Translate
11 December 2017
M.J. Gomez the Man Behind Fish Head Curry
The man behind fish head curry
M.J. Gomez with his wife Mariyamma, daughter Philomena and son John in a photograph taken in Singapore before the family returned to India in the 1960s.PHOTO: COURTESY OF DESMOND GOMEZ.
SINGAPORE: While many have savoured the fish head curry dish in food-obsessed Singapore, the man often credited with its creation has always been a bit of an enigma.
Just who was M.J. Gomez? And where did he disappear to?
The quest to hunt down Gomez started in 2010 but hit a roadblock soon after.
All that was known was that he had given up his business and returned to his native Kerala in the 1960s.
The trail soon led to Gomez's grandson Desmond, a dental surgeon working in Bahrain. His father, Dr John Gomez, was then working in Muscat, Oman.
It turned out that Gomez, on his return to India in the 1960s, had settled in my ancestral hometown, Kollam, and had lived there till he died in 1974.
Dr John Gomez shared his father's story in an interview in Kollam.
Marian Jacob Gomez, the eldest of seven children, started working at the age of 17, after his father died.
He came to Singapore from Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala, in the 1930s before returning to get married. After the birth of his first child, a daughter, he returned to Singapore, only to get caught here during the war.
When the war ended, Gomez went back and spent a few years in India. That was when his son John was born.
Gomez then came to Singapore again, and later brought his family over. They lived in Sophia Road, where he started his restaurant, Gomez Curry, which later moved to nearby Selegie Road.
Gomez, known for his spicy dishes, came up with an idea to make fish curry more appealing to Chinese customers.
"Fish head was not particularly an Indian delicacy. Understanding it to be a favourite with the Chinese, Gomez tried this dish to please his Chinese customers," says the National Library Board's Infopedia website.
It clicked, eventually leading to various versions of the dish and its iconic status today.
"Every morning my father would go to the market to buy fish," said Dr John Gomez. "He had a trusted trishaw man, known as KT. They would have a kopi-O together every day when they went to the market." It was also KT's routine to take the young John daily to St Michael's Primary School.
Dr John Gomez, now 70, said the late Lee Kuan Yew dropped by one day to taste his dad's fish head curry and his "face turned red after he had the spicy curry".
In 1964, Gomez left Singapore for good, returning to Kollam, where his sisters had settled.
The town is about 65km from Trivandrum. According to Dr John Gomez, before leaving, his father entrusted his restaurant to KT, the trishaw man; Rocky, the waiter in the restaurant; and Sebastian, the cook.
They ran it under the Gomez Curry name for some years, but eventually it closed down.
Dr John Gomez said his father did not start any other restaurant and simply led a quiet retired life in Kollam.
He died of a heart attack at the age of 67. Nine years later, his wife Mariyamma died. And not long after that, his daughter also died.
Dr John Gomez said that towards the end, his father was a bit disappointed the three people he had handed over his restaurant to did not get in touch with him later.
Gomez never knew that his dish would outlive them all and become a treasured part of Singapore heritage. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2017/12/10/the-man-behind-fish-head-curry/#3XDyeB5lL0ZcuFx8.99
Popular Posts - Last 7 days
-
Dua buah helikopter milik Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) dilaporkan terhempas ketika menjalani raptai di Kem Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysi...
-
Abdul Rahman lepas jawatan dalam CIMB Group, terajui semula PNB Bernama April 16, 2024 Abdul Rahman merupakan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpu...
-
Dua helikopter TLDM bertembung semasa Latihan Lintas Hormat Sambutan Hari Ulang Tahun TLDM Ke-90. Pesawat HOM (M503-3) yang membawa tujuh or...
-
PM Anwar tubuh Jawatankuasa Penasihat Dasar Kepada Perdana Menteri - PMO Bernama 22/04/2024 PM Anwar tubuh Jawatankuasa Penasihat Dasar Ke...
-
TOP 100 AIRPORTS https://www.worldairportawards.com/worlds-top-100-airports-2024/
-
70 PCT OF PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST CITY SOLD - EXCO 20/04/2024 KULAI, April 20 (Bernama) -- Seventy per cent of the property develop...
-
KL20 Summit 2024 to attract high-quality investments - PM Bernama 22/04/2024 PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the summit marks a comprehens...
-
The Royal addendum order from the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which would allow Datuk Seri Najib Razak to go under house arrest, does exi...
Popular Posts - Last 30 days
-
Saudi says application for 1444 H umrah visa opens from today Bernama Julai 14, 2022 The Ministry of Haj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has ann...
-
Kedah MB: ECK no longer part of Kulim airport project Bernama Julai 13, 2022 Muhammad Sanusi announced that the ECK Group of Companies (EC...
-
King presents appointment letters to four new envoys Bernama Julai 12, 2022 His Majesty presenting the letter of appointment to M'sian...
-
Wan Saiful confirms he is no longer PTPTN chairman Bernama Julai 12, 2022 Bersatu Information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan today confirm...
-
Following is BEST FBKL's selection of The Top Ramadan 2024 Buka Puasa Buffet's in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. We hope that y...
-
Naz Empire's defamation lawsuit against Awal Ashaari to go to trial as mediation fails Bernama Julai 12, 2022 The defamation lawsuit f...
-
Paris court grants Malaysia's application to suspend claims by purported heirs of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II Bernama Julai 13, 2022 Dr Wa...
-
‘Alas pintu’ dengan gambar Kaabah sebenarnya sejadah mini - AEON BiG April 13, 2024 Susulan penularan gambar yang mendakwa penjualan ‘alas ...
-
Seven million Malaysians yet to take booster dose against COVID-19 - PM Bernama Julai 11, 2022 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaako...
Blog Archive
-
►
2023
(3771)
- December (311)
- November (322)
- October (286)
- September (288)
- August (365)
- July (349)
- June (372)
- May (316)
- April (279)
- March (301)
- February (245)
- January (337)
-
►
2022
(4309)
- December (352)
- November (422)
- October (288)
- September (281)
- August (347)
- July (303)
- June (335)
- May (406)
- April (341)
- March (371)
- February (390)
- January (473)
-
►
2021
(9030)
- December (636)
- November (647)
- October (809)
- September (797)
- August (880)
- July (894)
- June (747)
- May (780)
- April (580)
- March (629)
- February (643)
- January (988)
-
►
2020
(6800)
- December (819)
- November (698)
- October (832)
- September (729)
- August (548)
- July (558)
- June (615)
- May (394)
- April (368)
- March (453)
- February (439)
- January (347)
-
►
2019
(4089)
- December (411)
- November (425)
- October (375)
- September (279)
- August (397)
- July (353)
- June (326)
- May (315)
- April (266)
- March (318)
- February (293)
- January (331)
-
►
2018
(4100)
- December (305)
- November (304)
- October (357)
- September (352)
- August (420)
- July (442)
- June (366)
- May (412)
- April (343)
- March (275)
- February (233)
- January (291)
-
▼
2017
(3888)
- December (268)
- November (293)
- October (352)
- September (309)
- August (356)
- July (300)
- June (319)
- May (354)
- April (316)
- March (335)
- February (306)
- January (380)
-
►
2016
(4563)
- December (331)
- November (328)
- October (378)
- September (415)
- August (404)
- July (380)
- June (310)
- May (370)
- April (430)
- March (484)
- February (355)
- January (378)
-
►
2015
(4588)
- December (402)
- November (392)
- October (393)
- September (375)
- August (450)
- July (392)
- June (456)
- May (407)
- April (408)
- March (374)
- February (262)
- January (277)