Laksa King

This is a sponsored post.  See bottom of post for full disclosure.

I don't know what I've done.  I didn't blow my nose on a tablecloth.  I didn't leave a 5-cent tip.  Somehow, I've offended the restaurant gods, as my run of bad luck continues.  The curse's latest incarnation was at one of Gordon St's Indian joints, where a nothing-special entree segued to just-okay mains.  At least we enjoyed the naan - until, under the napkin lining the basket, we found an old chicken bone lurking.  I'm not making this up!!!

So I knew that when this blog post had a deadline, there was no time to go sailing into unchartered waters.  I needed something truly time tested.  Enter Laksa King.

If you don't already know the story, Laksa King used to be a tiny hole-in-the-wall joint in a dingy arcade.  They did a cracking laksa.  I have no idea what the rest of their food was like, and I don't think anyone else did either - you ordered the laksa and that was that.  A few years ago they moved around the corner and underwent a massive transformation, from tiny storefront to the big, glitzy shebang that it is now.

There was a lot of argy-bargy at the time about whether or not it had gone downhill, and I really can't comment, as I never went enough to perceive any noticeable difference.  Since then, though, it's become one of my favourite places for reliably delicious Malaysian food.

It is ALWAYS busy in here.  The above photo was taken on a Monday night.  I love eating in busy places - the rush, the buzz.  Laksa King have a lot of staff so service is never a problem.  (You do eventually get booted out if you sit and chat for an unreasonably long time after your meal, without buying any more food or drinks - I speak from experience!)

Loved this homemade tofu with mushrooms ($15.80).  The tofu was awesome - a big, wobbly serve, almost like a savoury pudding.  It was deliciously rich with an almost eggy taste - really not like the usual blandness folks associate with tofu.  And on top, loads of interesting mushrooms, from little clawlike clutches to nice meaty pieces of shiitake.

Well, with something so healthy, of course we had to have something OTT.  I know these wasabi prawns ($20.80) aren't very Malaysian but hoo boy, they were good!  The prawns were really big and bouncy with crunchy batter and sweet, only slightly hot wasabi mayo.  Given the quality of the crustaceans, it's good value, too.

Here's a few highlights from other Laksa King voyages.  This was a chef's special, and the second time I had it, it wasn't on the specials menu but I asked if they could make it.  It's scallops with veg and "volcanic salt" - big crystals of smoky, rich, black salt.  I love this dish.  Try asking and perhaps you shall receive!

This is what my kids usually share between three - prawn dumplings with egg noodles ($10.80).  The stock is tasty and if not MSG-free, then very low.  Lovely dumplings, few token bits of veg - perfect.

And yes, it's the old Baklover standby - salted fish and chicken fried rice ($11.20).  Don't order that stuff with peas, carrots and BBQ pork - give this a try.  You don't need anything else on the table, it's that good.

So if you feel like you're on a losing streak - restaurant-related or otherwise - head to the King.  I guarantee you'll come out feeling like a winner.



Laksa King
6-12 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington
Phone: 9372 6383

This is a sponsored post for the Australian Mushroom Growers' Association "Mushroom Mania" campaign.  In their own words: "Each July Australian Mushroom Growers run a foodservice campaign called Mushroom Mania. The campaign rolls out throughout Australia and encourages the community to eat out in July, to enjoy healthy mushroom meals."   I was paid a flat sum for my writing which did not include meal expenses. I was free to choose where to eat and the restaurant was not notified before nor after about this post.  Australian Mushroom Growers and Laksa King have not sought nor been given any editorial control of this post.

Hawker fare at MiHUB Cafe

As I tugged on my uggs, I was waiting for that call.  As the wind howled outside, I was waiting for that ding.  I had invited six fearless foodies to join me at an outdoor "hawker centre" on the windiest, most bone-chilling Friday night of the year.  It is a testament to everyone's total devotion to the tum that not a single person piked!

MiHUB in Werribee has been on my radar for some time but it was a tip from reader Sukie that pushed it to the front of the queue.  She wrote telling me of "an outdoor Malaysian hawker centre...  We went for the 1st time last night and thought I was back in Asia from that first whiff of the air. Satay skewers, nasi lemak, mee rebus, char kwe tiaw, little Malay cakes".

Now, if that does not make you excited - you need to check for a pulse!

So that's how I found myself tearing down the highway, dressed in so many clothes that Bryan called me a ketupat (wrapped rice cake thingy), which I think is Singaporean for "you look like the Michelin Man". :-P

According to the Star, Werribee's Migrant Hub was started by Walter Villagonzolo, a migrant from the Philippines.  Its front yard houses the MiHUB Cafe, a social enterprise for new migrants.  Since January the Malaysian community has been at the helm, offering hawker-style food at low, low prices.

