GEORGE TOWN, Oct 25 — Steamboat is best enjoyed in cold, rainy weather but when it comes to fish head steamboat, any time is a good time for a steaming hot bowl of warming fish-based soup.
The Teochew fish head steamboat is unlike the conventional steamboat because the base soup is prepared differently and the final outcome is a rich, milky fish broth.
This is one meal worth sharing with a large group of people or a minimum of four because of the large portions served by most restaurants offering this delicacy.
It may be a simple enough dish of a fish soup base in a steamboat with other raw ingredients being gradually added in but this is not available at coffee shops or hawker centres.
Seen as a specialty, only certain restaurants offer this type of steamboat and not even all steamboat restaurants have this.
What sets the fish head steamboat apart from the conventional steamboat is a soup base made from boiling the fish head, usually grouper, along with yam for a thick flavourful broth.
The restaurants usually offer fish head steamboat sets that will include the soup base, raw fish slices, vegetables, vermicelli, shrimps, fish balls, meat balls, mushrooms, fish maw, egg and beancurd sheets.
The steamboat soup base itself will already contain yam, pieces of the fried fish head and sometimes cabbage. This will allow you to put in the other ingredients in the order that you like.
When most of the ingredients are already in the soup, be prepared for a really thick and tasty soup like no other. Unlike conventional steamboat made from a pork or chicken soup base, this one has a strong fish flavour that is not as cloying as the pork or chicken ones.
There is a growing demand for fish head steamboat so more of such restaurants specialising only in fish head steamboat are opening in Penang.
Here’s our pick of restaurants to try out in Penang for some milky fish broth goodness:
Zi Wei Yuan Steam Boat
6525, Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth
Tel: 04-331 2736
Time: 6pm to 11pm
(Closed on Wednesdays)
This restaurant is one of the largest open air restaurants serving only one type of food — steamboat. It is known for its charcoal fish head steamboat with huge crowds lining up almost every weekend for a taste. They also have different pork and chicken sets to go with the fish head steamboat for those who must have their meat.
Starview Restaurant
New World Park, George Town
Tel: 04-226 6544
Time: 12pm-2.30pm,
6pm-10pm
This is a very old and established restaurant that has been around since 1979 and well known for its Chinese cuisine. Now, the fish head steamboat is also one of their signature dishes that is a must-try for those who dine there.
Maple Palace Restaurant
47, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, George Town
Tel: 04-2279690
Time: 12pm-2.30pm,
6pm-10pm
This restaurant may specialise in Cantonese dishes but they also have a fish head steamboat set that can be ordered together with other dishes. Their fish head steamboat set is meant for between two to four people.
Sawara Restaurant
393 Jalan Burmah, Pulau Tikus
Tel : 04-2260516
Time: 11am – 10pm daily
This restaurant is one of the first few restaurants to gain a name for its fish head steamboat served in claypot. Other than the fish head steamboat, they also have yong tau fu with their own homemade fish paste.
