Fish Head Curry and Hainanese fare at a typical Curry Rice shop

Fish head curry is not something I often eat outside of home. My mom cooks a killer fish head curry, so makes the inclination to want to order one when eating out very low. But once in a while, when with great friends, and one of them have a craving, I will end up eating one. But today's post is not totally about fish head curry, though the shop is called SG Fish Head Curry. Its about some great Hainanese curry rice, with traditional, but well executed dishes.

As eating places go, this is a fairly typical Hainanese styled Curry Rice shop...hundreds dot our tiny island. Some good, some bad, a few rise above to become really culinary temples. Is this one of those worthy of elevation?

Joyce did the ordering, and by the time the gang assembled, we were ready to eat. In no particular order...

Mutton curry

Very nice. Smooth, but sinewy mutton. Tender would probably not be the word to describe it...it was a bit chewy, needed a firm bite. But yet yielding. Nice flavour without the strong mutton odour. Spices very nicely blended, though for me, a bit lacking in the hotness department.

Sotong curry

Squid...sliced and cooked in a beautiful curry sauce. The squid was cooked just right...sometimes, especially in curry rice stalls like this, the squid is cooked till rubberised. But this was nice. Tender. Goes down nicely.

Prawns in a sweet sour sauce

Plump, fresh prawns. The sauce was well balanced between sweet and sour. Nice...what more can I say...what more need I say.

Traditional Hainanese pork chop

Classical style. Deep fried pork chops in a sweet, sour, tangy sauce. Not my favourite dish this lunch, but nonetheless well executed, and drew compliments from my eating kakis.

Fried Chicken

Nicely done. The chicken was breaded and deep fried. Crispy batter, nice and juicy chicken. Two thumbs up.

yes we have more...fish head curry...

Served piping hot in a clay pot. Nice mild curry. The fish was rather fresh. No funny smells as is common in many fish head curry places...indicative of a fresh head to start. The curry was a mix between the very rich but spicy peranakan style I get at home, and the tangy, sour, spicy ones in Indian restaurants. For me, this was not the highlight of the lunch, but given my elevated standards to judge fish head curry, it passes the "ok to eat" mark. Which is saying quite a lot...as I am probably very biased when it comes to a good fish head curry.

That was not all...we still had some vegetables, to complete the meal...counting...um...a total of 8 dishes for 6 people. Did I say we were great eaters?

Overall, nice lunch place. Fast efficient service. Good food, though not spectacular, suffices. So to answer the question posed at the begining...well no...this is not one of the temples of dining.

SG Curry Fish Head

31 Seah Street