Laksa | Ziggy

Laksa is a local Peranakan, or straits Chinese, dish. It is a soup full of spicy goodness, main ingredients would be dried shrimps, curry paste and coconut milk, which gives it the rich and favourful body.

Served usually with thick rice noodles, fish cake shreds, cockerells and bean sprout, some would include pulled chicken or prawns. A lump of chilli paste would be added, some placed nicely on a spoon, some just dump it on the soup, up to the diner how much to stir into the soup. Powdered curry leaves would also be sprinkled on top to add flavour. The soup itself is usually not too spicy hot, even the chilli paste is more savoury than spicy, however, it does depend on individual stalls, and of course individual tolerence for spiciness!

A popular name in Singapore is the Katong Laksa, main feature of this laksa is that they cut their noodles short, and would provide only a spoon for us to manage, a tradition from the 1950's. Another road side stall at Sungei Road used to have this same tradition too.

To write this, I had taken up the challenge to eat laksa for consecutive days, and meals, going to all 3 “Katong laksas” (and another one I chanced upon) in 3 days. I love curry so it was not really a nasty challenge.😎

I can see why 328 is the most well-known. Excellent marketing, with corporate colours of orange that signifies the laksa. Well done and up to date web pages, corner shop lot, and a willingness to change, to include pulled chicken, clams; adding dim sum, for those with bigger stomachs to fill, or those with company who don’t want a bowl of laksa. The Original Katong Laksa (TOKL) has some dabbling into marketing and expansion, but they looked like they gave up halfway, one of their outlets does not even have opening hours on google… Katong Laksa (KL) by George, he simply relies on word of mouth and everyone’s love…😄😎

In terms of taste, I rate KL top, followed by TOKL, but I’d go to 328 if I want some laksa with chicken! And I’d bring friends and relatives from overseas to TOKL and tell then this is the original! Then tell them directly opposite is 328, and let them decide which they like, and sneak over to KL after dropping them off shopping…. 🤣🤣

As for the claim to Katong laksa, all 3 likely played their part. This is just my theory, actually, a hypothesis then, right? It all started with TOKL, then KL came about, they each sell their stuff at different locations but nearby, were both very popular within the area. Then 328 started to market itself strongly and became popular as a Singapore brand, that was when the phrase Katong Laksa became more prominent.

Summary: go to Katong Laksa for “the best”, go to TOKL for sentimental reasons, and go for the modern adaptive one at 328. They are all brilliant laksas anyway, just depends on individual taste and preference! 😎

Above are the 3 that can claim to be called "Katong Laksa"

Laksa

May 2023

Excellent laksa cooked over charcoal fire and served in a small bowl

I have waited about 20 years or so to finally taste this! Watched a programme back then about this road side stall along Sungei Road, or the thieves market, where hawkers used to set up road side stalls to sell 2nd hand items (some say stolen items). They were all not allowed on the streets anymore and this moved here.

Thinking it was more a marketing ploy that only a spoon is given to eat a bowl of laksa, I never thought this was any good, despite its popularity. Today I found out I was very wrong.

The laksa was excellent taste wise, full bodied in taste and texture, not spicy hot even if you swirl in all the chilli, it also provided a good amount of fish cake and cockles. All for just $4, it was quite a small bowl, unlikely to make anyone full even if it was very creamy, I can easily finish 2 bowls at one go, or maybe 3….

We could see that the laksa pot was heated over a charcoal burner, the delicious broth could well be owed to the slow cooking process, allowing the soup to retain the taste and full body goodness.

While the 3 Katong laksa’s vie for which is the original or which tastes better, this one no doubt takes the prize as being ahead of them, and it doesn’t need to fight for the branding, it’s from Sungei Road!

This stall has temporary railings like those you see in airports, which means that it might be crowded during peak hours (lunch time), I have been here twice at around 11am and almost everyone was first in line when they arrive, quite a good flow of customers though.

