Best Curry Fish Head in Penang? @ Pen Mutiara

Once upon a time, there was a little stall under a big tree by the roadside along the Batu Maung road or now known as the FTZ Coastal Highway.
The big tree was the umbrella, providing the needed shade to the customers who sweat profusely while enjoying spoonfuls of curry-covered rice with a bite of the fish.
Regardless of the races, Chinese, Indian and Malays flock to this little stall and proclaim that it is one of the best curry fish head served in the island!

Today, this little stall is no longer little, in fact, it has grown into a restaurant and sits comfortably in an air-conditioned environment; a shoplot located next to the LKIM in Penang; and is known as the Restoran Pen Mutiara.


The interior is so different from those roadside view anymore, and eager diners can enjoy the tranquility of the piano tunes coming from the grand piano at the lobby or the serenade of the gushing waters from the landscape on the other side.





This restaurant also caters for wedding banquets, private functions or gatherings as they provide special rooms for personal functions.

They offer the range of the usual Malay food; something which I have missed for some time now since I came to Penang. (I used to go for Malay food with my family once in a while)

At the back of the front cover of the menu, they did provide a little history of their stall/restaurant


I was first introduced to this place by my bosses; who, on their business trip to Penang, recommended this place as the one serving the best curry fish head in Penang (as my Penang-born and raised boss said).

Therefore, I have been here for 2-3 times with my boss (he comes here everytime he's in Penang) and I am rather familiar with his recommendations.
For instance, a glass of Limau Asam Boi Juice (RM2.50) is definitely recommended to start and to quench your thirst when you pant and wag your tongue after the curry meal.


We had to wait for a while before the main finally arrived (I do not know what took them so long since it was not exactly a peak hour)
They seem to serve faster during peak hours of lunch!

The limelight of the meal; the Curry Fish Head (minimum of 2 pax per order) - RM20


It is always served in a huge pot like this; regardless of how many people you ordered for. It seems to be their standard pot.
I do like the fact that it's always served piping hot.

Taste wise, I find the curry too heavily laden with curry powder and spices. However, it does provide a rather spicy taste and scent when it arrives. Anyway, when you step into restaurant, you will already get a whiff of the strong curry powder and spices scent floating in the air.

White rice; tastefully decorated with the fork and spoon on the plate

But it will definitely be swimming in curry after you dip into the curry bowl


The main focus is always the curry fish head; however, they serve a variety of other side dishes, from vegetables to prawns, sotong, chicken and beef.

Sotong in plum sauce (RM8.00)

This one had an average taste; although there was a distinct sourish sweet taste in the sauce.
The sotong were all rather bouncy; and I must say they didn't really clean the sotong properly though.

Stir-fried kailan with salted fish (RM7.00)

This one was slightly sourish too; and I find it a little distasteful after a few bites.


Overall, the bill came up to about RM50; and I find the prices here slightly more pricy compared to the other Malay food I have tried before.
Although I am not a fan of curry nor fish head, I don't particularly fancy this one either and it may not be the best as it is claimed.

One thing that struck me is how large their fish heads are; and we once jokingly said, they probably got their fish from their neighbour! =)