Laksa King
Shop 3, 320 Racecourse Rd
Flemington 3031
(03) 9372 6383
Google map
Laksa King has been around for ages. I used to visit this place regularly when I was at Uni with my fellow Singaporean or Malaysian friends. This was the place to go if we wanted to get our Laksa fix and it was affordable. After more than a decade, the furnishings of this place remains the same. The old laminated wooden tables are still around. There are still queues on most nights. And this place still accepts cash only! 
Laksa King
Laksa king and waiting area
With the change in dynamics of the punters, the taste of the food has changed to adapt or accommodate. The broth has less heat and become sweeter and more coconut taste in recent years. Hence the change in colour from a orange red to a yellow orange broth. It still tastes good but it isn’t as authetic as I like it to be.
Curry laksa is a usual order for me. It comes with eggplant, sliced fish cake, shredded chicken pieces, fried tofu with a mixture of beehoon and yellow noodles. To make up for the lack of heat, I will always ask for sambal chilli. Do not get me wrong. I do not dislike it. It is still one of the better laksa around but for me, it has somehow lost some of its shine.
Curry laksa
Mister tried the Seafood crispy noodle. It came in this really old skool metal serving dish. Not seen this for awhile! I did not taste it but Mister said that it was lacking in sauce. And so it felt like eating cereal with little milk. He should have stuck with good old Lor Mee, Nasi Goreng or Nasi Lemak.
Seafood crispy noodle
I noticed that they have added cold desserts like ice kachang and since it was quite warm, I ordered one to share with Mister. It is shaved ice served with red beans, agar, chendol, grass jelly, atap seeds and drizzled with sugar syrup and condensed milk. The ones served in Singapore sometime comes with sweetened corn and has different coloured sugar syrup. It was a pleasant surprise to find atap seeds. Memories! Mum used to add atap seeds to vanilla ice cream. I wonder where I can find these here.
Ice kachang
It was quite warm in the restaurant. The ice melted very quickly!
Ice kachang goodies
The turnaround at this place is very fast. It is not a place to come for a date or to have a conversation as it can be really noisy and the tables are only elbow length from each other. We are making a point to come back here to try its dishes. Must remember not to just order laksa all the time.
What do you eat to cool yourself in summer?
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Here we have a Malaysian restaurant that always has a long queue outside. Their Laksa is a must to try!
Oh, yummy ice kachang goodies. Gonna to get there to order none.
So many malaysian restaurants in Melbourne. I have to make a trip just to visit them. One day, I hope.
May be not as authentic as the ones in Malaysia/Singapore but Laksa King is still the best we have got in Melbourne unless you have found a better curry laksa place?
I like laksa noodles, especially those with some cockles (i call them bloody clams) in it.
Not so sure about the fast turnaround…one of the guys in the waiting area has fallen asleep and the other one has read half a book!
To cool myself in summer I always keep a container of washed seedless grapes in the fridge so I can grab a handful whenever it takes my fancy.
Lots of great food. I want some ice kachang and laksa. There's nothing like food you grew up with.
Unfortunately, I agree with Wills…Laksa King is probably the best hawker style Laksa in Melbourne at the moment.
The unfortunate part is that I really would have expected to be able to find a better Laksa in Melbourne. One that is just that little bit more in the style you would expect from Singapore/Malaysia. The last decently authentic Laksa in Melbourne was "Ipoh" in Russell street CBD that closed down about 15 years ago (I am shedding a tear just thinking about it!!..and their Laksa had cockles TasteHongKong)
Laksa King is still great, but so is some variety and competition. Can anyone recommend a better hawker style (ie. laminex tables) Malaysian joint within the inner district of Melbourne?
@Christine – I need to find atap seeds here… quite a nostalgic feeling
@Ellie – You have to come and you are free to use my kitchen
@Willis – I thought the one at coconut house was pretty good. And I heard good things about Baba house but not tried it.
@TasteHongKong – Yes I love that too… even though it is advisable not to eat it…
@Conor – Considering the queue for tables and take away, I think they are really quick. And I am sure the no venitlation in the dining area helps getting customers out fast too
@Divina – I need to find more ice kachang places… expecting a hot summer
@Andrew – I guess it is hard to find but there is fierce competition for sure. Have you tried coconut house? No laminex table though but in the CBD. And ermm.. I do like the yong tau fu laksa at Grand BBQ. If we find a better laksa, we have to tell each other! Deal?
I LOVE laska. I remember eating it back in Adelaide in the 1990s (wow – they were a bit before their time!!!) at a couple of places along Rundle Street. You don't find it so much here in Toronto. You might have inspired me to make my own – I used to and it's pretty easy. My mouth is watering looking at that picture!
It's sad when an old favorite changes their food isn't it? But at least it didn't turn terrible, that's the worst.
I love Laksa & these pictures look good!
oh dear….more of my favourite food. My pursuit in learning to cook all that I miss just seems so torturously endless. I wish I can just go out to the shop and enjoy it right there
(
great food everything looks tasty, I never had Laska but this is something I would love to try sometime
The Laksa bowl looks so yummy. I wish we had Laksa King in Vancouver too! You're so lucky.
Ice kacang ….. over here we call it ABC, air batu campur. Remember having it in London 2 years ago in a restaurant called
'Kiasu'… sooo expensive, everything inside it was so artificial, the santan, cendol, and a lot of colouring.
@Mardi – Please do make some and share!
@Trix – It is still good but not as. I just need to make the paste and store it in the freezer and use it when I feel like a laksa
@Blackswan – It did taste good. Just a tad too sweet for me
@MaryMoh – NO laksa over there?
@Jessie – Has big flavours. I am sure you will like it.
@Cheap Appetite – No laksa in Vancouver? serious?
@Cheah – Air Batu Campur? muhahahaaa!!
I think I have the same feeling as you. Not long ago we revisited Laksa king too and you're right, its not "bad" its just not the same….which is a shame. Still pretty good value!
Poor penny, I understand what are you trying to say! Sometimes it wouldn't get enough when you want something that you're craving for so badly, and undable to get the exact satisfying original taste as expecting. Really spoil the day and the mood too!
@Maria – Good value I agree but not as it used to be.
@Kristy – It didn't spoil my mood. Just a pity that it is no longer the same. I guess they needed to adapt to a different tastebud.
Always looking for a good laksa when I'm too lazy to cook it myself, might give it a try. I cool myself by eating food that required very little cooking. have a look at my recent posts
I was sitting in this restaurant today, 09/02/10 at 17:45, which has an open kitchen and I witnessed a female kitchen worker drop 2 pieces of fried tofu on the floor. She then picked up the tofu with tongs and added them to a pre-prepared container of food. Shen also used these tongs to move other food around.
When I informed one of the wait staff of this she spoke to the lady and they came back to me and tried to tell me it was a cling wrapped piece of food I saw hit the floor. I said it was not what I saw, I was very angry and pointed out the container of food. They tried to pretend that they did not understand english and brush me off.
I left the restaurant and told the manager that I would never be eating there again (this is a restaurant I frequented a lot in the past).
Not impressed. Eat at your own risk!!
Oh Gosh! That is not good at all. It has been awhile since I've been there. Thanks for letting me and the rest know about this.
Hey nice blog, I recently gave the Laksa king a go after all I heard about it. It was pretty good but lacked heat as you mentioned. Also they are moving to a brand new place just around the corner so the old table that you mentioned are also gone. I love a good laksa and I've been putting my experiences together in the Ultimate laksa guide. http://www.squidoo.com/ultimate_laksa_guide have a peep when you get the chance. Cheers!
Paul Blazey recently posted..All New and Refreshed Laksa Guide