Chan Sau Lin fish head

fish head

I remember having really good fish head in 2005. I was working in Kuching at that time and one of our partners brought us to the famous Chan Sau Lin fish head during a business trip here. As luck would have it, we went to the very same place yesterday.

chan sau lin

It’s now moved from Jalan Chan Sau Lin No 3 (thus the Cantonese moniker) to Jalan Chan Sau Lin No 5. The place is huge, with a semi-outdoor (meaning it’s ventilated but covered) court and an air-conditioned area.

tai sam lou

This is what’s left of the famous hot and sweltering fish head at Tai Sam Lou with the famous tree – a faded photo. The tree stump is apparently still there.

chicken steamed

I don’t go around to these parts pretty often and a lot of people say that the fish head has deteriorated. They do serve a pretty mediocre plate of pak cham kai (steamed chicken).

curry fishhead

We ordered two fish heads – one is the curry version which I didn’t like at all. The curry gravy overpowered the fish. I like my fish to be as close to natural as possible.

fermented soy fish

The other one we had was the fermented soy sauce fish head. This is delicious! The way it’s cooked left the fish head relatively unmolested and there’s bird’s eye chili on top to add that additional zap to the palate. Succulent and tender, it left me digging into the head for stray pieces of fish.

me fishhead

Here’s a cheesy shot of me. The new place is at Jalan Lima off Jalan Chan Sau Lin in Sungai Besi. Don’t ask me for the GPS coordinates coz I broke my phone in Phuket but you can call 017-224 2133 for Hoi. I gleaned all that from the card I took from the place.

Lunch cost us RM 99 for four people, including a dish of bean sprouts I didn’t bother to take. πŸ˜‰

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24 thoughts on “Chan Sau Lin fish head”

    • Hello Jimbo!

      I went at around 12:30 pm. I was sitting in the air conditioned area.

      I just realized that I had the same dishes that I had in 2005. πŸ˜€

      Reply
    • How was the fish head Arthur? πŸ˜€

      I would love to try your or your missus’ cooking sometime, especially if it’s better than Sheraton’s. It would be a previous. πŸ™‚

      Reply
    • Eh, I’ve never broken a phone before. I’ve had my iPhone 4 stolen from me and my Blackberry soaked in water due to a heavy rain and high seas in Krabi.

      Seriously, this phone has been with me for years. πŸ™‚

      I have an Android phone now thanks to a friend of mine. πŸ˜€

      Reply
    • Yeah, you should! πŸ™‚

      I love this place, I first had this in 2005. They’re really famous for their fish head.

      Some say it’s declined but I feel that the fermented soy bean one is the same as I tasted. It’s delicious!

      I highly recommend the ching tang (plain) or the fermented soy bean one. πŸ˜€

      Hope you like this place Michelle! πŸ˜€

      Reply
    • I’ll say I like it much better since I prefer natural flavors more than the curry fish head ones. πŸ™‚

      Their curry fish head is not too bad too, I just like the fermented soy sauce fish head ones over here. πŸ˜€

      Reply
  1. oh i gotta tell my god dad about this so that he’ll bring me there next time!

    speaking of steamed fish. there’s one Lan Jie which is famous for that! you can try it out if you likey πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Yeah, I bet he’ll love it if he likes steamed fish head. πŸ˜€

      I totally fell in love with this dish when I first came here in 2005.

      Oh, Lan Jie eh? I’ve gotta check it out.

      Thanks Constance! πŸ™‚

      Reply
    • Yeah, the food doesn’t look good presentation wise…

      …but it’s delicious when you eat it! πŸ˜€

      That’s the best thing about some Chinese dai chow places – the food presentation is crap but it tastes heavenly! πŸ™‚

      Reply
    • Yeah, I’m back on a smartphone now. Heh.

      I broke my last one in Phuket and used a backup normal phone for a week or so before a friend passed me a smartphone she had lying around. πŸ˜€

      Reply
  2. That fish head the one you like is the way Cantonese like to make it. My mom made it from time to time at home and still the best way to do so. Just soy sauce and green onion ,ginger, pepper, little sesame oil if prefer.

    Reply

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