Fish head is one of those things that can bring an expression of disbelief like how intestines can to people especially those who did not grow up in this part of the world. Now, why do people eat fish heads? There are a few reasons I can think of. First, because of the situation of food-no-enough so they need to eat everything they can eat. Second, to curb excessive wastage after sellers fillet out the meat. Third, in some countries, to eat the whole fish can be a symbolization of prosperity and fourth, because it is damn delicious especially the gelatin. So what do you guys think is the likely reason?
Just like intestines, fish heads can be absolutely sumptuous when cooked right. Take for instance this style of cantonese steamed fish head which is widely sold at Chinatown Complex Food Centre. I can guarantee you there are at least 2 dozens stalls at Chinatown Complex Food Centre selling fish head in this way and all of them have business that could be translated into the equation of them selling 20 to 30 fish heads per night no less. Now can you imagine how many fish heads are actually been sold in just a single night at Chinatown Complex Food Centre?
If like me, you grew up didn’t know how to enjoy fish heads and cannot understand the passion of others who do, and are looking for an opportunity to see whether that barrier can be broken, then today you have hit the nail on the head there because I’m going to introduce to you purportedly the best steamed fish head in the Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Steamed Fish Head $13
Xing Long Food Stall is a typical Cze Char stall just like any others you can find in Singapore and their signature dishes range from Claypot Tofu to Pai Kuat Wong to Steamed Fish Head and they have been regularly recommended on newspapers, radios and TVs. Well I’ve not yet actually eaten fish heads from a lot of stalls at Chinatown Complex Food Centre to judge the measure of good at Xing Long but for those that I’ve had( around 3-4), Xing Long Food Stall beats them hands down. While other stalls might take ’shortcuts’ like boiling the fish head instead of steaming it, Xing Long Food Stall seriously take all the trouble to steam it. The difference between steaming and boiling is highly distinctive as in steaming, the juice are all kept in the fish head and so the meat maintains a very delicious flavour while boiling would seriously drain the delicious juice away. It’s like prawns are boiled or steamed, you can tell the difference for sure.
Pai Kuat Wong, good cut of the pork!
The sauce in the steamed fish head is what stamped it’s class. I suspect it’s a concoction of nothing more than soya sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil blah blah but it’s clearly very well mixed because every time after I eaten at this stall, I felt like wanting for more! Not once have I ever felt ‘jerlad’ eventhough there were always plenty of lards garnished.
The other dish that we ordered on this occasion was the Pai Kuat Wong. This is seriously good. I’ve not been a big fan of sweet and sour pork but yet I can give good marks for it at this stall. I think a lot of stalls actually uses vinegar to express the sourness but this stall seems to be using ketchups only. The sourness was not too sour and the sweetness wasn’t too sweet. Coupled that splendid blend of taste with the deep fried texture of the pork which are actually pork chops instead of cutlets as is the case with many other cze char places is a sign that Xing Long Food Stall is serious about producing terrific food. And as if that ain’t enough, there was no sign of any bicarbonate soda used, zilch!
Price: $13 for Fish Head and $7 for Pai Kuat Wong. No charge for rice.
Recommendation: Steamed Fish Head cantonese style(must mention cantonese or they’ll do a bean paste one for you instead), Claypot Tofu, Pai Kuat Wong, Oyster Omelette and many others.
Conclusion: Taste is authentic. Quality is good. Price is cheap. It’s a die die must try stall if you care about getting the best bang for your buck in Chinatown Complex Food Centre!
Likes: Authentic flavour of the dishes.
Dislikes: Nothing!
| Address | Overall Rating | ||
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Food: 8/10   Value: 8/10 Service: 7/10 Ambience: 7/10 Cleanliness: 7/10 Overall: 7.5/10  |
