Fish Head Curry in Kuala Lumpur at Annuar’s Legendary Street Food Corner!

Few times in my life have a seen a restaurant owner more dedicated to their work.

Let alone a chef, I don’t know how many people I have seen in any job anywhere just so motivated to do their work well.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, come and visit this amazing man, Mr. Annuar, and enjoy a wonderful Indian Malay style fish head curry (his specialty).

Scroll down, I want to share more details of this meal with you.

Dedication to Delicious Fish Heads

‘Annuar’s Fish Head Curry,’** previously known as ‘Bangsar Fish Head Corner, is a restaurant that specializes in an amazing recipe of Indian-Malay style fish head curry.

Although this dish has roots in two foreign countries, fish head is a food probably loved nowhere more than it is right here in the Malaysian peninsula.

While eating at Mr. Annuar’s restaurant is something I obviously recommend, you don’t need to take my word for it – the line of people stretching down the street every single day is proof enough.

What I can assure you though, is that you will take away much more than just delicious food when you visit here.

The motivation I got from seeing how Mr. Annuar works his restaurant jobs, it was and is so memorable, truly something to admire.

The Welcome

As soon as we were sitting down, Mr. Annuar was greeting us, giving us a chance for photos, he turned his back to sample a spoon of curry, but then also made sure to take our drink order.

While relaying on some instructions for something going on behind the pans, he was also keeping eyes on his next batch of chicken, just finishing in their frying oil, which he also got up to serve to other customers himself.

This humble display of such high work ethic was impressive to say the least. Not only was he friendly, but he is so obviously dedicated to keeping in mind every step of each process at all times, while still being personable to his clientele. Amazing.

Note: The name of the restaurant has changed to ‘Annuar’s Fish Head Curry’ after moving to a new location, and the links and information at the end of this article are updated and current as of Jan 2019.

Award-Winning Curry Broth

Getting back to the food now, I want to introduce this stunning curry from what hit me first – I have to talk about the smells.

Annuar’s Fish Head Curry is actually part of a three-restaurant location, sharing the seating space between all three – but trust me – you could easily use just your nose to find the right one.

Walking up to the converted street cart they use here to serve an entire restaurant-size seating area, you can already smell the deep, rich, pungent curry flavors from down the street.

(I actually did follow my nose from the street corner, as my google maps app was offline!)

This is step one actually, as even the sign for Annuar’s Fish Head Curry is one of the things farthest back in the restaurant. Use your nose, and your eyes (the line of people forming is quite obvious), and find your way to the serving table.

Note: The massive cauldrons of orange-red curry are gorgeous, they are resting right in the middle behind the serving area, if for some reason you are still unsure, then use these for confirmation.

Fried Chicken with Curry Marinade

Step two would be finding a seat. After this, as with most outdoor or street food restaurants in Malaysia, you are then going to need to serve yourself your first plate of rice.

I just love Malaysia’s attitude with in-restaurant self-service.

Find the stack of empty plates, and then the container of rice. You reach inside for the rice scooper, and take as much as you want, spreading it around so that its perfectly ready to soak up as much of the red curry broth as possible.

Important! Try to smoothly make eye-contact with a chef, and hand over your plate of rice for a few bonus ladles of curry sauce. There’s no real limit, or rule here, on how to get more sauce, but trust me – you want more sauce.

Sauce BOSS, Fish Heads in Sauce

Their curry sauce here is wonderful, and its where the fish heads are cooking.

Full of curry powder, curry leaves, also including fenugreek and mustard seeds, the medium-spicy curry broth is lathered onto everything. Just as it should be.

It is very much worth noting here though, that the favorite meal at this restaurant is not the fish head – its the fried chicken.

Fish head is what they advertise (‘kepala ikan’ in Bahasa Malay), but actually the chicken is the more famous item among locals – that’s the item you’re bound to see on every person’s plate. The chicken is quick to dish out, easy to pick up, and its one of the most budget-friendly meals in the entire city of KL. A pile of chicken works just as well as a fish head too, as a great central feature to your table, surrounding it with your plates of rice.

