For many foreigners the dish might be strange, the least to say. But it is as a matter of fact not that un-European, see the Marseille bouillabaisse (France), where also fish head can be added.
Actually I learned to eat the dish in China. It comes generally speaking in two varieties: the hot and spicy one (e.g. Hunan) or the one here, in a sticky brown sauce.
Normally noodles or pieces of pancakes are added to take up the sauce. The meat of the (large) fish heads is delicious and the bones are rather large, so less tricky to eat than normal Chinese fish, a challenging experience with the millions of annoying bones – not my favorite.
See here the fish head from the restaurant Wang Shun Ge in Fortune Plaza 3rd floor in CBD. This one is the “brown sauce type”. There was also a special soup that takes hours to boil.
Problem is, I always eat too much… Too tempting…