Laksa King

Laksa King is doing something very right. On a hot Friday night staff are too busy to answer the phone, diners spill out onto the street, and there’s an hour-long wait for a table for two. One customer implores the waitress, “I’m going to wait outside, but please don’t forget me, OK?” His desperation for laksa is palpable.

In 2010 Laksa King moved to a larger premises and had a significant facelift. The result is a large, clean canteen with long communal tables, a small courtyard area with bamboo plants and a big illustration of noodles on the back wall. A tall blackboard menu lists all the Malaysian classics including eight kinds of their namesake dish.

For the record, Laksa King does a great version of this much-loved classic: the big, deep bowl has a rich broth, a good measure of coconut creaminess and a nice warm hit of chilli that won’t break your tastebuds. There’s a mix of hokkien and vermicelli noodles and a healthy amount of shredded chicken, prawns (two), fried tofu squares, fishcake, and one amazing squidgy piece of eggplant that has sucked up all the flavour of the broth. It’s all topped with shredded mint for added zing and fried shallots. Don’t wear white unless you want to wear the splashback.

Take a five-minute breather then cool down with an ice kachang dessert. It’s Malaysia’s answer to the slurpee – a mountain of shaved ice over grass jelly, crowned with bashed peanuts. Absolute bliss.