Laksa Me

Me or You?

Walking down the laneway for a spontaneous feed, it's tough to decide between Horoki and Laksa Me. But if you fancy something Spicy, then keep Horoki for another time.

For people who are used to Malaysian Hawker food in tatty suburban places, Laksa Me comes as something of a shock, being more contemporary in style. But the food is good and chef/owner Alan Woo has a more sophisticated angle on many hawker dishes. He certainly has what the Chinese call 'Wok Hei' or The breath of the wok, meaning that the food is very tasty.

The presentation is sophisticated and unlike the usual hawker food venues the food is staggered out dish by dish - western style - rather than coming all at once. We also had to let them know that we would be sharing dishes.

Prices also come higher than the suburban venues, but are cheaper than Chinta Ria and way cheaper than Gingerboy, who take this kind of thing up another notch.

Guilt-free laksa

Ok, fellow Malaysians and Malaysian food enthusiasts take note. No longer do we have to sacrifice our arteries to indulge in the sinful (or is it heavenly?) pleasures that our country's staple ingredient, coconut milk, bestows on our food. Katsudon has been known to be partial to coconut milk in EVERYTHING. Chendol, chicken curry, sago pudding, you name it, and of course, LAKSA. Imagine being told by your doctor that coconut milk is out of the question because, erm, your cholesterol is a bit high. It's a bit like telling a French person they can no longer eat cheese, or drink wine.

Laksa Me, perhaps in response to a generation about to suffer heart disease in their later years, serves up a "light" option of Laksa appropriately called a Vegetarian Skinny Laksa. The broth still smells delicious and aromatic, and is sufficiently creamy enough to excite the tastebuds, but Laksa Me promises that this is a "watered down" version of their laksa with much less coconut milk. Hey, I'll take their word for it.

For those of us without a cholesterol problem, you can go for the more creamy options of My mum's laksa (served with hor fun noodles and char siu, in Ipoh style), or the Laksa Lemak, which comes with seafood. They're big on noodles at Laksa Me, with Hokkien noodles served with a chicken curry, and a Burmese noodle dish on offer as well.

I was a bit disappointed that a Malaysian restaurant didn't serve my favourite FKT, and that the menu tended towards offering a crowd-pleasing smattering of Thai dishes like Pad Thai. However, the owners certainly know their laksas, and I was placated by the excellent selection of boutique beers on offer.

Now, if only some clever chef could come up with a skinny FKT...

Penang goes industrial. That's the vibe at the concrete bunker that is Allen Woo's new venture, Laksa Me (pun intended), newly opened today. It's an unlikely space for Malaysian/South East Asian cuisine - all exposed pipes, aubergine brick wall, chrome seats, red columns and a slate concrete floor streaked with paint spots and Chinese calligraphy. But the place has pedigree, run by the team who brought us the popular but defunct Ah Mu, and who are now making a welcome return to the CBD. Visit blog