"Dammit! What did he put in that thing?! It's so good!". Generally, that was the consensus around the table the first time we had the fish head from Bangsar Fish Head Corner. We could see people nodding from other tables as well and then it struck, I must have cried the Dammit thing out loud! But do the people from the other tables care that I swore out loud? That I dare to do it in front of food? Good food at that? I don't think so. I bet they are silently doing it too... with each mouthful of rice, fresh fish and the uncle mamak's secret blend of curry spices.
Bangsar Fish Head Corner has been around for ages. Apparently for more than ten years. I don't know why I haven't stumbled into this place ages ago. People come here for 5 things only, the fish head curry, the fried chicken, the fried cuttlefish, the fried fish and rice.... in that order. The stall is always manned by this nice mamak uncle from Penang and proficient in English. In this small 12 x 12 feet stall, uncle has at least 5 staff working, one in a corner seasoning the cuttlefish, on the other corner frying the fried chicken, two waiters fulfilling extra orders and the uncle manning the booth. If you stand back and watch this fiasco from afar, I swear it looks like a well oiled machine, with gears meshing in perfect harmony churning out delicious feeds for the hungry. And yes, with food this good... all the tables will probably be taken.
What makes his fish head great is the fact that he uses only fresh ones. He's normally up in some borong market hunting for the freshest heads he could get his hands on and serves only whatever he could find that day. So, in his big 4 feet diameter curry pot, you will see an offering of seabass, garoupa, tenggiri, merah and probably jenahak. All heads. My favourite is the Merah and Garoupa heads as the meat is fleshy and the fresher the heads are, the more flavourful the fish gets. Next is the curry itself. The uncle uses his own secret blend of curry spices suitable for fish heads, just to bring out the flavour. His curry is not very spicy hot but has rich flavours. The best for his customers.
"So shall we go out and get some head?"
And don't get me started on the fried chicken, dammit! I can't believe what a splash of our simple, generic, mundane tumeric powder and some store bought salt can do to a piece of fried chicken. In our Foodster language, we call it 'Kicking Good!'. I am not going to explain what that means. Come here.... and try this for yourselves... and you will know what I mean. This is where his skills shine. You don't need to coat the chicken in some fancy smancy truffle sauce to posh it up. You just need to fry the chicken using the right temperature, and timing is of the upmost importance here. The chicken should be taken out and allowed to rest so that the heat cooks the drumsticks through. So its the heat from the drumstick resting and not the wok that adds the final touches. So, yes uncle! we know your secret now! To decode all of your secrets, I just need to know what is the frying temperature and other secret ingredients you put in the chicken and also perhaps the secret blends in your curry spices. I guess that I am still a long way away. A veeery longway away.
Anyway, he uses the same concoction for his other signature dish which is fried cuttlefish and mackarel(kembung). And there you go.. Dammit! again. It's so addicive I could have swore that he puts opium in it but that would be illegal now, wouldn't it? The cuttlefish is crunchy with crispy batter on the outside and al-dente on the inside. This is the first time I am using 'al dente' for cuttlefish, but that is what it is. The mackarel shares the same praise. Crunchy outside, soft and juicy on the inside. There's something about the frying batter of these dee'licious food. I think the uncle adds in some curry powder and are you ready for this?... Lime. That is why his fried goods are slightly sour but yet flavourful. The perfect balance. But I could be wrong...
Whatever it is, the team was lapping up everything as if we were making up for lost time. Uncle... one more fish head.... and bring some more cuttlefish and fried chicken on the side.... uh.. what?..ok.. no... not full yet. Just keep bringing more food until I pass out, okay?
More Photos To Drool On
You can have em in a curry or fried crispy
The boss is quite friendly la.
They give good service even when the queue is so messy.
Sotong goreng rocks! We usually order chicken, fish head and the fried squid.
Cost around 50 bucks for 4 person.
A really filling lunch for working days.
Parking is a bit difficult.. But you can park at the backlane or infront of the houses.. make sure you notify the owner of the house or put your namecard on the dashboard.
by konsMarch 07, 2008 5:04PM
It goes to show that we all have our own personal preferences. Anyway, have tried some other places. Will post them up soon.
by The FoodsterJuly 06, 2007 10:40AM
Dint have enough mouths for the fish head but had the fried chicken, the fried cuttlefish, the fried fish and rice. For veggie all they had was plain overboiled taugeh which I gladly passed on! The fish curry sauce wasnt bad but not really fantastic. A bit lacking in ingredients. The curry at Kampung Attap and Kampung Pandan are better. The chicken was nice and fresh but again kampung pandan does it better and even the malay nasi campur stall also lucky gardens does it just as well if not better. Sotong was and fish was well fried.Still, in the end, I think there are better places to get a fish head curry fix with way more dishes and I cant say I will ever understand the popularity of this stall.
by asian-malaysianJune 16, 2007 9:53PM
After reading your review, i went there a month ago, but reach there only after 6pm. fish head all sold out. Only managed some sotong and fried fish, which is so so. Thought it's just my bad luck.
then another blog also say it's good, well, i went again, arrived early at 11:45.
