Fish Head Curry and More of Singapore!
Last week I blogged about visiting Baba House, http://www.themarthablog.com/2010/07/visiting-the-baba-house-in-singapore.html where we learned about the unique Peranakan culture. We also took a stroll through Singapore’s Little India and paid a visit to Muthu’s, an Indian restaurant famous for their fish head curry, a type of curry unique to Singapore. It’s actually a blend of ideas and ingredients from the various cultures found there. Visvanaath Ayyakkannu’s father, Muthu, began selling Fish Head Curry from his father’s food cart before opening his own restaurant in 1969. Visvanaath inherited this restaurant in 1994 and continues to make the secret spice blend that makes the curry so popular. I joined Visvanaath and his wife, Veshali, in the kitchen to see how their signature dish is made before enjoying the Fish Head Curry and other specialties with Sophie and Memrie.
Our next stop was the lovely Singapore Botanic Gardens. Singapore is often referred to as “The Garden City” and the Singapore Botanic Gardens is its crown jewel. The gardens are 157-acres and feature 10,000 types of tropical plants – including 60,000 orchids, Singapore’s national flower. As you know, I never grow tired looking at plants and these gardens were a real treat. Our very busy day ended with a fabulous dinner at Jaan Par André, located on the 71th floor of the Swissôtel. It was fantastic!
1 After walking around Singapore's Little India, we stopped at Muthu's Curry to learn how to make their famous fish head curry.
2 Owner Visvanaath Ayyakkannu and his wife Veshali.
3 In addition to fish head curry, Muthu's serves a variety of other dishes, including delicious naan bread. That's dough on the tray all ready to roll.
4 Visvanaath took me into their beautiful kitchen to learn how to make the fish head curry.
5 These are some of the spices and ingredients that go into one day's worth of curry!
6 Simmering away - the aromas were intense!
7 This large chafing pan contains more spices that go into the curry. The exact mix is a secret.
8 It was quite steamy in the kitchen! Frankie was used to that by now.
9 Here I am adding a generous amount of ginger-garlic paste.
10 Now it's time to add all of those spices.
11 The color and aroma was wonderful!
12 This pan is full of unsweetened coconut milk, which makes the curry richer and tames some of the spicy hotness.
13 After adding the spices and the coconut milk, Visvanaath uses a large immersion blender to combine the ingredients into a smooth mix.
14 This cook, with very strong arms, is in charge of stirring the the curry base.
15 When the curry sauce is ready, the fish heads are added. Every serving comes with one head.
16 The TV crew captured all the steps.
17 After our cooking lesson, it was time to eat. This chef prepared our naan, baked to perfection in the tandoor oven.
18 Sophie took a few more photos before sitting down to join Memrie and me.
19 The fish head curry was simply delicious - the fish eyes are considered a special delicacy.
20 We also had a wonderful prawn curry.
21 A very nice portrait with Vashali and Visvanaath
22 After departing Muthu's, we visited the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This great waterfall is at the entrance.
23 We walked through this impressive allee of tall palms.
24 Wilson - our guide, Kim, Mary Ann, and Sanjay - fixer
25 Before entering the National Orchid Garden, principal botanist Dr. See Chung Chin took me for a little spin.
26 The gardens are vast and verdant. We happened upon some newly weds.
27 The 2.5 acre Ginger Garden contains more than 250 species.
28 A work in progress - The Man Who Planted Trees
29 After the ride, we entered the National Orchid Garden where the TV crew was waiting.
30 We saw a portion of the 7.5 acres reserved for orchids. It's home to over 60,000 orchid plants from 1,000 different species and 2,000 different hybrids!
31 I loved the star-like flowers of this red orchid.
32 Lush pathways
33 Most orchids are epiphytes, which are plants that grow upon other plants, such as trees.
34 A great shade of purple
35 Amazing patterns and details
36 We also saw many interesting succulents.
37 And an impressive bromeliad collection
38 We loved all the mossy sculptures throughout the gardens.
39 Here I am with Memrie and Dr. See Chung Chin.
40 We went into the Misthouse, where it was even more humid.
41 The sun quickly set, as Singapore is so close to the equator - just 1 degree north. Here were are saying good bye to Dr. See Chung Chin.
42 Later, we ate dinner at Jaan Par André, located on the 71th floor of the Swissôtel. What an amazing view! Do you recognize Marina Bay Sands?
43 It was a lovely, intimate setting.
44 The ceiling was decorated with these wonderful glass sculpture chandeliers.
45 The food presentations were exquisite.
46 One of our favorite samplings was this elegant lemon curd foam wrapped in gel. So much intense flavor!
47 Risotto with peas, calamari, and black squid foam
48 An unbelievable sea urchin dish
49 At Jaan, we were impressed with the enthralling culinary repertoire featuring the finest French Nouvelle cuisine. It was refined and sophisticated.
