Laksa Me, second time around
Phone 03 9639 9885
We shared the entree of vegetarian triangles, pan-fried white pastry parcels stuffed with daikon, chives, yam beans, chilli and spices. They sat on a pile of pink pickled cabbage and were drizzled with caramalised dark soy, making them lip smackingly good. Anna confessed she’d be happy to chow down on a plate of these for lunch.
But we were here for more than nibbles. I needed laksa (again), so I went with the laksa lemak ($10). More brothy and coconutty than My Mum’s laksa from our first visit, this version was chockers with slices of poached chicken breast, deep fried crunchy tofu puffs, fish cake, fish dumplings, prawns and half a hard boiled egg. Shredded cucumber, mint leaves and spring onion added fragrance and freshness, and a generous scoop of nutty sambal waited to be stirred into the broth in which fine rice vermicelli and bean shoots soaked up the flavoursome goodness. This is tissue and bib food - tissue to blow the nose (from the chilli), and bib to protect one’s clothing from slurping the noodles.
Anna went the Vegetarian Skinny Laksa ($9), which from both the looks and the taste, wasn’t that skinny (check out the slick of oil on top!). But despite that lil’ quirk, it was damn tasty and packed full of amazing enoki and oyster mushrooms (the fresh kind), and crisp tofu puffs. It did veer from the menu description as she could not find the baby spinach or the deep fried eggplant, but it was still kick-in-the-pants tasty.
The place was a little busier than on our first visit, and I’m sure it will only get busier now that Mr.Lethlean has written about it. It will be interesting to see how it develops - but as long as they continue to provide a imaginative, flavoursome and fresh food for a great price, they’ll do just fine.
Written by mellie on
May 29th, 2007 | Tags: Asian, cafes, Malaysian, restaurants | Category: Uncategorized
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June 3rd, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Mmmmm, I’m tempted to take Anna’s advice and visit for a lunch of pastry triangles. I suppose a vego laksa on the side wouldn’t hurt….
June 4th, 2007 at 12:44 am
Drool…. that’s it, I’m going to Laksa Me this week! Absolutely brilliant photos there mellie…
June 4th, 2007 at 11:45 am
I’m waiting to try out the assam laksa. Hopefully it’s good…and hopefully I can find the time too!
lol @ cindy & mutemonkey, let’s all meetup and order (just about) everything in the menu…;P
mellie, ur fotos are fantastic. Looks way better than the ones epicure @ the age has.
June 5th, 2007 at 4:00 am
Hi there Cindy - the mushrooms in the vego laksa are worth it alone. I know, because funnily enough Anna doesn’t like mushrooms, so I got to eat all hers
Hey mutemonkey - I think you’ll really love the food, as it’s right up there on the taste front. He’s doing some wonderfully good stuff over there. And thanks for the compliment.
Hi moodie foodie - I haven’t tried the assam either, but may go next week to do so. Yes, I will confess I’m trying to work my way through the lunch menu
And thank you for the compliment too - ahh, now THAT would be my dream job! I’d happily trail Mr.Lethlean or Mr.Preston on their foodie jaunts to capture their experience on camera (..as long as I got to eat too!)!
June 5th, 2007 at 4:42 am
Mellie, Yr pics looks great. Do you touch up the dishs before taking the photo? I recall my Laksa Lemak looking THAT good.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:26 am
Hey cherrie pie - the extent of my touching up is basically just turning the plate to get a better angle
I generally don’t play around with the food.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:07 am
oo..v nice photos. I must go to Laksa me soon!
san
June 5th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Hehe, the verdict is in, you take kick-ass food fotos.
That vege laksa was so incredibly good, it defied belief. Just bliss. Hm, must remember to go there again when the weather is chilly and damp… such a shame we’re heading into a Melbourne winter, where on earth will I find chilly, damp weather….
June 5th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Hi ironeaters - put it on your list
I’m sure you’ll approve.
Heya anna - thanks, but I just take what I see. Kudos to the chef who does all the food styling beforehand
Now hmm…I don’t know when we’re going to get another chilly, damp day. How bout tomorrow? 
June 17th, 2007 at 2:49 am
I have no idea why, but I couldn’t find this place yesterday! I only saw gingerboy & little malaysia. So disappointed I couldn’t get the cahnce to try it
June 18th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Oooh moodie foodie - you were so close! It is seriously like 20 metres away from Little Malaysia. It’s on the same side but more towards Bourke Street than Little Bourke. It doesn’t really have any signage, and from the street looks more like an office. It’s directly across from Horoki. Hope you find it next time!
July 1st, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Hi Mel and EG. Saw your post when I was overseas, and the pics has us all salivating.. We hit laksa me as soon as we came back. Found the Mum’s laksa to be nice and spicy but the kway teow absorbed a bit too much curry. Will definitely try the laksa lemak next.
Moodie Foodie.. same thing happened to us. We had to pull up Mcity on our mobile and call Laksa me for directions. Wish there was an easy way to get a map on there, without much work.
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Hey there Vince - glad you enjoyed it. I recently went back myself and found the Mum’s laksa to look a little less like my picture (they must have been wanting to impress on opening day). It still tasted bloody good, but the prawns weren’t huge, and the slices of chicken a little stingier. Lets hope that I just had an off day.
Yes, it is also a little difficult to find due to lack of pokey-outy signage (…for want of a better word) on the street.