it's messy.

the biggest problem is the choice of plate. many people don't realize how important this is for presentation. look at that Spinach with garlic posted by munak - i donno why he posted that but it's bad as well, the choice of plate with marking there was terrible to begin with.

after that, look at the choice of vegetables. the sliced mushrooms were horribly placed.

you need to identify which is the SUBJECT and what are the decorations.

from what i gathered, the SUBJECT has to be that fish......... dory? looks grilled, or if not, steamed. I don't know what you guys did but being fish, there's the skin on it and the skin when moist, looks like your own skin on your fingers after dipping in the water for a while - wrinkled!

perhaps serve it on the side or something, up to you.

then the gravy, need you put that much? the problem with gravy like the one you have, it doesn't look good. put a lot, the food will be overwhelmed. put little, and you see how it spread unevenly across the plate, some places darker than others.

you guys aren't even taking care of the sides, i see smudges!

to make things worse, look at how the potato was chopped and carelessly placed.

learn to be neat, here's what i took a few months back.



in the end, how do you want it?

fine dining level of presentation? or good enough for a restaurant?

either way, the one in 1st post doesn't satisfy any of those.

anyway here's a dish i took at MIGF Media Launch 2009, might be useful for you if you're intending to serve a slab of fish like in 1st post.



pardon the image quality, i couldn't be bothered much about that. the thing I wish to highlight is the presentation.

try serving in similar manner.

say put the fish at the center of a round plate. for vegetables, can try some sliced tomatoes and lemon. the red and yellow colors should make it more striking.

for greens, try chopped cabbages / lettuce - make sure it's freshed ah, don't go boil long time then only serve. remember that the preparation of the deco also affects appearance.

now after that, you could decorate the plate with a thicker sauce or gravy. up to you.

just giving you ideas.