BEST FISH HEAD CURRY IN KL

Perhaps not everyone is as hellbent on trying weird food, but the writers at The Mouth have been fastidiously brought up with the moto "Try everything twice", and so we did. The prevailing notion is that fish head curry is a meager poor-mans dish scrambled together from off-cuts left for cats to peruse. The truth couldn't be further. When served a delicious  fish head smothered in layered deep curry sauce, your fingers begin to find flesh hidden in the strangest places. It becomes almost a game, trying to pry out chunks of succulent meat covered in rich gravy.

There are a few places in KL famous for the dish, but these two were our favourites based not only on price and location, but flavour flavour flavour. Fish Head curry is not something you should tackle alone, it's much more fun being a group of people and opting for the larger (more expensive) heads. They come with more flesh and are easier to attack rather than fiddling around with the smaller ones with surgical precision to extract a cheek. The real winner is of course the curry gravy ladled on top, riddled with tofu puffs, okra and perhaps some other seasonal vegetable. A plate of white rice and some vegetable sides are all that's needed before planning your entry and attacking it head on. Sorry, bad pun.

TUGU VIEW CAFE

Hidden down a jungle road this monument to lunch stands sheltered from the midday sun by parasols and trees. Local Government workers seep in on their break to munch on fantastic bites, and the star of the show here is the fish head curry. Each head is steamed beforehand, then laid out in a tray according to size. As soon as you've chosen yours the chef masterfully bathes it in rich, desirous curry sauce and sprinkles some fresh greens on top. You then take your plate, fill up rice and get stuck in.

The actual fish heads are far meatier than expected, and the gravy just coats everything in tempered spiced heaven. Tofu puffs also soak up excess gravy, and in this instance rice is just a method of getting more sauce into your stomach. This is pure gluttonous feasting.



Tip: Get there early because the lunch-rush is frantic and you might miss out on the fishheads.

RESTORAN ZK

A few blocks from Chinatown, near the amazing Tandang Recordstore lies ZK Restoran (not to be confused with another ZK Restoran that belts out corking Chinese fare). A basic muslim restaurant serving curries, rice and their famous fishheads. The gravy here is less intoxicating than at Tugu, but the flavours are still better than other spots in town.

One thing they do really well at ZK is their fried chicken, so be sure to order a plate of that to go along with your curry. All in all the prices here are cheaper than Tugu, but if you only have time for one spot then hit Tugu.

Tip: Definitely order some fried chicken!