One of my favourite things to eat in Kuala Lumpur is steamed Song fish head. The dish is popular with oldies 🤭 and quite common in Kuala Lumpur. We came to Pudu, an old gritty section of KL, to look for it 😁 (Actually we went to Jalan Peel first but the place has completely transformed and all our old favourite steamed fish places are gone 🥹 )
We picked Mun Kee Steam Fish Head. The sun had began to set in the busy city and a sort of calm had descended. Car park spaces had freed up, so we can park right inside the tree shaded, rustic restaurant nestled at the fringe of Pudu.
We were early, ahead of the dinner crowd. Mum Kee Steam Fish Head is a local favourite.
Mum Kee Steam Fish Head's specialty is well.... steamed Song fish head. Mun Kee's Chinese name says they are 鱼头王 or king of fish head.
The menu and ordering is simple - the various versions of steamed fish head are in photos and labeled A, B, C, D and asam.
First time here, we picked D, "smashed ginger".
We also had yau mak vegetable stir fried with savoury fermented bean curd to complete our order. It tasted good. The bits of chili in the dish added subtle spicy highlights to the savoury dish.
We finished this vegetable dish but our steamed fish head hasn't arrived yet 😬
When the fish arrived, my first reaction was "wow so big 😮". It was nearly, if not exactly a foot long 😅 (To call it fish head is actually a disowner as it is actually the upper section of the fish sans the tail.)
I looked around and apparently they have only this one size, even for singleton diners 😬
Anyway, we pressed ahead.
The Song fish halved laterally sat in a pool of savoury aromatic sauce of soy sauce, garlic and oil. The sauce was kept bubbling hot by paraffin candle flame below and occasionally overflowed the large metal plate 🙄
The large fish and head was smothered in a thick blanket of ginger mash and dressed with chopped scallion.
The fish was done perfectly, not a tad overcooked. The Song fish was meaty with thick white soft tender moist flesh that was very subtly earthly. But, after the first mouthful, we forgot all about that and the taste was all sweetness complemented by the savoury sweetness from the sauce and mild heat from the ginger mash.
We love it 😋 👍
My favourite parts were the extra soft smooth belly, crunchy cartilage, silky fat and the jelly like collagenous tissue in the head e.g. the eye 👁️🗨️
Last food stop for the day, two of us demolished the foot long Song fish head 💪
This fresh, foot long steamed Song fish head set us back RM40 (SG$11.50) in 2023. We will be back to try more flavours and other dishes. We love it - delicious food in a nice hyperlocal environment at very good prices too 👍
Written by Tony Boey on 11 Jun 2023
🎗 Opinions in this blog are all my own as no restaurant or stall paid money to be featured
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