beginning of fishhead curry








i have mentioned in an earlier posting that my moving around all over the island has lead me to uncover 'new' things. in fact, since my retirement i have made a lot of 'discoveries'. for example, i have learnt a lot about the flora and fauna that i come across during my nature walks, so much so that i have been approached to co-author a book on common trees in singapore. i have also come to realise that in spite of our short history, we are rich in heritage.

of course, you do not have to be a retiree to learn new things but somehow when your mind is not pre-occupied with work, you are able to see things in a refreshing new light.

last week while exploring the race course road area and after talking to some of my old friends, i have found out something about the beginning of the fishhead curry dish.

muthu's curry restaurant is synonymous with this very popular indian dish. in fact, muthu's has won accolades for having the best fishhead curry award. i used to think that the first owner of muthu's must have been the pioneer of this dish. that was before one of my friends told me that when the shop first opened shop along one of the lanes off race course road, it sold the traditional south indian dishes. he used to pay between $1.20 and $1.50 for his lunch which consisted of rice, vegetables and a portion of either fish or chicken.

according to another friend, the pioneer of fishhead curry was the owner of gomez curry, which preceded muthu's curry, apollo banana leaf and our makan place. however, there was something else surprising that he told me. the chef who cooked this dish at its restaurant at selegie house was a hainanese man. he used to eat there when gomez curry, which started at sophia road, opened up a branch. i did a check on the internet and it proved that my friend was correct.

fish head curry was first concocted in a small restaurant in tank road about 30 years ago (in 2002). the brainchild of an indian man, gomez, the head of the fish was used to suit the local taste. fish head was not particularly an indian delicacy. understanding it to be a favourite with the chinese, gomez tried this dish to please his chinese customers. since then, the dish has become a hit in singapore and across the causeway. (extracted from singapore infopedia)

across the causeway, in johor bahru, there is a restaurant - kim loong restaurant on jalan wong ah fook - that is popular for its fishhead curry. each time i walk past the shop, it is crowded with customers.

i just hope that another country will not try and claim this dish as one of their traditional dishes.

a driving test - a homorous tale

initially, i had wanted to do a comparison between the driving test that we oldies were subjected to in the 60s and 70s and the driving test today. then, i suddenly recall a story related to the driving test that was making its round in those days. it was so funny that i think it is worth re-telling here. i would think this hilarious incident actually took place.

in those days, the driving test was also made up of two components - the theory and the practical parts. this funny incident happened during the theory part. back then, it was not a computerised touch screen test like what it is today. when i did my theory test in the 70s, it was the pen/pencil and paper test.

however, i was told that in the 60s, they had this 'push car' test. in this oral theory test. you have to verbalise the steps and actions that you will take in a given situation.

i did the written test, so i do not really know how the push-car test was conducted. i imagine there was a scale model of roads with intersections, traffic lights, single continuous lines double white lines, broken lines, zebra crossings and buildings like schools and so on. the tester would place the small model car on the board and instruct you to manoeuvre the toy car from one position of the board to another.

so, this person was given the instruction to 'push' the car from one place on the board to another. he duly carried out the move. however, when he had finished, the tester commented: how come no sound from you at all?

the second time, the testee went through the same motion but with added sound (vocal effect): eenng, eeenng, eeeennnng...."

when the tester had stopped laughing, he told the testee: you are supposed to talk about some of the traffic rules, like slowing down when you are in a school zone, signalling when you are changing lane or making a turn and so on.

an honest durian seller

although i like to eat durians, i am wary of durian sellers. many singaporeans lament that honest durian sellers are hard to find. many of these durian sellers are actually fly-by-night operators who will try to make as much money as they can during the durian season. they tend to be very pushy; you may intend to buy two fruits and then end up buying more than you have bargained for. some do not display the prices and charge you according to 'how you are dressed' or 'whether you live in the neighbourhood'. there are others who will short change you by lumping and dumping the unripe fruit or over-ripe fruit together with those you have picked.

so if you come to know a durian seller whom you can trust, you must make sure you do not lose his contact. get his mobile phone number. luckily, i found one two years ago and i would seek him out when the season came around. however, sometime in april this year, i saw another vendor occupying his place outside the 7-11 store at woodgrove. i was worried and prepared to forgo eating durian until i find another honest seller.

