Farid the friendly owner of Restoran Sutera Village invited Johor Kaki to try their Fish Head Asam Pedas which they have recently added to their menu.
The Fish Head Asam Pedas is served as set meals to cater to small groups and families. The set meals come in 2-3 person servings and in 4-6 person servings. Three types of fish are available, namely Ikan Siakap, Ikan Merah and Ikan Kaci.
We had the Ikan Merah fish head asam pedas set for 2-3 persons for RM50.
The centrepiece of the set was, of course, this Ikan Merah fish head cooked in asam pedas. Sutera Village's asam pedas uses the home recipe of Farid's grandmother, which Norhayati (Farid's wife) has mastered.
The asam pedas gravy was made with many ingredients. Those that I could see include tomatoes, onions, lady's fingers, torch ginger flower, curry leaves and many ground spices.
The asam pedas is sourish from asam (tamarind) and salty from (I guess) belacan and preserved limes. The soupy asam pedas gravy was only mildly spicy with the mix of ingredients adding interesting notes and textures to the gravy.
The fresh Ikan Merah fish head itself was quite large, more than enough for 3 people to share. The head was served whole, unlike some places that slice the head in half.
There was also this chunky piece of fresh Ikan Merah steak included. So, friend or family in the party who is not a fish head person, could still join in the asam pedas set meal.
For the side dish, we have a choice of either fried beansprouts or fried kangkung belacan. We tried both :))
The beansprouts were nicely executed. The plump sprouts were still crunchy and juicy, and sauce was tasty.
The kangkung belacan was just as well prepared and had that touch of savouriness from the belacan.
Sutera Village's fish head asam pedas set was satisfying and the dishes had that home cooked feel. The atmosphere in the restaurant was relaxed and unhurried. Food is prepared in the small quantities ordered and served up straight from the kitchen freshly cooked, just like at home.
I need to mention Sutera Village's sambal chili. It is freshly made with grounded green chili. Very spicy and had that savouriness that I guessed came from mixing in belacan.
Meet Norhayati, the lady boss behind the delicious food. Norhayati is assisted in the kitchen by a former hotel chef and a crew.
Sutera Village also serves very good ayam penyet which I tried earlier. Click on the picture to read the article.
Restaurant name: Restoran Sutera
Village
Address: 69, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/2,
Taman Sutera Utama, Johor Bahru (near Sutera Mall)
GPS:
1.515335,103.667555
Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm (closed on
Monday)
Halal
Date visited: 1 Feb 2013