Sungei Road Laksa

27 Jalan Bersih, #01-100, s200027

930am – 4pm, closed on Wed

Katong

Laksa

Apr 2023

Sweet sweet laksa, favourite of many around the area

Katong laksa is the registered name, since 1980. Could this be the original katong laksa?

Moving over from just across the road, where the coffee shop was taken over and redeveloped, and where George, as all his fans know him, had been for almost 40 years. Before that, he had been hawking at Chai Chee and around this Changi/Telok Kurau area with his father. They’d push their cart from home at Eunos and sell their laksa here, was then invited to Chai Chee to support the industrialisation there in the 70’s. In the early 80’s, they moved back here and started using the name Katong Laksa ever since.

Yes, Katong Laksa had never stepped foot in Katong 🤣🤣. And yes, the signboard here says Eunos Bak Kut Teh, but this shop serves only laksa and Katong Laksa is the only business here, besides the drinks stall. Understand this has something to do with licensing.

In the early days, all my East Coast friends, and I had quite a few, would swear by this as their favourite laksa, came here with them and I could never disagree. You don’t disagree when most of them were of the greater gender.

George, as they all fondly called him, serves up a tasty treat. Creamy laksa that has a hint of sweetness that hits the right note, using rock sugar to smoothen the sweetness; not spicy at all even with the chilli added. Prawns, clams and some fish cake slices gives you some protein with this delicious soup.

In terms of taste, this Katong Laksa seems to have an upper edge, maybe the people I visit here with all have the same sweet tooth, birds of feather and all that. This is the preferred one amongst the Katong Laksa's, almost unanimous in agreement.

While having my laksa, I couldn’t help but notice that everyone that came here seems to know George; he reminds me of the sitcom, “Everybody Loves Raymond”. They’d chat a little with him, and bid their farewell when they leave. At a quieter moment, George came to say hi and we chatted a little. He couldn’t have remembered that I was here 2-3 times 6-7 years ago, right? Friendly George.

When I left, I too said goodbye and both he and George Junior (not his real name), happily returned their farewells. Everybody loves George….. including Ziggy.

Katong Laksa

307 Changi Road, s419785

8am – 3pm, closed on alternate Tues (Tel: 90237360)

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1657364244378321&paipv=0

Laksa

Apr 2023

Doctor certified to be the real “Katong Laksa”, green until you mix in the chilli subtly placed at the side

“Katong Laksa” has always drawn up debates on which is the original one. Reading their facebook post, and the good doctor’s review (https://ieatishootipost.sg/original-katong-laksa/), I buy the story that they are the original. Not so much the above but because my sister told me so…. 😄. Jokes aside, I do remember them vaguely, and always knew them to be the original, just very vaguely; but my memory is also tainted by another stall who holds the right to be named Katong Laksa, which all my beloved East Coast sisters (they are a group of 6-7 Katong girls, I am honoured to be sometimes known as their 8th) love instead of this one….

As per tradition from the good old days where the founder offered only a spoon as utensil, they serve their laksa with only a spoon. Disposable chopsticks are available for the less nifty.

Jagut

Laksa here was greenish yellow, with a huge dollop of chilli by the side. Tried the first few spoons without the chilli and the soup was creamy. Tasty and delicious enough, but just short of something. When the chilli was added, it came alive. More savoury than spicy, he chilli has to be added to spice up the laksa here! For those more sensitive to spice, and must try this original laksa, get a glass of water😅😅😅 It really wasn’t very spicy though.

Cockles, skinny pieces of fish cake and bean curd skins accompany the laksa. Cockles are small and I didn’t know they were there until I reached the bottom, and the other 2, nothing much to write about.

It was all in all an enjoyable bowl. Come here to have a nice feeling for the more sentimental ones.

This stall is in a small food court, or more accurately, a small coffee shop inside Roxy Square. Right next to the main entrance from East Coast Road, you won't miss it.

