The lunch trade at Hughes Takeaway, a long thin den of deep fried goodness located on the corner of Hughes shops, is primarily people in corporate wear and lanyards.

There's the occasional flash of high vis, but the takeaway is a mecca for federal and territory government employees looking to warm up on a cold Canberra day.

They come down Kent Street from Deakin, from the Woden Town Centre and from the nearby Canberra Hospital, all in search of the golden battered potatoes and fish that have made the takeaway famous.

So famous in fact, that Hughes Takeaway was featured on Channel 10's The Project last year when it was voted the People's Choice of the 2017 Australian Fish & Chips Awards.

The smiling couple behind the counter are rhyming husband and wife team Peter and Nita Dorizas. He gives an astonishing rendition of Elvis's Love Me Tender; she drives their basketball mad boys across the state when she clocks off on weekends.

But it's what happens behind the scenes at Hughes Takeaway, in an astoundlingly clean kitchen that features a huge mahogany desk (for Peter, the boss, but he's too busy to ever sit there), that results in magical potato scallops.

Peter's parents Gerry and Gina Dorizas, 72 and 70 respectively, are the team behind the scallops. The diminutive Greek couple - who moved to Canberra with son Peter from the tiny NSW town of Grenfell in 2002 - are the official peelers, slicers and batterers of the takeaway's remarkable fried potatoes.

They've been handling potatoes and other vegetables for decades, having owned a fruit shop in Grenfell before relocating to the capital where there was "just more opportunity".

While Gerry and Gina are both retired, they head into the takeaway every day; to stay busy but also to help their son Peter and daughter-in-law Nita maintain the shop's reputation as one of the best takeaways in the nation.

"They can't stay home, they can't sit still," Peter laughs.

In my search for Canberra's best potato scallop, some takeaway owners have been a little coy about sharing their secrets. But Peter is upfront and walks me determinedly to the deep friers, where I can clearly see the bottom of each vat.

"It's cotton seed oil and it's cleaned every other day," he says. "This is the reason we have the best potato scallops."

I'm at Hughes Takeaway on a very special day: the Dorizas' are celebrating 10 years of owning the suburban takeaway. But there's no fanfare or even a cake to celebrate, the couple doesn't have time on this wet Friday, their busiest day of the week.

By 5pm, 10 staff will be donning aprons and serving a line of customers almost out the door and the phones will be ringing non-stop with fish, chip, scallop and pizza orders.

"The people who come here are instantly a part of our family," Peter says.

"They walk in, we laugh, and it's like cooking for an old friend.

"I knew before Bree called that we were being featured in The Canberra Times - our customers came in and were waving copies of the paper, they were excited.

"They're just as passionate and proud of the place as we are."

Temperature: 10/10

Skin crispiness: 10/10

Potato creaminess: 10/10

Batter to potato ratio: 10/10

Salt ratio: 8/10

Total: 48/50

Verdict: I can't even deal with how good this scallop is. I never want to finish it. I want to pile my whole extended family into a mini van and drive them from Queanbeyan to Hughes to share in my disbelief. This isn't a scallop, it's an experience.

Stay tuned for: Snapper on the Lake in Yarralumla.

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