The Place For Fish Head Curry

Food Trail
By SAM CHEONG


THERE is a fish head curry stall in Kampung Attap where the “who’s who” in Kuala Lumpur frequently hang out.

This place had eluded me for nearly a year since I planned to have lunch there with my colleagues Frederick Fernandez and Y.P. Sivam. Our last attempt to makan there ended in failure because the stall was closed.


Growing business: The stall has expanded its operations to this shop in Kampung Attap.

If you love fish head curry, this is one of the highly recommended places in the city centre.

As for the “celebrity list” of who eats here, suffice it to say I heard that local singers, actors, actresses, corporate bigwigs and even politicians have checked it out.

The place in question is ZK Kari Kepala Ikan. It has been around for decades and became the talk of the town among food lovers.

I had heard of this place from a cab driver some 15 years ago while we were driving past a ramp near Kampung Attap. “Eh, kalau abang nak makan nasi campur murah, ah, ni tempat dia (if you want to pack your nasi campur, this is the place),” he said.


Generous portion: The curry fish head is enough to feed at least three people.

So, after giving it a miss for nearly a decade, I finally checked it out three years ago. To get my fill, I rounded up some old kaki, namely, C.M. Khor, Philip Lim and Lee Hon Yew.

These are guys who love food and I value their opinion, especially that of Lee, who has been a photographer for more than four decades.

I find the fare here pretty decent. The stall offers curry fish head at RM50 a pop, and besides that, you can also savour its ayam madu (fried chicken with honey gravy).

To get a fresh perspective on this, I revisited the stall with my colleague Frederick and Adrian Phung, one of the interns on our desk.

“Eh, Fred, if we want to makan there ah, better leave early because the place is usually crowded during lunch time,” I advised.

So, after we completed our morning duties, we left for the stall from Menara Star in Section 16 via the Kerinchi Link. The journey took us about 15 minutes.

Finding a place to park around the Kampung Attap area can be a hassle. Paid parking lots are an option but many of the patrons here choose to double park their vehicles along the busy stretch, which has proven to be a problem to some motorists.

Once we had located a parking spot, we took a walk to the makan place and found a large crowd there. We picked a strategic place to sit, with the stall and its crowd in full view.

Frederick ordered a serving of curry fish head and each of us settled on the ayam madu as our side order. Service was prompt, with the food delivered in less than 10 minutes.

We had the ikan merah (red snapper) head served with lady’s finger, eggplant and taufoo pok (bean curd). The standard side orders that come with our order were taugeh masak kobis (bean sprouts and cabbage) and acar bawang cili hijau kicap manis (sliced onions with green chillies and dark soya sauce).

Where taste is concerned, I would say that it was pretty decent. On a scale of 1-10, ZK kari kepala ikan would rate a 6. The portions are generous, and to savour the fish head, you will need a minimum of three persons. We were fortunate to have Phun to back us up during the makan session.

My only grouse is that the fish head was not cleaned properly. I found some scales on the fish head, which was a turn-off.

But, that did not stop me from enjoying my favourite part of the dish – the fish eyeballs. And, as Frederick and Phun did not share my taste for it, the pleasure of sucking the soft, jelly-like flesh and chewy eyeballs out of the fish head’s eye sockets was all mine.

Before that, I polished off the lower jaws, lips and tongue of the snapper. Our bill for the day came up to RM84. A hefty sum, but if you share the cost, it is a worthwhile experience.

Well, just as we were walking back to our car, two decently dressed guys approached me and introduced themselves.

I immediately sized them up and assessed the situation. From the first impression, they looked like thugs from the tiga line group. But, they were polite, and that made the difference in a standoff situation.

“Eh, encik tadi ambil gambar untuk tujuan apa?” one of them asked. So, I told him that I took photos of the stall’s exterior as a visual reference so that I could introduce the curry fish head place to my friends.

I was not intimidated by their action, nor was I in a state of panic. With my “how to get out of a hairy situations” training, I told them that they had nothing to worry about. Perhaps they, too, were intimidated by my sheer built and having politely addressed the situation, they backed off with a smile.

Later, I learnt that some politicians were having their lunch there and as we drove past a row of cars parked on the roadside, I saw the vehicle of a high-ranking government official, which explained the cloak and dagger situation that I had experienced. The guys who had come up to me and asked the purpose of my taking pictures there might have been the bigwig’s escort detail.

But, back to how to get there: since there are no direct bus routes to this area, the highly recommended way to get there is by carpooling.

You can also take the KL monorail and get off at Jalan Maharjalela. From the monorail station, it is about a 12-minute walk to get to the stall, which is located at the far end corner of Jalan Kampung Attap.

If you own an in-vehicle GPS navigator, the lat - long coordinates are: 3 8’ 31” N, 101 41’ 43” E.

So, have fun and a great time!