SOUL FOOD Only those who truly appreciate fish know that the head is the best part
Sucking the eyeball of a fish might make most people cringe. But not to those who truly appreciate fish. And for those who recognise the quality of fish, the head is the best part to savour.
Despite the head not having much flesh it is still the best part according to fish experts, the people who serve fish head in the most loved style -- curry.
Teoh Kooi Lan, who has been cooking and serving fish head curry for more than 20 years at Lebuh Melayu here, said people who knew how to eat fish would go for the head.
The meat from the head, unlike the other parts of the fish, is smoother, firmer and thinner.
"That is the quality fish lovers look for ... flesh with that kind of texture can only be found in the head.
"The fact that there is so little of it, compared to meat in other parts of the fish, makes it even more special and savoury," she said when met at the restaurant yesterday.
Throughout the many years of serving fish head curry at Lebuh Melayu, Teoh, in her 40s, said customers who walk through her doors every day for lunch never fail to order the curry.
Even lone customers, she said, would order a serving to savour.
"On Wednesday, a woman came in and ordered a bowl of fish head curry for herself ... there are people who would rather not share something so good," she said.
Asked why people would go as far as eating the eye of the fish as well, she said the eye was actually a favourite among many people.
"The fish eye is very smooth and even slippery in the mouth -- qualities that fish lovers appreciate"
"Boh gili eh (It is not disgusting at all) ... It is yummy as long as the fish is fresh," Teoh said.
According to Wikipedia, fish head curry has Chinese and Indian origins, but in this country, where most of the population enjoy eating good food more than anything else, the people probably do not care where the recipe came from.
At the famed Pen Mutiara Restaurant in Batu Maung south of the island, fish head curry is the number one dish, with an average of 150 orders daily. Served boiling hot in a claypot, the fish head curry has taken on a 'Penang-style' flavour, said the restaurant's operations manager Azuddin Abd Rashid.
"Our diners sip the curry as if it is soup or tom yam ... that is what sets our fish head curry apart from others," he said.
"Even our Governor, Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas, loves them."
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