Yong Lai Fa Ji Shu Shi @ Circuit Road – A Satisfying Bowl of Fish Soup

Believe it or not, I do eat fish head. And I do it pretty well (ok maybe for ladies standard). My grandma used to tell me, kids who eat fish frequently scores better in Mathematics. I don’t know how true is it but I really did well for that subject when I was in school.

When I was doing my internship, there was a famous curry fish head stall near our office and we dropped by for lunch very often. My editor would always place the entire fish head on my plate and said,”You are still young, finish this.” You know, being an intern, you just have to somehow obliged. So I started “dissecting” the fish head, pieces by pieces.

Eating fish head is like a huge project. It takes a lot of perseverance to finish it but I get the sense of achievement when I have done it. I love the cheeks most (who doesn’t?) but I still can’t bring myself to eat the eyes till now.

When a friend brought me to Yong Lai Fa Ji Shu Shi for lunch, his first question was,”You eat fish head anot?” Of course! Bring it on! We ordered a $5 bowl of fish head soup and what you get is a very generous bowl with lots of fresh and tasty ingredients. Cooked individually on the stoves, expect to wait especially during lunch time. But trust me, it is worth it.

The fish head itself was freshly sweet, and the meat was firm and fell easily from the bones. Flavourful, with just the right amount of punch from the tik por (they use very good quality of sole fish), the delicious assortment of fish parts, fried onions and bitter gourd pack a wallop in every sip.

Their batang fish slices are silky and soft in texture while the clear tasting broth allows you to get the freshness and flavours from the fish slices. The stall also uses a unique chili that goes very well with their fish soups, made with chilli padi and fermented beans. Every bowl of fish soup has generous portion of lettuce and bittergourd too.

The owner Mr Peh is very dedicated as he picks out the best fish at 11pm at night, chops and washes it early in the morning to prepare for business. The MSG-free soup is made from boiling fish bones and chicken for at least 8 hours. If you are lucky, you may get some fish sacks which has a marvelous texture.

Another good place to go to for fish soup, besides Han Ji. Go for their fish head for a sweet and more full-bodied soup. Do come prepared to queue though.