foo(d)manchoo say...: Let's talk food...Laksa King

Laksa King
6-12 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington

Let me just start by saying that the name of this restaurant says it all! This is my ultimate favourite Malaysian place in Melbourne and is one of the most popular places for its curry laksa. It started off as a humble dingy place next to a "Blockbuster" with dirty floors and a small number of tables. Since its renovation, it has now taken over the space of where "Blockbuster" used to be and expanded to a large open restaurant with a lively ambience and fresh new look with ample staff and shiny new surroundings.

This restaurant is reasonably well priced and doesn't have that crap staff issue that a lot of asian places have. The staff is made up of mainly young asian uni students, thus the IQ of the restaurant has a pretty high average...that being said, why aren't they home practicing the violin or piano?

There are usually a whole lot of asian people in this place so that is a definite plus! Just in case you don't know, this is how (we) asians know whether an asian restaurant is good or not...I'm going to call it the "white noise" balance (or imbalance as the case may be).

Roti canai with satay sauce (1)

Starters at Laksa King are a must. I've tried their Roti canai and Vietnamese spring rolls and both a delicious. The roti (flat bread) is soft and flaky accomapnied by a delicate satay sauce. After one bite with the sauce you'll begin to realise how moorish it all is and it'll soon disappear as your friends try to steal more than their fair share...so next time, leave them behind.

Vietnamese spring rolls (1)

The spring rolls come with the usual suspects of accessories, ie. lettuce, vietnamese mint and dipping sauce. Unfortunately, unlike my Thy Thy spring roll experience, the amount and size of lettuce is a little disappointing as too modestly cut portions can make eating the spring rolls seem a little stingy. They're still very tasty though even with this tiny gripe.

Laksa King offers a number of different curry laksa on their menu, 10 to be precise. With this amount of choice, pretty much every curry laksa taste has been catered for. I'm a simpleton when it comes to laksa, or just food in general, so I stick to the chicken curry laksa. It's extremely tasty and comes with eggplant, bean curd, fried shallots, chopped basil on a bed of rice vermicelli. The broth is rich, yet not overpowering and the spiciness of the curry will be suitable for most people. I like having extra heat in mine so I add sambal (Malaysian shrimp paste) to spice it up a bit.

Chicken curry laksa (1)

Beef with crispy noodles (1)

I have also been quite a fan of their combination crispy noodles over the years. There's always a terrific crunch to their fried egg noodles and the combination of vegetables to protein is very decent. I personally usually order the combination but only ask for beef and they're happy to oblige. As you'll see from the photo, the dish comes with protein, bok choy, carrots and mushrooms glazed with oyster sauce gravy.

This restaurant is one of the best places you'll ever come to in Melbourne, guaranteed. It's a cash only establishment, but don't worry, they've fixed that issue by placing an ATM in the restaurant itself. It's also generally busy during most of it's opening hours, especially dinner, so I recommend either get in early (especially if you're in a large group) or face what could be 15-20 minute wait...

...I'm sure bribing one of the (below minimum wage) waiters would fix that problem though.

(>_<)