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328 Katong Laksa
Photograph: Ahmad Iskandar Photography

Makan Spotlight: Laksa

A Peranakan noodle dish that's creamy, spicy and super addictive

Cheryl Sekkappan
Written by
Cheryl Sekkappan
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Laksa is an icon of Peranakan cuisine, popular in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia. Reflecting the Malay and Chinese influences in Peranakan culture, the dish is an ingenious blend of Malay rempah (spice paste) and Chinese noodles, made creamy, fragrant and addictive by coconut milk, laksa leaves, sambal and a variety of toppings.

Debates about the origins of laksa continue to rage, but that might be moot considering that there are as many versions of the dish as there are cities in Southeast Asia. In Singapore, the curry-based Katong laksa is king. Its popularity is often credited to brothers Ng Juat Swee and Ng Chwee Seng, who started hawking the noodles along East Coast Road in 1963. It even sparked a famous feud when rivals popped up in the area claiming to be the original Katong laksa.

The dust has settled and the laksa wars are over, with the dish remaining a staple in Singaporean cuisine. To help sate your appetite, here are some of the must-try laksa stalls in the country, plus some regional alternatives to pique your interest. 

RECOMMENDED: Makan Spotlight: Rojak and Makan Spotlight: Kueh

Best places for laksa in Singapore

  • Restaurants
  • Rochor

With only one thing on the menu, this humble eatery still rakes in long queues every day. Sungei Road Laksa is one of the few stalls that still cooks its gravy over charcoal. The result is a light and mildly spicy soup, but you can choose to turn up the heat with some sambal. A bowl comes topped with fishcake and plump cockles and costs only $3 – which is great because you'll want more. 

  • Restaurants
  • Singaporean
  • Marine Parade

Believe it or not, Janggut Laksa is also dubbed the 'Original Katong Laksa', supposedly started by a man called Janggut who originally sold laksa along the street in Joo Chiat. But we'll let the food speak for itself – the gravy here is extra lemak, for those who love it that much creamier and coconut-y. The noodles are cut short (apparently a trend started by Janggut himself), so you get a balanced spoonful of noodles, shrimp, sambal and fragrant gravy with every scoop. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Marine Parade

Whether 328 Katong Laksa has become too commercialised is up for debate, but there's no denying that it serves up a mean bowl of laksa. Step into the branch at East Coast Road and one will see the evidence on the walls – multiple newspaper clippings and visiting celebrities from around the world. 328's laksa ($5.35-$7.50) itself has a thick and coconut-y broth, topped with thinly sliced fishcake, prawns, beansprouts and cockles. Don't forget to order a slice of otah ($1.40) to accompany the dish. 

Not-so-Nyonya laksa

  • Restaurants
  • Hawker
  • Toa Payoh

Kelaté is a hawker stall helmed by Malaysia-based actress Sasqia Dahuri that's dedicated to Kelantan cuisine. There are only three dishes on the menu, and you won't find the usual bowl of engine-red broth here. Instead, you'll get an unassuming plate of white gravy poured over white flat rice noodles – called laksam (from $4.90). But what it lacks in colour it makes up for with flavour. The fish-based coconut gravy is creamy and deeply savoury, with a bright and spicy edge thanks to the torch ginger flower and sambal. It's a unique, yet strangely comforting, version of the familiar curry-based laksa. 

Let's Jiak!
Photograph: @letsjiaklaksa/Instagram

Let's Jiak!

You won't miss the gravy in the bowl of dry laksa from Let's Jiak!. For founders Ryna Tan-Jalil and Carlos Choon, it started as a popular potluck dish that blossomed into a lifeline during the COVID-19 circuit breaker period. They've since sold more than a thousand bowls out of their home, with many drooling over the fragrant rempah (spice blend) and hae bee (dried shrimps). One bowl of their signature dry laksa costs $9.50, with options for self-pickup or $10 islandwide delivery. Order yours from @letsjiaklaksa

 

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  • Restaurants
  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

For those who like their food sour, Penang assam laksa is preferable. Sate your appetite for it at Super Star Original Famous Penang Laksa. Fans rave about its authenticity – apparently the laksa is as good as any you'll get from its place of origin. The soup is said to be rich with the sweetness of ikan kembung (chub mackerel) to balance out the sour and spicy notes, and comes topped with large, fresh and juicy cockles, which makes the slightly pricey $6.50 price tag worth it.

  • Restaurants
  • Indonesian
  • Bedok

Try out laksa Siglap at Lemaq before this dish is lost to history. Said to have originated in a coastal village called Kampong Siglap, laksa Siglap is a completely different breed from the ubiquitous Nyonya and Singaporean laksa. Where the latter is creamy and sweet, the former is nutty, sour and pungent thanks to a fish-based broth, toasted coconut shreds and a lemongrass-forward rempah. The dish is completed by laksa cap, a thick and chewy noodle made from tapioca starch and rice flour.

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