When my favourite sardines disappeared from every store in China a week ago, I went in search for an alternative.
My favourite sardines
My favourite sardines
The only Portuguese sardines I could find were these from Porthos, a Portuguese canning company.
I looked them up and it seemed they have a good reputation with some even suggesting they are among the best in Portugal.
So, I ordered one can to sample them, intending to reorder if they were satisfactory.
They arrived and I tried them this noon.
On opening the can, I could barely make out the fish in their pool of suspiciously dark oil. I drained them and found these tiny little fish-shaped things. That side plate they are sitting on is 6 inches / 12.5 cm in diameter. Each fish was under 3 “/ 17 cm long. Half the size or less than my favourites.
Still I fork mashed them up to have them on sourdough toast. Well, I tried to mash them but their strange texture made that a difficult task. Finally I put half of the resultant ‘mash’ on the sourdough and attempted to eat them. Utterly disgusting.
I couldn’t finish it. Since then, I have brushed my teeth about eight times, but can’t shake off the lingering aftertaste.
Never again.
