Welcome to the penultimate installment of the search for Canberra's best potato scallop - a story about salt, batter and potatoes, set on the shores of our fair Lake Burley Griffin.
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There's no doubt Snapper on the Lake, tucked neatly underneath the Canberra Southern Cross Yacht Club in Yarralumla, is the clear winner when it comes to being the capital's "scallop with a view".
While I was forced to sit in my glamorous Nissan X-trail at the Kambah, Charnwood and Hughes shops respectively to taste-test my previous scallops, this time I'm treated to sunshine glittering on the calm winter waters of my favourite loch.
But it's not about the view.
It's about whether executive chef Anil Kapoor, who arrived at the yacht club earlier this year and transformed both the club's and Snapper's menus, can make me a potato scallop to rival those I've scoffed so far in my challenging search.
As Anil preps my scallops, club general manager Jason Lowe fills me in on the seafood side of the business. On Good Friday, Snapper goes through a tonne of fish and half a tonne of chips, and the line-up finishes at the lake. In fact, the last person in line faces the risk of wet feet.
On Good Friday this year, Snapper cooked up 2000 meals and many of those included potato scallops.
"It's nice to be known for our potato scallops as well," Anil says.
On any given weekday, Snapper on the Lake - which, despite the stunning panorama outside, looks and smells like any suburban takeaway - is filled with walkers, cyclists and public servants. On Saturdays, it's all about families. Snapper is open 365 days a year, including Christmas Day, for those who feel like hot chips and a Chiko roll instead of the standard leg ham and salad.
"You can feel the vibe when the shop is full, you can see people are enjoying the food, it's quite a happy moment because everyone is happy and stress-free," Anil says.
My scallop is ready and Anil brings it over in a beautiful corrugated Snapper on the Lake box. It's like the deep-fried gift of my dreams.
But the box makes me a little sad, and it hits home that, for me, the starched butchers paper of a suburban takeaway is a crucial part of the scallop experience.
Before I eat, Anil explains his potato scallop process.
"The batter is equal quantities of self-raising, normal and corn flours," he says.
"Right now the potatoes are Sydney-based but we prefer subiacos or pontiacs out of Melbourne.
"Obviously the batter is the main thing in a scallop and everything else we serve. We make the scallops as fresh as possible so they come in very crispy, crispy but soft inside."
I open my cardboard gift box to find a small but crispy potato scallop, covered in brown flakes.
"We're having a truffle dinner upstairs tonight so I thought I'd grate some truffle on there for you," Anil says.
And with that, Canberra's "scallop with a view" just got even fancier.
Snapper on the Lake scorecard:
Temperature: 10/10
Skin crispiness: 10/10
Potato creaminess: 7/10
Batter to potato ratio: 7/10
Salt ratio: 7/10
Total: 41/50
The verdict: It's a little small but the batter is deliciously crispy and I love that potato skin has been left on. I'm not a fan of truffles (sorry Anil!) so the mushroom taste kind of ruins it for me.
Stay tuned for: The winner of Canberra's best potato scallop, who receives probably the world's most amazing trophy.