knowing that mr su, the honest durian seller, would only resume his durian business when the season was in full swing and when good durians were readily available, i waited until the beginning of july to call him on his mobile number. he told me his new location was not far from his former spot; he was now at block 326 woodlands street 32.

most of his durians come from the state of johor, from the districts of tangkap and kluang. when the supply from these areas dry up, he sometimes get durians from the state of pahang. the durian lorries will usually deliver the durians to his stall at around 2 or 3 p.m., that is when his make-shift stall opens. his durians are usually sold out before 7.00 p.m. he sells a range of durians, from 3 fruits for $10 to $11/kg for the more exquisite varieties like mao shan wang and kim hong. he also stock d13, d24, d101 and ang hae (hong xia).

like most durian sellers today, he will pry open the husks and pack the durian in a styrofoam box. for d13, d101 and ang hae, he sells them at $10 a box. the foam box is the squarish type. it is big enough to hold the fruit of two large durians. however, most times, i get the fruit from as many as three medium-sized durians.

mr su will volunteer to point out the distinguishing features of the different variety of durians that he sells. he will teach you how to identify the different species. he is also familiar with customers' preferences. according to him, most ladies prefer sweet to bitter durians. that is why d13 is very popular with his woman customers.

he hails from kluang in johor and during the off-season he works on his oil palm plantation in kluang. besides durians, the other fruits that he hawks include langsat, mangosteen and rambutan.

the breadfruit - sukun

i have blogged about the breadfruit tree here. i am blogging about it again because when i was in kota kinabalu, at the open-air market, i realised that the fruit is quite popular in sabah. at least popular enough for it to be sold at the market. in singapore, you will not be able to find the sukun - the local name for it - at the supermarkets and most markets. if you are lucky, you may be able to get one from geylang serai market.



also, over in kota kinabalu, at the filipino market, they were selling breadfruit fritters which i managed to get, many years ago, at a stall in haiq road food centre. my friend and former colleague just informed me that the fritters are available at hajah maimunah in joo chiat. the fritter tastes a bit like tapioca (ubi kayu) but it is more fibrous.

i was told by another friend that the ripe breadfruit can be used as a substitute for potato. this means you can use the breadfruit to cook curry dishes in which the potato is used.

as i have mentioned in the earlier post, the breadfruit tree is not that uncommon in singapore. you can find it growing on its own in wasteland, by the roadside and in some private gardens. i think the breadfruit belongs to the same family as the jackfruit.

it is quite easy to identify a breadfruit tree by its large leaves. the breadfruit has unusual shaped leaves. they are more or less cut into 5 to 10pointed lobes. the leaves are glossy on top and have stiff hair on the underside.

johor state mosque & royal mausoleum

there are more than 70 mosques in singapore; however, there is one mosque here which is maintained by the government of johor (masjid kerjaan johor). where is this mosque?

answer:

the masjid temenggong daeng ibrahim also referred to as the telok blangah johor state mosque is on telok blangah road. this mosque was previously a reception hall of the temenggong's residence. it is a small mosque with a pentagonal-shaped ceiling.

next to the mosque, on slightly higher ground, is the johor royal mausoleum. how many singaporeans are aware that the temenggong (temenggong abdul rahman) who negotiated the treaty with sir stamford raffles is buried in this mausoleum?

others who are buried in this mausoleum include his son temenggong ibrahim and close members of the family. the last member of the family to be buried there was ungku mohammed khalif (died 1900), who at one time lived in the building used for radin mas school. he was a well-known figure in singapore sporting circles. he was the younger son of temenggong ibrahim and thus a grand uncle of the late sultan of johor.

according to my friend, the late sultan of johor would visit this mosque and mausoleum every hari raya puasa to pay his respect to his ancestors. wonder if his sucessor will continue this tradition?

behind and beside this building is the graveyard where the followers of the temenggongs were buried. only a handful of graves appeared to be receiving attention while the rest seemed to have long been forgotten.



this backyard was where a special bathing area of temenggong abdul rahman was housed. a stream from mt faber (telok blangah hill) used to flow to this bathing area. today, there is no sign of any running water.