Xiang Yuan Restaurant is a Chinese ‘zhu char’ restaurant that specializes in Curry Fish Head. Located in a humble shop lot in Bukit Indah, the interior is spacious and comfortable with plastic chairs and big wooden tables. Although it is not air-conditioned, the large rattling metal fans will cool you down from the Malaysian heat.
The recipe for their signature dish, the Curry Fish Head is
handed down by the shop owner’s grandfather. It is concocted based on his
knowledge regarding Indian spices from his Indian friends in Ipoh. Using no
commercial premixes at all, the curry gravy is made from scratch using the
closely guarded recipe. It is aromatic and delectable, containing the right
amount of coconut milk and spices. The gravy has just the perfect balance of
the spicy, sweet and savoury taste. The meaty ikan merah (red snapper) fish
head used is extremely fresh as the shop owner’s relative is a fresh fish
supplier. Every individual fish is gut and cleaned by the staffs and chilled in
plastic bags. The flesh is tender and naturally sweet, and you will want to
suck out every bit of collagen and cartilage out of the bone crevices. The
cabbage, lady fingers, tomato and long beans are soft and go well with the
dish. The crispy fried bean curd skin is slightly softened after sponging up
the curry gravy, maintaining a soft crunch.
There are other dishes to pair your rice and fish head curry with. Their Steamed Baby Octopus is a must try, showered with an ample amount of spring onion and golden garlic bits. The baby octopus is steamed to perfection with a springy and crunchy texture.