Jaggut Laksa @ Roxy Square (The Original Katong Laksa Since 1950s)

50 East Coast Road, Roxy Square 1, s428769; Daily 1030am – 430pm, Sat and Sun starts at 9am

133 New Bridge Road, #B1-49A, s059413; Daily 1030am – 730pm

311 Upper Paya Lebar Road, s534949; 10am – 9pm, closed on Tue

53 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #03-12 AMK Hub, s569933; Daily 10am – 900pm

1 Queensway, #01-59 Queensway Shopping Centre, s149053; Daily 11am – 9pm

https://www.facebook.com/janggutlaksa/about (tells their origin)

There were 3 types of laksa here, regular with shrimp, cockles and fish cake slices, with shredded chicken or with clams (lala). I am biased towards chicken in laksas, so my preference was for that. There used to be a wanton noodle stall at pasir panjang that also sold laksa during my university days, laksa with char siew was always my order, best!

The laksa soup here was quite spicy, milky, and delicious. The blend was wonderful. I find that the shredded chicken add bite and a nice meaty taste compared to shrimps and cockles. I guess we should pick our own poison here!

Laksa

Apr 2023

The most well-known of all Katong Laksas. Serves a brilliant pulled chicken laksa.

There are 3 Katong Laksas that can kind of lay claim to be THE Katong Laksa, this is the most-well known of the 3, with celebrities from faraway territories visiting. More on my 2 cents on this 3 corner battle at the end of this piece.

Laksa 328

I always feel that otaks go with laksa, bought what looked like a huge one here for $1.90. When I opened it up it was just “bigger than normal” 😡😆. It was not fantastic and I would probably save the $1.90 for the bus fare home next time….

Generally, I like the nice options here to have my laksa with chicken, wish they'd offered chicken meat instead of shreds, but no complaints as there was a generous portion of it. Clam lovers would like the idea of them having clams too. The laksa itself was pretty spicy, nice colour and delicious. Well rounded and nice.

51 East Coast Road, s428770; Daily 930am – 930pm

101 Thomson Road, #01-K1 United Square Shopping Centre, s307591; Daily 10am – 9pm

1 Queensway, #01-60 Queensway Shopping Centre, s149053; Daily 10am – 845pm

3 Gateway Drive, #B2-06 Westgate, s608532; Daily 10am – 9pm

https://www.328katonglaksa.sg/

Curry chicken rice/Laksa

May 2022

Nice tasty curry chicken served with rice or bread, provides different chicken parts instead of just wings! Marvellous laksa that probably tastes better than the more famous ones too....

This stall stands out to me as it looks interesting, has no fanfare, but there is a good flow of business without the fuss or long Qs.

GoodJolly

Gave it a try one day and I was very impressed. They served different parts of chicken, instead of the usual just wings, which I don’t quite like. Chicken pieces were not too big but it was a great treat to not just have chicken wings which is really boring.

The curry was very tasty and creamy, slightly on the spicy side. Very easy to like and definitely one of the nicer curry chickens around.

They serve a great bowl of laksa too, with equally tasty but slightly creamier laksa curry. You have a choice of laksa with prawns and cockles, or with pulled chicken. The laksa curry is not as spicy as the chicken curry, in fact, it is not spicy at all even if you add in all the chilli provided, but definitely creamier, and tastier.

I love my laksa with chicken, so I love this place a lot more than some other "more famous" ones, even if they also serve chicken with laksa (and much nearer home too), mainly because it's tastier here, and cheaper, and bigger in size.

As a bowl of laksa, it is quite a big bowl. Being greedy, I am very happy with the size here, but a friend of mine said that he might not choose to come here despite it being better taste wise, because it is too big a bowl for him, he eats like a princess....

The laksa here is comparable to the more famous ones at nearby Katong, in fact, I think it is the tastier than some of them....