The way it works is you nab a plastic table and then go and see what takes your fancy.  I had rallied Daniel and M, Bryan and Fatbee, and Jo and The Angmoh to stage a full-scale assault on the menu.  When we got there, we all ran around like schoolkids, squealing and pointing at everything.

I really liked the satay ($10) - chicken or lamb, with really good satay sauce.  The idea is that in between bites of juicy meat, you stab bits of cucumber and compressed rice cake with your skewer and swizzle them in the sauce.  Now, if only they could invent spoon-shaped cucumbers...

Lontong was awesome - a light, coconutty broth with hardboiled eggs, spongy tofu and more compressed rice cake.  It was lukewarm, which we felt might have been authentic given the usually tropical clime in Malaysia.  The temperature didn't translate as well to a windy night in Werribee, but the flavour was all there.

I LOVED the char kway teow, with proper smoky breath of the wok, really springy prawns and fantastic wide rice noodles.  It's cooked on a gas-powered wok right under the marquee.  And...only eight bucks!  This is the thing I'd go all the way back for.

Mee rebus was a new one for me, with a thick, sweet sauce and Hokkien-style noodles.  I found the sauce too sweet but Daniel reported that's how it's meant to be.

Quite liked this curry with roti jala.  I've also had these lacy pancakes at Chilli Padi in Flemington 100 years ago, where I liked them better - I found MiHUB's a bit plain, with no crispy bits.

Otak otak or spiced fish mousse in banana leaf were pretty good (three for $5).  You unroll them and eat the little sausage-like delight inside.

As this bowl of laksa was passed around, anyone looking above shoulder height only would have thought it was a competition about who can do the best grimace.  It was very peculiar, tasting strongly of curry powder rather than the classic laksa paste-y flavours of fresh lemongrass and chilli.  Give this one a miss and try something more exotic!

The murtabak got a big tick from me.  This is essentially a stuffed roti, panfried on both sides to get nice and crispy.  Most times I've had it, it was just a bit nothing, but this was spicy, warm and delicious.  (I can't recall the filling but I think it was lamb and spicy potato.)  Oh and re the prices, I didn't write any down (too hard when trying to stuff food in mouth at top speed), but most things are eight dollars.  YES.  EIGHT DOLLARS.

Teh tarik was the perfect thing to warm up our claw-like fingers...

...and although it didn't have that super-authentic teh tarik tannic taste, it was hot, frothy and good.  (The bubbles come from the milky tea being poured from jug to jug from a great height, aerating it.)

Finally, we raided the dessert selection.  A lot of these sweets suffered from being served in the frigid conditions - they would have been a lot softer and more delicate in 30-degree heat, rather than 10.  The best was the yellow fellow in the middle, which had a layer of durian-flavoured custard over some kind of sticky rice.

Super-sleuth reader Sukie reported that the best times to go are Friday night and Sunday brunch.  (Maybe do proceed with caution though in terms of Sundays for the rest of Ramadan, as many observant Muslims will be fasting during daylight hours, so the cafe's hours or offerings could be limited.  Just me speculating but it might save you a fruitless trip!  Give them a call on the number below perhaps to check.)  Do get in quick as there's no telling when the space will rotate to another community group.

In the end, the wind got so fierce we had to leave, so worried we were that our marquee was about to take off Wizard of Oz-style and whisk us away to Penang.

Actually, now that I think about it - and the problem with that was...?



PS:  You can also check out Bryan's wrap of the night right here!

MiHUB Cafe
12 Synnot Street, Werribee
Phone: 9731 7877

Roti Road

"May the road rise up to meet you," goes the old Irish blessing to the weary traveller.  The road I have in mind, though, isn't going to get a chance to "rise up" to meet anybody - it's about to get hit with a stampede.

Roti Road is a brand-new Malaysian-Chinese restaurant that has just opened in Footscray on the site of the old Yummie. It's had an epic makeover, complete with glossy wood, red banquettes and green-leaved potted plants dotted throughout. 

We were wandering by, perfectly content with our dinner plans at an old favourite, when we saw that it was open for business.  Wild horses etc etc.  Thus you'll have to forgive the quality of the camera phone photos on this instance - I was a bit underprepared!

House-made roti with three dipping sauces of sorts (sweet and almost smoky chicken curry sauce, a lovely dal, and jammy sambal).  This roti is unreal.  The whole plate is $5.90 (YES) and you can add a very excellent chunky lamb (or beef, or chicken) curry for an extra $4.  This roti rivals Mamak - seriously, you have to try it.

Just some good old salt-and-pepper squid in a noodle basket.  This was done well.

