Ikan Siakap Tiga Rasa at Sutera Village near Sutera Mall in Johor Bahru

Awww... I love this Ikan Siakap Tiga Rasa from Restoran Sutera Village (near Sutera Mall).

And, I think I will never get tired of it. (Ikan Siakap Tiga Rasa means Barramundi in Three Flavours, in English.)

This was Sutera Village's Ikan Siakap Tiga Rasa set for 4-5 persons. The Ikan Siakap was, of course, the centre piece of this set. The set came with two bowls of tom yam soup, kangkung belacan, and 4 or 5 plates of rice. There was also a telur dadar dish or omelette included (not in the picture). At RM45.00, personally, I feel that this set is good value for money.

The fresh siakap fish was skilfully deep fried and the oil nicely drained. It was dry and crisp outside, and yet a little of the natural juices was still intact.

The nicely deep fried siakap was smothered in a thick blanket of sweet, sour and mildly spicy pulpy gravy. There was a mound of diced pineapple cubes on top of the fish.

The chunks of fried fish went very well with the thick sweet, sour and mildly spicy gravy. The delicious pulpy gravy worked very well to whet our appetites in what the Chinese describe as "opening the stomach" 开胃.

This was the tom yam soup that came with the set. Sweet, sour and mildly spicy like the fish gravy but in a soupy form.

The blend of sweet, sour and spicy soup "opened the stomach", while the chicken and assorted vegetables in the tom yam provided the substance.

The nicely done kangkung belacan provided the tasty greens to complete the set. (We can choose fried beansprouts, if we like.)

Meet Norhayati, the lady boss behind the delicious Ikan Siakap Tiga Rasa. Norhayati hails from Kelantan and I wonder if that has anything to do with this Thai inspired dish.

This was my third visit to Sutera Village and with each visit I like this little, new restaurant a little bit more. I found the food tasty, reasonably priced, and the air conditioned shop clean and comfortable.

Sutera Village is part of the emerging trend of young entrepreneurs opening contemporary style eateries serving traditional cuisine handed down from their parents and grandparents. These young entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of Johor's food culture and scene deserve, our support.