KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — When it comes to food, a little bit of adventure is needed to spice things up a little. Traditionally, assam laksa is often used to describe a spicy sour fish broth paired with smooth translucent rice noodles and pungent prawn paste. It’s garnished with poached fish, mint leaves, chopped chillies, onions, pineapples, cucumber and torch ginger flower or bunga kantan.
Nowadays, some places are reinterpreting that hawker classic into a fried version to fit adventurous eaters. Each stall has their own take on fried laksa. The straightforward interpretation sees the fried laksa as a direct translation of the tangy and spicy flavours from assam laksa albeit in a dry form. Hence you have identical garnishes such as cucumber, pineapples, bunga kantan, onions and mint leaves. Even the taste is to mimic the tangy flavours as the rice noodles are fried with the laksa paste. The only thing missing is the pungent prawn paste.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have places that use the smooth rice noodles, also called laksa noodles by some — and fry it with dark soy sauce.
Restoran Well Cook Gourmet, 74, Jalan SS14/2, Subang Jaya. Open: 12pm to 8.30pm. Closed on Monday.
This was most probably the place that put fried laksa on everyone’s horizon. Here the fried laksa has a slighty spicy yet appetising taste quite similar to assam laksa with the fragrance from chopped bunga kantan. It’s garnished with fresh mint leaves, chopped onions, cucumbers and pineapples. Squeeze the calamansi lime juice over the noodles for a tangy taste. Pair this with their popiah and three layered tea.
Hakka Marble Restaurant, No. 10, Jalan 34/154, Bukit Anggerik, Cheras, KL. Open: 2.30pm to 12am (Tuesday to Saturday), 2.30pm to 11.30pm (Sunday). Closed on Monday.
This restaurant specialises in all kinds of fried noodles and “abacus seeds” that they call “Hakka marbles.” From the open kitchen, you can hear the wok action as they fry up the noodles. Here the fried laksa is rather similar to the Well Cook Gourmet’s version. The difference is the laksa paste tends to be less strong-tasting. The garnishes like chopped pineapples, cucumbers and onions are slightly chilled and make for a nice contrast to the freshly fried noodles. You also get a poached prawn added to the mix.
Nine Chefs, GE11, Ground Floor, IOI City Mall, Lebuh IRC, IOI Resort City, Putrajaya. Open: 10am to 10pm (Monday to Thursday, Sunday), 10am to 11pm (Friday and Saturday)
Located in this cavernous mall, this place has the distinction of serving the most expensive fried laksa! The dish is a pretty one as it’s garnished with chopped onions, cucumbers, chillies and one fried prawn. A cut calamansi lime is also served on the side. The taste of the fried laksa is appetising with a mild spiciness. Our gripe is too much oil is used to fry the noodles as seen on the plate. Moreover, the rice noodles tend to clump together.
Humble Chef, Medan Setia 2, Plaza Damansara, Damansara Heights, KL. Open: 10.30am to 11pm. Closed on Sunday.
Popular for their wallet-friendly pasta dishes, this corner shop also serves fried laksa. With its dark hue, the fried laksa here looks nothing like the ones we have tried. This is thanks to dark soy sauce rather than laksa paste that gives it an appetising caramelised taste. There is also a hint of spiciness that brings up its deliciousness. You have a choice of prawns, chicken, lamb or beef. Ingredients are kept to minimal as only a handful of chopped green capsicum and minced meat is added.
BK Restaurant, 12-G, Jalan BK 5/12A, Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, Selangor. Open: 7am to 10pm. Closed on the first and third Tuesday of the month.
In this Chinese restaurant filled with all kinds of stalls like bak kut teh, chicken rice and char kway teow, look for the spaghetti and fried laksa stall. Similar to the version served at Humble Chef, the fried laksa here uses a dark soy sauce base. The difference is this version gets top marks as each strand of the slippery rice noodles is full of fire from the wok. It’s a little plain with shredded cabbage, carrots and minced chicken but the whole ensemble works due to the effort put into it. The stall also sells fried spaghetti or spaghetti served with tomato sauce.
