Potato Cake Appreciation Society

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Swan Hill, VIC
Potato Cake Appreciation Society

Join us in our search for Australia's finest deep fried slice of potato, our most holy Potato Cake!

28/08/2026

I’ll keep it short and sharp.
Another Lorne location, The Salty Dog Fish & Chips, another mass-produced potato cake. It felt thicker, and tasted better than the last location. Additionally, the lack of originality was disguised by the freshness and tastiness. Though these cakes lacked crunch, their salt recovered the score
7/10

21/08/2026

“The times they are a-changin’” sang Bob Dylan. Right he was. For so long the coastal towns were associated with quality fish and chips. It seems like Aussie tradition; fish and chips on the beach, fighting seagulls for your chips, picking salt from your teeth. We’re fortunate, some of the classic fish and chip shops live on, as Lorne’s Fish & Chips does.
The bright neon of the shop will be the first to tell you that this shop’s deep fryers have been bubbling since 1954. One of the biggest changes that would’ve taken place along the many years that have passed, is that the shop has opted to make the detrimental switch to mass produced, pre-packaged potato cakes. Nevertheless, $1.50 per cake changed hands, and I was soon waiting beside a roaming seagull, and a family of American (or possibly Canadian) tourists, with high hopes. These hopes were not quite met. The first bite made it immediately apparent; the oil would soon need to be changed. Each of the two morsels were coated with a thin, papery and wispy batter, delicately housing a thin slice of potato. These discus chips were still thoroughly soaked in oil, the meagre dusting of table salt unable to cloak their soddenness. Though hot and fresh, the total tasting experience can only be described as ‘somewhat bland’.
6/10

14/08/2026

“Have you ever
Ever felt like this
When strange things happen
Are you goin’ round the twist?”

I think I’ve been here before. What was once a local family fish and chip shop that evolved over the years to become a stylised venue. I digress, let’s talk potato cake
Airey’s Inlet Fish & Chips. $2.70 per potato cake, immediate red flag. A mass produced pot cake, at least it was cooked fresh. There was a satisfying crisp crunch from the batter, that peeled gently from the hot and soft fluffy potato centre. The oily taste of the discus chip indicated that the oil would need changing soon, and the coating of table salt was almost too generous.
7/10

07/08/2026

Let me preface this one by saying that I knew what I was getting into. I wouldn’t normally subject myself to this kind of torture, but the things that I do for this page. I had no intention of purchasing a potato cake when I arrived at this 7-ELEVEN (Waurn Ponds, honestly I just wanted to see what all the pizza ads were about), but when I saw this lonesome morsel confined to the bain marie, I knew what I had to do. I almost felt sorry for the sole survivor; the foggy forgottenness of the bain marie similar to the backrooms equivalent of semi-metropolitan service station snacks. Alas, I paid an undeserving $2 for this solemn potato cake, and freed it from its humid prison, at detriment to myself.
I expected nothing, and I was still disappointed. If an element of crunch was ever associated with this discus chip, it was long before I had come to its rescue. The batter wasn’t even hard, just rubbery, requiring the use of my teeth to pull each bite apart. This particular 7/11 opened in 2025, which surprised me, as this potato cake tasted as though it had been waiting for me since 2009. The centre consisted of mushed potato, flavourless, and somehow dry yet oily at the same time. The overall consistency can be best described as “claggy”. I was offered a small shaker of Saxa salt at the counter to apply myself, the highlight of the experience. The only positive I can mention is that the oil did not taste overused or expired. This potato cake was, more or less, exactly as I expected.
7/11? Nah, 1/10

31/07/2026

Pub grub. Traditionally you’d think of a schnitty, some garlic prawns, and a solid roast on Sunday. But in recent years we’ve seen a few pubs branch out and introduce some more intricate entrees to their menus. I’ve seen homemade dim sims, cob loaf, and just about every flavour imaginable of arancini, but my absolute favourite deep fried delicacy to make the pub menu has to be potato cakes. This item on Queen of the West in West Geelong’s menu immediately caught my eye, advertised at 3 pieces for $14. Mathematically I was curious at what their size would be (that’s $4.66 each), and there was no doubt at what my order would consist of.
It was only a short wait (commendable, as this was the eve of the State of Origin decider), and I was graced with a plate of 6 fresh and crispy discus chips, supported by two ramekins: sour cream and sweet chilli sauce. The increased number of spud slices reduced our costing to $2.33 per cake, each about 10cm in diameter. I must say, I was pretty damn happy with these. Each potato cake was coated with a thick and hardened crispy batter; each bite was paired with a satisfying crunch, and if I was a gambling man I’d be betting that these were beer battered. The bubbly batter was gently oily, not overpowering but a clean taste that paired perfectly with a dusting of table salt. Each thick slice of potato was well cooked, offering little resistance as my teeth sank through. Cooked to perfection, in a world of rising beer prices and falling food quality, this dish certainly enhanced my pub experiences
9/10

24/07/2026

They say that all geniuses are messy. Supposedly both Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs were notorious for having cluttered and disorganised workspaces. This is why I had such confidence entering Curlewis Fish and Chips to the sight of crushed cardboard, empty oil containers and bubbling deep fryers; I knew I was in for a treat. I paid $1.70 per potato cake, and after about a five minute wait, I was on my way out into the cold on this Winter’s Friday Night.
As I began the long and arduous journey back up the Portarlington Hwy, I hoed in to these delicious little morsels. Each was coated with a papery and crisp batter, pooling into additional crunch along the bottom edges. These were cooked in rice bran oil, and while each discus chip retained a mild amount of the oil, the taste was clean. Thick and fluffy potato filled the centre, and each was coated with a fine dusting of table salt (I was not asked for a preference). One specimen could’ve used a little bit longer to truly cook the potato centre through, but otherwise an enjoyable snack
8/10

23/05/2026

Hey, missed me?
It’s been a while, and for that I’m sorry. You look as great as ever, I can promise that. We’ve got a long list here, at PCAS. We’re gonna get to your suggestions and recommendations, I promise. No one prepared us for the realities of adulthood either, and even the precious occupation of reviewing potato CAKES has become a secondary responsibility as life has taken charge, but I promise that I take it as seriously as ever.
And on that note, as I found myself waiting for the bottle shop to open so that I could make a work-oriented purchase, I also found myself with an opportunity to review a local potato cake, and you certainly must take every chance that you receive.
Drysdale Convenience Store happened to be open, and have a relatively full Bain Marie on this particular Sunday morning. I could identify various cuts of battered and/or crumbed chicken, potato gems, and (arguably most importantly) potato cakes as I stoped for a bottle of sparkling water. Only one thing interested me, and I soon left with two potato cakes, having paid $1.50 each, neither served with any salt garnishing, chicken or sea.
These cakes were clearly store bought, and had been waiting for me for a while. But they were definitely not the worst bain marie discus chips I’d ever attended to. Gently oily (thankfully, fresh oil), however somewhat dry, the papery batter was crisp along edges, though hard over most of the cake. The processed potato filling was a mix between fluffy and doughy throughout. Overall, this was an average but satisfactory experience.
5/10

Address

241 Campbell St
Swan Hill, VIC
3585

Website

https://linktr.ee/PotatoCakeAS

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