Finally checking out Laksa King, Flemington

Laksa King
6 – 12 Pin Oak Crescent (east side of Newmarket Station)
Flemington

Laksa King had long been on my wishlist – ever since a friend of mine used to live in Parkville and raved about it in its old location. Catching up with a friend a week after I arrived back from Vietnam, I had a need to break out of South Melbourne locations (mainly because I’d only been at home or at work the entire week, with perhaps a side trip to the supermarket) and she felt like Malaysian. The answer? Let’s try out Laksa King!

We arrived bang on a Saturday lunchtime and didn’t have to wait for a table. The decor of the restaurant is clean and modern, and I was pleased to see the place is licensed. We had a cheeky glass of wine each with our lunch – chardonnay for N, sauv blanc for me (don’t judge me – I’m not a huge fan of white wine and sauvignon blanc is so inoffensive that I tend to order it when I think a white would be better than red).

The menu looked really interesting and I’d like to come back to try some of the other dishes, but on this first visit, when the place is called Laksa King, we thought we’d better get the laksa! N, being vegetarian, went for the vegetarian curry laksa; and I chose combination curry laksa (prawns, eggplant, chicken, fishcake).

But first: an order of roti with satay for us to nibble on as entree.

I can never not order roti.

The roti was good, a bit greasy but then again I expect that in roti. The satay sauce was also very good. If I had to quibble a little bit I’d say that I’d like the roti a bit crispier around the edges.

Our laksas arrived, and my god were they big for sub $10 dishes! Here’s mine:

Combination curry laksa - looking good!

And here’s the vegie alternative:

If they say you eat with your eyes, how good does THAT look!

The laksas had both thick egg noodles and thin rice noodles in them. Personally I’d prefer one or the other. I’m not sure whether that’s authentic but I find in a soupy dish like this I prefer larger noodles as they’re easier to slurp up.

Here’s a shot showing all the goodies that were under the surface of the combination curry laksa:

I waddled out of the restaurant after ingesting all of this.

On the whole, we liked our laksas and I’d recommend giving them a go. However, we found that they were a little heavy on the coconut milk, tasting too creamy. They also lacked heat (probably to cater to the masses) – which we both felt could have been remedied by allowing us to add more chilli at the table but there were no condiments to be seen. We probably should have asked for some extra chilli. I’ve gotten used to the Vietnamese way where all condiments are at the table and you create the level of spiciness you desire! I’d head back to Laksa King any time to try some of their other dishes, and also check out the place next door (Chef Lagenda).

Speaking of Vietnam, we headed down to Little Saigon in Footscray afterwards to do some shopping for a huge Vietnamese lunch I’d offered to cook for ten people – but that’s a blog post for another day.

Advertisement