Ahh... no much crowd yet. Ordered fish head, sotong and fried chicken. Dishes come is short few minutes. Yup, fast services.
But..........
1) chicken nothing to shout about
2) sotong too salty
3) The main dish.. fish head .. well it's nothing to shout about, but worse part is, it's not fully cook. discover this only when eating the more meatier part.
Complain to the boss, he replied, "ar.. next time before eat, check first if cook already or not lar, not after eat already only complain"
F@*#&^$(#K
paid and leave.
Damm lansi boss.
by ikanairMay 28, 2007 9:02PM
It's at the makeshift rows of food stall with the zink roof near Sin Lai Ping. The fish head shop is at the first shop near the corner.
by The FoodsterApril 28, 2007 3:02PM
Eh eh, where's this? Izzit over at Sin Lai Peng there? Good year tyre shop there?
by konsApril 28, 2007 1:59AM
Yah, its gud eh? Did you try the sotong goreng as well?
by The FoodsterApril 23, 2007 3:01PM
had it for lunch today after reading your posting...however, I will never go there again for their unethical biz trick...while i was ordering the fish head, i heard a price quoted to a person at RM25 and after having, they wanted to charged me RM30 and the rest of the fried chicken, fried fish and rice at higher price than those listed....this is definitely a NO NO even how bloody tasty the food is....ask them to $%^&* off...
by guzzeboApril 21, 2007 10:17PM
I had that too. Just reading about it again makes me hungry especially for the fried chicken.
by dim dimApril 21, 2007 9:39PM
You must be logged in to post comments
Join the conversation. We love to hear your views.
Foodster's Verdict
Bangsar Fish Head Corner
Address:
No. 2, Lorong Ara Kiri 3 Lucky Garden Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Tel:
Open:
Lunch
Pros:
Fried chicken, fried squid and thick, thick curry
Cons:
Hot and sweaty and hardly any seats during lunch hour
.JPG)
The boss is quite friendly la.
They give good service even when the queue is so messy.
Sotong goreng rocks! We usually order chicken, fish head and the fried squid.
Cost around 50 bucks for 4 person.
A really filling lunch for working days.
Parking is a bit difficult.. But you can park at the backlane or infront of the houses.. make sure you notify the owner of the house or put your namecard on the dashboard.
by kons March 07, 2008 5:04PM
It goes to show that we all have our own personal preferences. Anyway, have tried some other places. Will post them up soon.
by The Foodster July 06, 2007 10:40AM
Dint have enough mouths for the fish head but had the fried chicken, the fried cuttlefish, the fried fish and rice. For veggie all they had was plain overboiled taugeh which I gladly passed on! The fish curry sauce wasnt bad but not really fantastic. A bit lacking in ingredients. The curry at Kampung Attap and Kampung Pandan are better. The chicken was nice and fresh but again kampung pandan does it better and even the malay nasi campur stall also lucky gardens does it just as well if not better. Sotong was and fish was well fried.Still, in the end, I think there are better places to get a fish head curry fix with way more dishes and I cant say I will ever understand the popularity of this stall.
by asian-malaysian June 16, 2007 9:53PM
After reading your review, i went there a month ago, but reach there only after 6pm. fish head all sold out. Only managed some sotong and fried fish, which is so so. Thought it's just my bad luck.
then another blog also say it's good, well, i went again, arrived early at 11:45.
Ahh... no much crowd yet. Ordered fish head, sotong and fried chicken. Dishes come is short few minutes. Yup, fast services.
But..........
1) chicken nothing to shout about
2) sotong too salty
3) The main dish.. fish head .. well it's nothing to shout about, but worse part is, it's not fully cook. discover this only when eating the more meatier part.
Complain to the boss, he replied, "ar.. next time before eat, check first if cook already or not lar, not after eat already only complain"
F@*#&^$(#K
paid and leave.
Damm lansi boss.
by ikanair May 28, 2007 9:02PM
It's at the makeshift rows of food stall with the zink roof near Sin Lai Ping. The fish head shop is at the first shop near the corner.
by The Foodster April 28, 2007 3:02PM
Eh eh, where's this? Izzit over at Sin Lai Peng there? Good year tyre shop there?
by kons April 28, 2007 1:59AM
Yah, its gud eh? Did you try the sotong goreng as well?
by The Foodster April 23, 2007 3:01PM
had it for lunch today after reading your posting...however, I will never go there again for their unethical biz trick...while i was ordering the fish head, i heard a price quoted to a person at RM25 and after having, they wanted to charged me RM30 and the rest of the fried chicken, fried fish and rice at higher price than those listed....this is definitely a NO NO even how bloody tasty the food is....ask them to $%^&* off...
by guzzebo April 21, 2007 10:17PM
I had that too. Just reading about it again makes me hungry especially for the fried chicken.
by dim dim April 21, 2007 9:39PM
You must be logged in to post comments