50 This rich chocolate dessert was spectacular!
51 After our fabulous dinner, we had the chance to meet Chef Jaan par André. He is an amazing talent!
52 The sommelier, Kirstin Schwemmle, also helped to make the dinner memorable. Each course was paired brilliantly with an extraordinary wine.
53 Tan Hsueh Yun - Deputy life editor of the Strait Times - was also dining at Jaan. She gave us a preview of the story we worked on earlier that day at the Baba House. It was very nice!
54 After dinner, we took a peek at New Asia, the sleek and ultra-sexy night club next door.
55 At New Asia, there is a majestic chandelier.
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Martha, I'm so happy to see you wearing turquoise!! Thanks so much for the photos of your trips. I love coming here to see your posts. It is just like taking a mini-vacation. You share so much. It is very, very appreciated!
Posted by: Lin Valentine | July 7th, 2010 at 12:24 am
This is some incredible stuff! Fish head curry looked interesting .. The botanical gardens and the bromiliads were amazing! The misting room looked to be as humid as Maine is this week!
http://www.meandmartha.net
Thanks you for sharing your trip with us!
Dan Viger
Hollis Center, Maine.
Hollis 5 Corner's
Posted by: D Viger | July 7th, 2010 at 12:47 am
How cool! The Botanic Gardens are amazing and I agree that they are must see. It's interesting that the fish head curry is a melting pot of traditions and cultures. Being English, curry is certainly popular here! Our mist favoured dish is actually a curry dish. Despite Singapore being a member of our Commonwealth of nations, I know little of their food. Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi curries are more popular. I have resolved to learn more and make some Singaporean food. Perhaps we will have a feature in a MS Living soon?
~
Posted by: Christian / @vfbr2001 | July 7th, 2010 at 4:22 am
Very nice & yummy, fish head curry is one of my favourite dish, a delicacy here in Malaysia too. For your additional information, the heads of Salmon & red-snapper will make the most delicious fish head curry.
Posted by: durio uno | July 7th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Did you stay at Swissôtel in Istanbul and did it compare to one in Singapore? Singapore Botanical garden is spectacular and we are so fortunate that you showed it to us..
Posted by: ann | July 7th, 2010 at 8:46 am
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | July 7th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Hi Martha,
When I think about it, although I try not to think about it, the eyes are just part of the fish so how different of a taste could they be. On the other hand, texture is important to me so I might prefer the prawn curry. There certainly were a lot of spices and I can only imagine the flavors they imparted, but I would try it if given the opportunity.
~
The Botanic Gardens are quite beautiful and as much as you love orchids, I’m sure you had a delightful time in that section! That is an impressive amount of plants and so beautiful.
~
The view from the 71st floor is like something from a movie. I have never seen such a landscape at night from so high up. Breathtaking! I’m trying to figure out what makes those two roofs in the foreground so blue. They almost look like stadiums maybe with blue seats but the lights aren’t as bright as the other buildings. In any event, what a gorgeous picture! Thanks for sharing all of this. Trish
Posted by: Trish | July 7th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Great Macy's fashion challenege You Tube video!
Posted by: Wendy | July 7th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Hi Martha, WOW! What a fantastic visit to the beautiful Singapore Little India sites! I love the websites you provided for the Muthu Restaurant, the Swissotel and the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Their sites were superb and all of your photos were absolutely stunning! You three gals sure did have fun and I had fun enjoying all of the things you shared with us. Hope you and your animals are staying cool. It has decided to be summer here in the Puget Sound area and it's about 85 right now. Hasn't been that hot since last September! Love, Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | July 7th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
More than 250 species of ginger! Wow...I learned something today...as usual when i read Martha's blog. I have been enjoying curry from all over the world but found one that is quite interesting in a tiny spa 1 hour east of the city of Toronto. http://www.elementalembrace.com Thanks Martha
Posted by: http://twitter.com/Geotravel | July 7th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Hi Trish
You have to try the Fish head curry. Like durio uno said its really yummy. Some even eat the eyes of the fish.
In my short stay in the US, I often get the fish head for free. Its because the fish-mongers said Americans don't eat fish head.
Posted by: Idzan, Kuala lumpur | July 8th, 2010 at 10:02 am
As a proud Singaporean, I'm so glad you tried our unique fish head curry, something several visitors miss out on due to the dominance of the Chinese culture!
It looks like you had a really great time and I'm so glad you enjoyed our city state!
Posted by: Sharon | September 4th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Hi Martha,
A co worker told me she saw you talking about Singapore's chilli crab on your show and I was upset I didnt get to see it. I decided to check it out online and I am so glad I found it. Thank you for visiting my home and allowing me to see Singapore thru' some else's eyes. I am currently married and residing in South Carolina and I cant wait for my husband to visit Singapore. Great job!!! on the showing America my home Singapore.
Posted by: Mala Gordon | December 29th, 2010 at 8:43 pm