Goody and Jolly Laksa

14 Haig Rd, #01-71, Singapore 430014

930am – 6pm, closed on Mon, Thu and Fri

ChugChing

Chilli Noodle, Prawn Noodle, Laksa

Jul 2021

Very nice chilli, goes very well with the prawn noodle and laksa

First, the opening hours stated at the stall says 2pm to 10pm, the hours indicated above is what I got when I asked the lady owner. We were there at 810pm and were one of the last customers. So I believe you should trust me. At your own risk….. 😜😜

Brought the boss here for dinner and when we walked past, both of us were attracted, but I had other places in mind, only to find those in mind were closed that evening, so we doubled back.

As I approached the second time, I saw someone come away with a beautiful bowl of prawn mee. The choice was obvious, and the boss, loyal as ever, stuck to the initial attraction of the laksa.

The soup that came with the prawn noodle was strangely bland yet tasty. I would describe it as tasteless but I kept going for more. There was this subtle umami there with a tinge of brilliant aftertaste.

The dried prawn mee, which I believe was also the chilli mee, tasted as brilliant as it looked. The chilli was not spicy but savoury (it is sold in sealed packets, the silver packs you see in front of the stall). Came with nice sized prawns and pork ribs. Prawns were crunchy, de-shelled and of a good size, the pork ribs were tender, meaty and tasty. The $5 bowl had 2 prawns and 3-4 rib pieces. You would have a choice of an array of noodles, including mee pok (Chinese fettuccine) or mee kia (Chinese spaghetti) on top of the usual yellow noodle and rice noodles (see bottom right of right photo above).

The laksa was a little bit on the gingery side, I love a laksa with skinny yellow noodles, they have this option here and that was enough for me to like it! A $4 bowl came with an egg, 2 crunchy prawns, and one piece of the delicious pork rib, plus some fish cakes and bean curd skin, it was a good deal. Not as lemak or creamy as I would have liked but it was a good offer. Do ask for the chilli with the laksa as it definitely will spice it up!

The chilli mix is the star attraction of this stall and it was wonderful. More like a sauce than “chilli” as it was not at all spicy but more savoury with a plethora of fragrances.

Started by the current owner's father in the 60’s as a street hawker along North Bridge Road just behind this food centre, they moved here since this place started. As the humble lady boss proudly proclaimed, their son will take over the reins soon, he is currently helping out at the stall. Long may this tradition continue!

Chung Cheng Chilli Mee Prawn Mee Laksa

505 Beach Road, #01-59 Golden Mile Food Centre, s199583

1100am – 8pm, closed on Thur

Min Ji

Laksa, Mee Rebus

Jul 2022

Probably the best mee rebus in town, and a wonderful bowl of laksa!

Mee rebus, a dish I never liked from the first time I tried it… unlove at first bite 😜. It had little to no meat, comes with yellow noodles (I prefer white), and the gravy seems like a combination of taste I detest. But, when I saw those on the table around Min Ji, they looked interesting. So try I did…

Same lack of ingredients, just half and egg and fried shallots (yes, just half an egg, that was all!)… but the gravy was quite groovy! 😎 With some great foresight, I added an otak which they sell at the stall to make up for the lack of anything, it was suitably appetising too. The mee rebus was a combination of great tastes unlike the usual, very appetising, caused burps after food. The taste was so appetising, I felt hungry after a burppp….

Good thing I bought the laksa here as well then 😎😎. A good bowl of creamy tasty curry. Cockles were small, there was half an egg and some bean curds.

The bean curds here were marvellous! It was delicious on its own, tastier than the usual beancurds. Soaked in the wonderful curry laksa, it became superlicious! The laksa was creamy and delicious. Mix in some of the chilli provided, which was not too spicy, you get a good old kick for your taste buds. Thoroughly enjoyable!

The mee rebus is quite decent, I'd recommend any rebus lovers to try this, but the laksa is something else and I'd bravely push this forward as a recommended laksa, especially if you're around the area!

Min Ji Laksa

29 Bendemeer Road, #01-31, s330029

730am – 3pm, closed on Tues and Wed