my dad comes from a tiny village called balik pulau in penang, malaysia. i mean village. toilets outside the huts and all that jazz. a purebred city girl, i used to hate going back because there wasn’t any internet, dad didn’t buy a tv for the house that we stayed at when we used to go back, the list goes on. but the one thing i did love about balik pulau was a small coffeeshop an aunt owned with the best bloody assam laksa i had ever and have ever eaten.
assam laksa is a spicy and sour fish-based soup served with shredded fish, laksa noodles, shredded cucumber, pineapple, onions, lettuce, mint, lemongrass and cut red chillis. it’s accompanied by a black shrimp paste that you add as little or as much of into the soup. i, the queen of accompaniments, add as much as they allow me to, and more if i can get away with it!
i haven’t been back to penang in a long while now and had no plans to head there in my most recent trip so i had to find a substitute assam laksa in KL. mark’s assam laksa in the 1 Utama shopping complex in petaling jaya is the best option in my area, although it’s no match for my aunty’s offering.
we normally also order a dessert to combat the spiciness, this time it was cendol (shaved ice with coconut milk, green flour noodles and palm sugar).
goodness i miss assam laksa!!
I too add as much shrimp paste as possible… the more smelly, the better