These chicken dumplings looked gorgeous on the menu (indeed, most things do - they're beautifully photographed) but I found them a bit lacking in flavour and juice.  A bit of soy and vinegar, though, and Bob's your uncle.  The little "webs" aren't attached to the bases but are separate, which is unusual.

We were busy gorging ourselves when suddenly, an upbeat dance track came on and the stereo got turned up.  We peered about, wondering what was going on, but the staff were all looking at the floor with knowing smiles.  Suddenly, out of the kitchen bounded a chef, twirling and flipping a tissue-thin sheet of roti pastry like pizza!

He popped and locked his way through the whole track, all the while spinning his roti in the air, while the patrons whooped and cheered.  It was so unexpected and so joyful.  Apparently this happens every evening!

Can you find the roti?

One half of Roti Road is David Tran, who is the son of Yummie head honchos John and Annie Tran.  Devotees of their dumplings can rest easy that yum cha is still on offer daily until 3pm.  I had a quick chat to David after our meal and he confirmed that their head chef is Malaysian, and everything is made here from scratch, from the roti to the laksa paste.

Speaking of which, here's what you have to look forward to!

David shouted us this Matterhorn of a dessert - roti with condensed milk and icecream.  Completely OTT fun.

Roti Road is officially opening today, Friday 2 May.  I love the decor, which feels smart but not slick.  The food is really good and I can't wait to try more.  The toilets need some TLC but I believe that was meant to be happening over the last few days, plus some more artwork going on the walls.  Oh, and it's BYO for now but a licence is in the works.

No need to divert to Flemington, Footscrazies - when it comes to Malaysian food, we can go our own way now!

Roti Road (Facebook)

189-193 Barkly Street, Footscray

Phone:  9078 8878

Chef Lagenda

I don't know about you, but often when I enter a Malaysian restaurant, the first thing that comes to mind is bingo.  See, you walk in and everybody is just head down, eyes on the prize (be it that slippery last prawn in the laksa or that elusive "legs eleven").  When you finally surface, it may be with a big contented sigh, not a shout of "bingo!" - but the buzz afterwards is just as good.

At least that's what we were chasing when we popped into Chef Lagenda for a quick and tasty lunch.  This skinny-fronted restaurant is neighbours with Laksa King, probably Melbourne's most famous Malaysian restaurant.  There's a lot of mythology about the relationship between the two, with stories about chefs or staff decamping between the two, but let's just say Flemington is spoilt when it comes to Malaysian options.

It's a funny, slightly poky setup inside - almost like a skinny Victorian has had all its walls pulled out and been converted into a restaurant.  From memory there's a semi-enclosed courtyard upstairs.

Warm, slightly astringent Chinese tea comes standard.  Lagenda's got a mammoth menu, but if you want something really authentic, skip the chicken and cashews and flip to the stir-fried noodle and noodle soup sections for hawker classics.

Fried noodles with egg sauce, $11.20

This is one of my favourite Malaysian dishes.  It's usually called "wat tan hor".  Wide flat rice noodles are tossed with a little soy in a searing wok, given them a special smoky taste.  Next, rather peculiarly, they're completely covered with a very thick, starchy gravy mixed with beaten egg in which hovers prawns, fish cake, a few bits of veg, maybe some chicken and other good things.  I'll be the first to admit it looks like a dog's breakfast, but the taste is hot diggity dog.  The secret is getting the noodles infused with LOTS of smoky "wok hei" (the special hot work taste), otherwise it all just tastes gluggy and awful.  Maybe a touch more wok hei in Lagenda's version wouldn't have gone astray, and some of the egg pieces were a bit chunky, but it was a pretty good rendition nonetheless.

Sambal kangkung, $14.50

This sambal kangkung was disappointing, though.  Maybe it's a seasonal thing but the kangkung (a spinach-like aquatic vegetable) was slightly tough and woody.  The sambal was a bit flat in flavour, rather than being its usual slightly sweet and hot self.  Oh well.

I've had quite a few really good meals at Lagenda.  Their laksa is delicious, as is their salted fish and chicken fried rice, and I've had a good smoky char kway teow there too.  Next time you're lining up to pay your respects to the King, consider giving Lagenda a shot instead.

Chef Lagenda

16 Pin Oak Cr, Flemington (9376 2668)

Second store at Shop 9/10, 835A Ballarat Rd, Deer Park (8358 5389)

Melbourne's best roti at Mamak

Queues.  With the rise of internet banking and self-checkout at the supermarket, they're slowly becoming a thing of the past.  As a teenager, I remember sitting on the pavement outside the Arts Centre quite literally all night in the queue to get Grand Final tickets, legs wrapped up in a tartan blankie and sipping on a thermos of hot chocolate, chatting with excited fellow footy fans all around.  I'm sure these days it's all done by some extremely efficient and boring electronic ballot process.

