to our Facebook page and tell us what is stopping you from eating more fish!
This video by My Fishman shows the journey of the fish:
*This is a sponsored post. The opinions are our own – we have tried the product and are happy to recommend it!
