Tonight, Vi took Amma, Perima and me for a feast of Fish Head Curry at Muthu’s Curry, Little India.
Fish Head Curry is a Singapore delicacy, a fusion of Indian (curry) and Chinese (fish head) cuisine, served in some well-known Indian and Chinese restaurants in Singapore. It usually comes steaming in a pot or a bowl, with a giant fish head (usually snapper or grouper) floating in curry accompanied with some vegetables such as ladyfingers and eggplants.
It was Vi who ordered the curry, which made me realize I had never eaten the Singaporean delicacy before! I have seen it plenty of times but have yet to try it. Worse, apparently, Amma loves it! Gah, how could I not know this before?
I was excited to get to try fish head finally. The fish meat was thick, soft and fresh. Soaking it in the curry and eating it on curry-drenched white rice, with a side of spicy and sour pickle and crunchy papadam, was divine. But honestly, I still couldn’t differentiate the fish head meat from the other fish body meat.
Halfway through our feast, Vi offered Amma the fish eyeball, which I later learned was a sign of respect as for a fish-head-aficionado, the fish eyeballs are the best part of the fish-head dish. But Amma was not as adventurous as I was when she offered it to me later. In the end, Vi had the eyeball, which she declared: “so yummy, you are missing out!”.
I made a mental note always to order Fish Head Curry if it’s available on the menu whenever Amma and I go for an Indian meal in a restaurant, as I have countless fish head feasts to treat her to make up for being an ignorant daughter.
And maybe next time, I will have the courage to try the eyeball.
Muthu's Curry Restaurant 138 Race Course Rd, #01-01, Singapore 218591 My go-to order: Crab Curry, Prawn Chukka Varuval, Sukku Malli Kaapi and from now onwards Fish Head Curry.
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