But queues are making a comeback at Melbourne's hottest restaurants, and new Malaysian eatery Mamak is no exception.  As Nina Rousseau wrote in Epicure last week, this Sydney export is already winning hearts and tummies left, right and centre.

If you have to wait, you will get some street theatre of sorts to whet your appetite - Mamak specialise in roti, made from scratch and expertly stretched until almost translucent.  On a Monday night, we only had to wait five minutes for a table of six, so it's definitely worth trying your luck.

It's functional inside but still pleasant.  The "mamak" in Malaysia are Indian by ethnicity and often Muslim by religion, their forebears having been brought to Malaysia from southern Indian by the British (who colonised both India and modern-day Malaysia).  Now, mamak street stalls are popular across Malaysia and Singapore, specialising in roti, satay, mi goreng noodles and more.  See Bryan's delicious post about "roti prata" in Singapore.  (My secret:  Sometimes if I am having a bad day, I find this post and look at the roti man's face.  There is something about him that is so purely, simply happy.)

I love Mamak Melbourne's tiny, specialised menu.  If you're looking for laksa, you're in the wrong place.  Mamak knows where its strengths are and knows how to work them.

Chicken/beef satay, one dozen for $16

Fantastic satays!  Bite sized morsels of tender chicken and beef, threaded onto long, dainty skewers and with the most delicious satay sauce for dipping.  Seriously, I could have eaten this with a spoon by itself.  I'll guess that it featured lemongrass, ginger and tamarind, with nary a spoonful of commercial peanut butter in sight.  Awesome.

Roti canai, $5.50

If some roti is like puff pastry, this was like filo - almost impossibly thin, elastic dough cooked on a hot grill and gently curled on a silver tray.  I could happily eat it on its own, but it comes with a traditionally thin lentil dal speckled with nigella seeds, a creamy curry gravy, and a dot of dried anchovy-rich, full-flavoured chilli sambal.

WE HATED IT.


Teh tarik, $3.50

This is tea sweetened with condensed milk and "aerated" by pouring in long streams between two mugs.  I liked this, which might mean it's not authentic - it's supposed to have a very bitter, tannic edge that doesn't appeal to me.  Bryan is kinder than me - when I described it to him, he said, "Maybe it's gently authentic".  :-)

Roti telur bawang, $7

I didn't mind this roti filled with egg and sweet onion, but really, I'd be more than happy to stick to the original, feather-light version.

Kari ayam, $16

Next up were curries - first a fantastic, full-flavoured chicken curry with whole cloves bobbing in the rich, thick sauce and big, tender taters.  The chicken is on the bone, so if you're having a bit of a bone wuss moment, you might not fully appreciate it.

Kangkung belacan, $14

This is kangkung, also known as morning glory, water convolvulus and other less rude other names.  When eating Vietnamese, next time you want a vegie, don't get the Chinese broccoli and oyster sauce - try one of the kangkung options, maybe with just garlic or my favourite, "stinky" preserved tofu.  This version was cooked well but the belachan or fermented shrimp paste was almost imperceptible.  As my dad put it - "Not enough old underpants".

Sambal sotong, $17

"It's very hot," warned the edible young waiter.  "Yes, we love hot," we replied.  Fresh leaves of squid came luxuriating in thick, jammy sambal.  Sambal is a chilli-based sauce that can be anything from just pounded fresh chillies with a little lime to an intense blend of shrimp paste, sugar and citrus.  While at first bite the sotong tasted sweet and tangy, the addictive chilli rush crept up slowly afterwards.  Delicious.

Much rice for soaking up all the sauces...

...and salad to cool the burn.  While the ingredients were good and fresh (cucumber, fried tofu and jicama) , I wasn't a huge fan of this rojak - the dressing was very sweet and somewhat one dimensional.  I'm not very familiar with Malaysian-style rojak though so this could be authentic.

Lamb murtabak, $11.50

Bringing up the rear, our murtabak or stuffed roti finally arrived (it does say to allow extra time).  Filled with small pieces of lamb and onion, I found it unexciting compared to the unbearable lightness of the plain roti and the flavour acrobatics of the chicken curry and sambal sotong.

So get thee to Mamak!  There's a grocery across the road that sells Japanese beer and super kawaii individual glasses of choya, Japanese plum wine.  BYO is a mere $2 per head.  Service is efficient but friendly - one waitress even speaks Auslan!



Mamak
366 Lonsdale Street, City
Phone:  9670 3137
Hours:  Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30-10pm


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