Curry laksa @ Restoran Asia, Seremban

Curry laksa is a popular coconut-based curry noodle soup from the Peranakan culture. Some of you may know it as curry mee, a very sought after hawker dish in Penang.

Seremban may seem an unlikely place for curry laksa, but there are 2 very famous shops here, opened by siblings; one in Jalan Rahang (the sister) and another one in Senawang (the brother). The main difference between the two shops is the soup, the one in Jalan Rahang uses less coconut milk. We usually frequent the one here in Jalan Rahang as it is closer to our home and I prefer the soup here. Some may argue that the Senawang branch is nicer as coconut milk makes the soup thicker and richer. I guess it all boils down to personal preference.

You can choose to have meehoon or thick yellow noodle or both. The ingredients in the soup are chicken, cockles, beansprouts, hard boiled egg and tofu puffs. However, you can request not to have cockles if you do not like them. To accompany the noodles is a spicy chilli paste, so good that customers have requested some to take home! So, the chilli paste are now sold here.

I love the spicy soup here, very flavoursome and the meehoon soaks up all the goodness and yumminess of the soup.

Excellent curry laksa

Also served in this shop are kaya toast, half-boiled egg and dry noodles with minced pork (for kiddies who cannot take spicy food).

The shop is almost always busy, sometimes a queue will form as people will wait for tables to clear. However, food and drinks service is very prompt.

Spotted here today: Local celebrity and Seremban boy, Hansen Lee.


Service: Efficient.

Price: RM3 (small), RM3.50(medium), RM3.80 (large)

Location: Restoran Asia, 364, Jalan Tok Ungku, 70100 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. (opposite Pejabat Pos Rahang and a few shops away from Kong Guan)

GPS coordinates: 2°42'8"N 101°57'14"E

Click here for location map.

Little Penang Kafe @ Mid Valley Megamall

An excellent and affordable place to have lunch in Mid Valley Megamall is Little Penang Kafe. As the restaurant name suggests, they serve Penang specialties here such as char koay teow, hokkien prawn mee, assam laksa and curry mee.

One of my favorites here is the Char Koay Teow (RM9.80). There is usually a 20 minute wait for this, but it is definitely worth the wait. A hot delicious plate of koay teow with cockles, king prawn (x2), eggs, chives, generous amount of crunchy beansprouts topped with shredded crabmeat. If you like more seafood in your char koay teow, then by all means order the Seafood Special (RM16.00). Personally, I think this is on par with the Lorong Selamat or Sister's version. Definitely not so oily and healthier as no lard is used.

Another favorite here is the Penang Hokkien Prawn Mee (RM9.80), a bowl of scrumptious mee and/or beehoon in a spicy prawn and chicken stock, topped with prawns, tender chicken strips, beansprouts, kangkung, half a boiled egg and fried onions. The soup is really flavoursome and thick. I always either have this or the char koay teow. The noodle dishes here at Little Penang are definitely tastier than the ones they do in Madam Kwan.

Fuji ordered the Chicken Nasi Lemak (RM9.80); rice cooked in coconut milk accompanied by chicken curry hantu, crunchy anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg, sambal and cucumbers. The chicken curry hantu is not too spicy and has a hint of sourness in the sauce (hot & sour). This dish is nice but the Nasi Bojari at Madam Kwan's is better.

So if you fancy noodles, then come to Little Penang Kafe, and if you want a rice dish, then do go to Madam Kwan's for the Nasi Bojari.

To finish off our meal, we ordered a Cendol (RM4.50) to share. Ice shavings with a generous topping of cendol, red beans and gula melaka. Definitely one of the best cendols I've had.

Service: Good.

Food: You may think that the food here is not comparable to the famous Penang version, but I have to say it's pretty damn good. Furthermore, you get to eat in a clean air-conditioned place.

Price: Affordable. RM9.80 for main courses. Set meals at RM13.50. RM40 for 3 persons.

Location: Little Penang Kafe, F001 & F100, 1st Floor, Mid Valley Megamall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.