SUNGEI ROAD LAKSA

"I like my laksa less sweet than this, but everything else was on point."

I foolishly decided to walk, looking at the map and seeing it was only a 15 minute stroll from my hotel. Needless to say I underestimated the power of the Singaporean sun and arrived parched like a legionnaire dumped in the Algerian desert. The fan above did little to unsettle the thick air below. I joined the sizeable line and counted down from 100 in my head to distract my brain from fainting. 

Luckily two Japanese tourists joined the line behind me and we talked about Ramen and Okinawa until the time came to order. I chose my laksa and waited as the cook stood by a charcoal fire all morning tending to the soup. Ladles of coconut milk broth were placed in my bowl along with noodles, cockles, fish cake, sambal, some herbs and my money was released from my captivity.

It felt perverse to eat hot soup on a day like today, but we all have our kinks. I spooned in the first portion of broth and was caught slightly off-guard by how sweet it was. I quickly mixed in all the sambal which did improve it a bit, but still, this was too sweet for my liking.

The noodles were all cut so that the lazy of temperament didn't need to use chopsticks, something I was not a fan of. I love the feeling of holding the soup spoon in my left hand and chopsticks in my right and attacking the bowl from both flanks like well-trained soldiers. 

I finished the bowl in muted joy, deciding to take a cab to try Janggut Laksa straight away so that I could compare it with the taste of this one still on my palate. I said my farewells to the lovely Japanese ladies and headed out to find a cab and try not to die of sunstroke.

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.