Muthu’s is a local institution that is synonymous with one local delicacy, fish head curry, a giant fish head floating in a huge portion of delicious curry soup, its eye staring and teeth grinning. The cheek meat is the best part of the fish, but to be truly polite, let your friend eat the eye. The list of accompanying dishes is long and includes crab masala, chicken biryani, and mutton curry, with fish cutlet and fried chicken sold by the piece. We’re not talking the height of dining elegance here, but Muthu’s really has come a long way since its simple coffee shop opening, with its recent shift to newer, larger digs, with matching tables and chairs! I miss the old grotty ambience, but still it’s a good place to try this dish.
A visit to Singapore is never complete without passing through the pretty and colorful shop houses of Little India. In Singapore, 8.8% of the total population is Indian, thus the influx of goods and services from India, including their cuisine. The richness of the Indian culture meets the diversity of local Peranakan heritage that produces a very lively and dynamic local cuisine distinctly Singapore.
Muthu’s Curry let’s you choose without having to ask for an explanation of the whole menu. For those unfamiliar with Indian food, such as myself, it really helps to see what the food looks like, rather than just try to imagine it. Curry is an English word derived from the Indian word “kari” which means sauce or gravy. One theory is that the Philippine dish “kare-kare” may have had its roots in Dravidian cuisine of using peanut sauce with meats, as is common with its Southeast Asian neighbors. Theory, not a rule. Could be wrong.