pot of gold

As a teochew, I should like fish according to M. Yes, I do. But I think I'll pick grilled cod fish with herbs or pan-fried buttered dory or baked salmon with cheese or simply fish & chips... over teochew steamed fish or sliced fish soup. Still, I won't resist teochew styled fish when I feel like something light and healthy. It just so happened that P is on a healthy diet these days due to his poor health report and constant nagging from his mum(and also because of the rainy weather), we decided to opt for something we don't usually crave for, teochew fish head steamboat at 天外天 along Serangoon Road.

I heard that you've to wait for two hours during peak hours for your food to be served. Thank goodness that night wasn't that crowded though it was fully packed.

There's a variety of fish like pomfret, red garoupa and others depending on season for you to choose from. We ordered the medium pot for 5($32.00). Sinking in the sweet and potent soup are yam, lettuce, fried flatfish and thickly sliced fresh pomfret fish. You can even top up the soup for free. For those who can't stand the fishiness of certain fish(just to clarify, I don't find it fishy at all), you can dip the fish in the special garlic, chilli, lime and vinegar sauce. I like it with just freshly cut chillies in soya sauce.



I believe the fish head pot is not the only reason why customers are coming back to 天外天 even when waiting time can be ridiculous. Other dishes are equally delicious too. My favourite got to be the spicy prawn and tofu. It tasted like chilli crab but not as sweet. One can easily finish up a bowl of plain rice with just the thick and appetising gravy alone.



奶白 (nai bai) is like a mini version of 小白菜 and is not available at every cze-char stall. Stir-fried with garlic, crunchy and tasty.



You'll find this dish on almost every table. The crispy prawn roll was deep fried to perfection. Not too oily or dry. Unlike some that tasted like minced meat, you can actually taste the shrimp and crunchiness of the water chestnut. However, I still prefer those that are not coated with flour. Especially the ones my grandma used to make.



There are quite a few famous fish head steamboat restaurants around, especially 南华昌(Nan Hwa Chong) which is rated top by the local papers, I've yet tried so I can't really compare. And MM insisted 天外天 was really nothing fantastic because she has tasted better and I'm still waiting for her to bring me there. But 天外天 has enough drool factors to bring me back when I feel like having a warm family dinner. At least this is one meal you won't feel guilty after feasting.

Just a sidenote, there are apparently two similarly named Nan Hwa Chong Fishhead steamboat at Jalan Sultan. The so-called original restaurant is the one named 南华昌（亚秋）鱼头炉.