Eating Fish Head Curry and More of Singapore!

December 31, 2012

Eating Fish Head Curry and More of Singapore!

Please enjoy this encore blog posting!

Last week I blogged about visiting Baba House, http://www.themarthablog.com/2010/07/visiting-the-baba-house-in-singapore.html where we learned about the unique Peranakan culture. We also took a stroll through Singapore’s Little India and paid a visit to Muthu’s, an Indian restaurant famous for their fish head curry, a type of curry unique to Singapore. It’s actually a blend of ideas and ingredients from the various cultures found there. Visvanaath Ayyakkannu’s father, Muthu, began selling Fish Head Curry from his father’s food cart before opening his own restaurant in 1969. Visvanaath inherited this restaurant in 1994 and continues to make the secret spice blend that makes the curry so popular. I joined Visvanaath and his wife, Veshali, in the kitchen to see how their signature dish is made before enjoying the Fish Head Curry and other specialties with Sophie and Memrie.

Our next stop was the lovely Singapore Botanic Gardens. Singapore is often referred to as “The Garden City” and the Singapore Botanic Gardens is its crown jewel. The gardens are 157-acres and feature 10,000 types of tropical plants – including 60,000 orchids, Singapore’s national flower. As you know, I never grow tired looking at plants and these gardens were a real treat. Our very busy day ended with a fabulous dinner at Jaan Par André, located on the 71th floor of the Swissôtel. It was fantastic!

: In addition to fish head curry, Muthu’s serves a variety of other dishes, including delicious naan bread. That’s dough on the tray all ready to roll.

: This cook, with very strong arms, is in charge of stirring the the curry base.

: Simmering away – the aromas were intense!

: These are some of the spices and ingredients that go into one day’s worth of curry!

: Visvanaath took me into their beautiful kitchen to learn how to make the fish head curry.

: This large chafing pan contains more spices that go into the curry. The exact mix is a secret.

: It was quite steamy in the kitchen! Frankie was used to that by now.

: Here I am adding a generous amount of ginger-garlic paste.

: Now it’s time to add all of those spices.

: The color and aroma was wonderful!

: This pan is full of unsweetened coconut milk, which makes the curry richer and tames some of the spicy hotness.

: After adding the spices and the coconut milk, Visvanaath uses a large immersion blender to combine the ingredients into a smooth mix.

: When the curry sauce is ready, the fish heads are added. Every serving comes with one head.

: The TV crew captured all the steps.

: After our cooking lesson, it was time to eat. This chef prepared our naan, baked to perfection in the tandoor oven.

: Sophie took a few more photos before sitting down to join Memrie and me.

: The fish head curry was simply delicious – the fish eyes are considered a special delicacy.

: We also had a wonderful prawn curry.

: A very nice portrait with Vashali and Visvanaath

: Owner Visvanaath Ayyakkannu and his wife Veshali.

: After walking around Singapore’s Little India, we stopped at Muthu’s Curry to learn how to make their famous fish head curry.

: The 2.5 acre Ginger Garden contains more than 250 species.

: The gardens are vast and verdant. We happened upon some newly weds.

: A work in progress – The Man Who Planted Trees

: Later, we ate dinner at Jaan Par André, located on the 71th floor of the Swissôtel. What an amazing view! Do you recognize Marina Bay Sands?

: It was a lovely, intimate setting.

: The ceiling was decorated with these wonderful glass sculpture chandeliers.

: The food presentations were exquisite.

: One of our favorite samplings was this elegant lemon curd foam wrapped in gel. So much intense flavor!

: Risotto with peas, calamari, and black squid foam

: An unbelievable sea urchin dish

: At Jaan, we were impressed with the enthralling culinary repertoire featuring the finest French Nouvelle cuisine. It was refined and sophisticated.

: After our fabulous dinner, we had the chance to meet Chef Jaan par André. He is an amazing talent!

: This rich chocolate dessert was spectacular!

: The sommelier, Kirstin Schwemmle, also helped to make the dinner memorable. Each course was paired brilliantly with an extraordinary wine.

: Tan Hsueh Yun – Deputy life editor of the Strait Times – was also dining at Jaan. She gave us a preview of the story we worked on earlier that day at the Baba House. It was very nice!

: After dinner, we took a peek at New Asia, the sleek and ultra-sexy night club next door.

: At New Asia, there is a majestic chandelier.

: Before entering the National Orchid Garden, principal botanist Dr. See Chung Chin took me for a little spin.

: After departing Muthu’s, we visited the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This great waterfall is at the entrance.

: Wilson – our guide, Kim, Mary Ann, and Sanjay – fixer

: We walked through this impressive allee of tall palms.

: We saw a portion of the 7.5 acres reserved for orchids. It’s home to over 60,000 orchid plants from 1,000 different species and 2,000 different hybrids!