ALI, MUTHU & AH HOCK

"Local hipster vibes abide"

I felt conflicted walking into Ali, Muthu & Ah Hock. Part of me wanted to immediately turn and run, but the promise of a luxurious bowl of Laksa steered my morals. I had struggled in finding the best curry laksa in Kuala Lumpur, but as providence rained down on me during Malaysia's national day, I found out that this old skool Kopitiam was near to my hotel. I rode the rays of devilish sunlight and stood waiting for a spare table to free up.

After some technical mishaps with the barcode ordering system, I confidently leaned back on my stool and pictured the process of assembly behind closed doors. Hopefully this Nyonya Laksa would rival or even trump the one at Limapulo.

The smell of success hit me as the bowl was lowered to my table, the spoonful of sambal precariously balanced on slivers of cucumber and tofu puffs. I beheld the promise of nourishment long enough to rattle off some photos, before mixing the sambal into the thick, creamy curry sauce and diving in.

It was a decadent, rich marriage of flavours. These are the types of Laksa bowls I enjoy. Crammed full of noodles, egg, tofu, fishballs, shrimp, fresh vegetables AND chicken. Everything played out like a perfect symphony bullying me to keep eating past my containment level. I sadly left a smidgen of broth at the bottom of the bowl, because by then the richness had caught up with me. However, of all the bowls I had ever eaten in Kuala Lumpur, this would be in the top 3.

My advice to you would be to ignore the hipster "nu skool-old skool" vibes and settle in for a dynamite bowl of Laksa. Rumour has it their Nasi Lemak and other dishes are also up to par. 

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.