Both are of course, absolutely drowning in large ladlefuls of that curry broth, so I would very much still recommend coming here, even if you aren’t into fish heads.

Note: Fried chicken is also the most common item on order for take-away, so watch for which piles of chicken are set out for dine-in customers, and which are for take-away (who knows, you might see your favorite piece in one, but not the other – always fine to ask!)

Fish Head Curry, using only Gigantic Fish Heads

Finally its our turn to eat, and the star of the meal arrives. The Fish Head is here, and again I have to say – quite cool to see how the delivery of each fish head is undertaken by Mr. Annuar himself.

Not at all due to an arrogant sense of pride, he is just very happy to show something that takes hard work.

It takes dedication to locate such fish heads, and then to make them into such delicious curries. Being near the fruit of his labor, his product being something that makes customers so wonderfully happy, it so obviously just brings him satisfaction.

Even though he is incredible busy (not only creating all the recipes, but also even helping other serving staff in de-organ-ing the squid and cleaning the chicken parts), he makes sure to come to each table, at least check on how things are going, and with our table he even made some time for photos.

Exchanging few words, his smile shows his satisfaction, and then he is gone, again returning to his cart for other customers.

Using Only the Most Gigantic of Fish Heads

Mr. Annuar also told us that he himself chooses the fish heads by size, and he gets them from a vendor who is selling the rest of the parts and the body to other restaurants for other recipes.

Here they want only the fish’s head, and he picked out our Red Snapper (‘Ikan Merah’), which was also one of the most impressively size-able ones of the day.

You can see the size just by looking at the plate itself, and as any lover of fish head will tell you – the bigger the size, the larger the amount of succulent meat parts to be found hiding out in every crevasse of that big fish’s skull.

Also check out my guide to best Singapore food!

Squid with Curry

After enjoying yourself to the fullest with endless bites of crunchy curry chicken, then sucking out every glorious nook and cranny of your massive curry fish head, then there is still a dessert.

I mean be honest, and tell me there’s some way you can see a squid like this and not ask for another just like it. It was smothering in that same gorgeous orange curry, and wow does it smell great.

The thick squid flesh, bouncy texture and not too rubbery, the tentacles are the place on the squid where you really get the most flavor. They sort of just reach out, and give so much more surface area, perfect for all of the flavorful red curry to stick to.

There were not as many people ordering these as there were people fighting over Mr. Annuar’s fried chicken, but in my opinion this meaty squid was equally as delicious.

The Restaurant Experience

Such a great meal at Annuar’s Fish Head Curry, and do I have to again mention the price? Just 3RM for either chicken or a fish, ladles of curry sauce, and a full plate of white rice.

Now that’s a budget meal.

But even after that, I also have to comment on the overall experience of visiting Mr. Annuar.

He did not know of this blog, nor was he aware of our YouTube channel, but he was just humbly yet confidently wanting to show off the beautiful recipes that he works to create every day. He took photos with us, allowed us to peek into every detail of his work, and he gave us our meal for free and even went to wash his hands specifically at the end, just so he could shake hands with us as we left his restaurant.

Annuar is his name, and Mr. Annuar works here every day. He serves a stunningly good breakfast of curry and rice, and the quality, and the friendliness and generosity on top of the amazing flavor of food – for street food in South East Asia, it literally can’t be beat.

Don’t miss the chance to visit him at Bangsar Fish Head Corner, on your next visit to Kuala Lumpur. He will likely make your experience at this restaurant one of your favorite memories during the entire visit to Malaysia.

Watch the video:

(Or you can watch the entire video on YouTube here)

Name: Annuar’s Fish Head Curry (changed from ‘Bangsar Fish Head Corner’)
Location: (Google Maps)
Hours: 9:30AM to 5PM (closed Sunday)
Prices: Mr. Annuar gave us the meal complimentary only because he is so generous, not because we asked (but just so you know, the prices here are great!, and people know his restaurant locally as one of the most-for-your-money-meals in all of KL).