WE headed off early to Sabah Keratang, a seafood restaurant in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, for a taste of its giant grouper, or “loong tun”, as it is called in Chinese.

Here we encountered the fish cooked in various styles: in a Penang asam curry, sliced and fried in salt and pepper, and steamed.

The restaurant is named after the giant grouper cultured in Sabah, a cross-breed of the native giant grouper and tiger grouper.

It’s raised in the pristine waters at Darvel Bay, along the east coast of Sabah, feeding on small fishes like sardines, and crabs. They are only harvested in three years, when they have grown to 7kg or two feet in length.

The giant grouper is known for its thick, gelatinous skin that is rich in collagen, so we all know the healthy benefits derived from this. For me, the Penang asam curry strikes a good balance with the fish.

The hot and sour curry, fragrant with bunga kantan and lemongrass is a winning match for the lush, sweet fish with a springy bite. There’s also lots of chew in the skin which I enjoy with the curry which also has eggplant and ladies’ fingers in it.

We also liked the salt and pepper fish slices that had been deep fried first, then finished with chilli, salt and pepper, chopped peppers, fried shallots and spring onions.

It’s a cooking style that showcases the freshness of the fish – that it needs nothing more than some simple flavouring. But of course, it has to be done right, and it was here.

The crispy skin of the fish stood out, with a sticky, gelatinous layer beneath touching the sweet meat.

We also had the premium steamed fish head giant grouper. Again, the fish demands some skilful steaming to bring out its freshness.

The rich, white meat of the fish, topped with lots of fried garlic, chilli and spring onions, tasted good in the sauce.

Our protein-rich lunch of giant grouper was accompanied by fried bitter gourd with salted egg, fried squid with salted fish, seafood taufu and sweet potato leaves fried with sambal belacan.

The fried squid with salted fish was an unusual combination but so delicious. The squid had a sprinkling of fried mui heong salted fish clinging to it.

Outstanding too was the fried bitter gourd with salted egg and you could tell that commercial salted egg powder was not part of the deal.

I was not that fond of the seafood taufu served with a dollop of mayonnaise but the sweet potato leaves with belacan were perfectly fried.

The giant grouper was reasonably priced – RM39 for a small portion and RM70 for a big one. Altogether the six of us paid only RM40 each for our lunch.

You can also have the grouper in a soup with salted vegetables or stewed in a claypot. The salt and pepper fish slices were RM45.

It has one-dish meals on its menu too, such as the Sabah asam fish head noodles (with fillets, RM19.90), giant grouper fried rice (RM17.90), classic fish head noodles (mixed parts, RM16.90) and special Keratang noodles with grouper and prawns (RM17.90).

It’s no wonder it’s hard to get a table at lunch time. It opens at 11am.

Sabah Keratang is a pork-free restaurant. It’s located at Block A, 8 Jalan PJU 1a/2a, Dataran Ara Damansara. Call 019-809 6373, for reservations. – April 30, 2022.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.