Phone 03 9639 9885
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. The small lunch menu takes a trip through Malaysia, Singapore and Thai hawker fare. Three laksa’s are offered – “skinny” veg laksa, assam (tamarind) laksa and the whimsically named Mum’s Laksa. A small drinks list boldly offers only beers, as the proprietors claim that beer suits this type of food far better than wine. Who can argue with that? If you must, however, BYO wine is an option.
A tofu starter ($7.50) was beautifully presented, arriving as two deep-fried tofu parcels reminiscent of beggars’ purse, neatly tied off at the top and prettily arranged on a bed of hot pink cabbage. The inside of the parcels were filled with a lovely combination of shredded marinated glass noodles, Chinese mushrooms and gingko nut. It was gorgeous to look at and absolutely delicious.
My main of Hainanese Chicken rice ($9) was a reverent and respectful treatment of this classic. White rice that had been delicately flavoured with chicken stock was accompanied by a gingery chicken broth and sublime stock-poached chicken that glistened with the light and was ever so tender in taste. Matched to this was one of the best chilli sauces that I’ve ever tasted, homemade with just the right amount of chopped ginger, black beans and chilli.
However, the winner was Mellie’s “My Mum’s Laksa” ($9.50) – a bowl of thin rice noodles (as per Allen Woo’s mother’s receipe), swimming in a fiery red broth, and studded with barbequed pork, tender chicken, prawns, bean sprouts and sliced chilli. I would have to say that the broth was one of the best that I’ve tasted – deliciously rich and coconutty, and further augmented by a small bowl of sambal that is served separately. Our only complaint was that there was not enough of the tasty broth! 
Dinner has a more expanded menu that offers the unique option of entrees by the piece, that is, pay for one fish cake and that’s what you’ll get. Also included are Ah Mu’s specialities of red duck curry and Thai yam oysters.
Service was friendly and pleasant. It’s early days still but Laksa Me is very promising indeed. Exceptional flavours combine with eye candy presentation and great prices to provide a fantastic South East Asian option in the city.
UPDATE: Please read comments for an update on how Laksa Me is travelling. Things are not as they used to be…
Your description of the laksa is making me drool all over the keyboard! It looks and sounds divine – just my type of laksa.
I do also like the look of the hainanese chicken rice, although I’ve heard tell there’s an unbeatable one somewhere in the alleyways of Melbourne (can’t remember the exact name or street..). For me, it all hinges on the rice and whether it’s flavoured with chicken broth. Mmmm..
THIS is what you said I had to try some time this week?! What am I waiting for?! I’m there
Oh, a new place to give a go. Might try the assam laksa, since im not a fan of laksa. Or I could opt for the lighter/clearer choice of hainanese chicken rice….
The chicken rice in the alleyway that mel. is thinking…u enter from bourke st, next to the alley from bras n things or hmv…keep walking along til u see a tiny shop with a bain-marie stand…and i think u can see “Chicken rice” on the specials board, thru the window. They’re $9, which is a fair bit steep, and *shrugs* I didn’t think it was that good…
I heard that this has opened. I plan to go here in the next couple of weeks. The dishes sound delicious.
checked out laksa me last night…’my mum’s laksa’ is phenomenally good! can’t wait to get back there and try EVERYTHING!
Aaauugghh (drools)… Laksa Me sounds AWESOME. Why o why are all the good restaurants at the other end of the city?? Will have to journey up there soon..
Great review, EG!
Hiya mel – uh huh, EG certainly has a way with words! The laksa was absolutely stunning – so much so that I actually went back for a repeat performance (albiet a different one) today. Will blog it shortly
Hey anna – so now that you’ve tried it, what do you have to report?
Hello maiko – thanks for your post. EG went the chicken rice, and whilst the rice and the stock were quite delicate, the chilli sambal was magnificent. And the chicken was sooooo tender – a well executed dish. Thanks for the tip on the alleyway chicken rice place. It may be worth a trip to check out, just to compare
Hey there cherrie pie – yup, make your way there sooner rather than later. I went back again today, and at 1pm (which is three days after opening), the place was getting full.
Hi johanna – glad you concurred with the ‘My Mum’s laksa”. It was fantastically good. EG and I want to go back and work our way through the menu too
G’day mutemonkey – yes, the top end of town is becoming quite the foodie place to be. We have so many great little restaurants, especially around the little bourke spot. I think the venue itself still needs a little work, such as a feature for the big breezer brick wall. But the food – dang, it is bloody fantastic!
Hey Mellie,
What can I say – it was absolutely freakin’ fantastic. Those vege triangles to start were divine – I really could just have a big plate of those as a meal! Still not sure why they bill the Vegetarian Skinny Laksa as “kind to your hips”, but it was gooooooood. And of course the weather yesterday was a perfect match for a steaming bowl of spicy goodness.
My verdict – VERY nice, will be interesting to see how popular and busy it gets.
Just went for lunch and it was GREAT, but I have to say it was absolutely freezing…and I am not one to feel the cold. I think they had the A/C running, as about 3/4 of the way through lunch it cut off and the temperature began to climb. Seems like a small thing to comment on, but it actually was so extreme that it detracted from the meal a bit. Will definitely be going back to work through the rest of the menu!
Hey anna – glad you enjoyed it. We must go again, and soon
I too wondered about the skinniness of your laksa. It looked similar to mine, and came with the requisite shimmer of red oil on top. Hmm…perhaps they use low fat coconut milk?!?
Hi joanna – yes, I have been a second time too (yet to blog it though), and enjoyed it as much as my first visit. Yes, it can be rather cool in there – all that concrete and no soft furnishings tends to make it feel chilly (..and it is!). Hopefully they’ll get onto that ASAP, as no one likes to dine whilst shivering
On a brighter note, at least the laksa will warm you up!
Hi All
I was in there for dinner a couple of days after opening as well and really enjoyed the food. We had a wide selection of the appetisers, and then a Mums Laksa and a green curry. The flavours were quite authentic, (was in Malaysia last year and the food was barely this good), I also noted the slick of red oil on top of the laksa, a bit scary for the hips, but delicous. Loved the cute table settings… see my post.
Jack
Hey Jack! Great post. I felt the same way about My Mum’s Laksa – I wanted more broth!
Now I must digress – now that Mr.Lethlean has reviewed it, I’d say walking in off the street just became that little bit more difficult. And I was surprised with his review – not once did he mention Laksa, which I thought was the restaurants speciality!
I am VERY surprized that John has reviewed this so quickly. He usually waits a while and then visits a few times, it was a strange review wasn’t it. Did you notice the table settings Mellie… no cute peanuts! Have you had the Thai sausage John loved? I had it and liked it enough but would have liked it to stick together like a sausage so it was easier to eat.
I also noticed that you quoted $9.50 for the laksa but I paid $10 and it looked the same! I wonder what John paid – if only he had the laksa!
Jack
I was also surprised at how quick he whipped this one out. Normally he sits and waits on these things – at least a couple of months anyway!
I’ve only ever been for lunch (and twice at that), and they have a different menu which is cheaper and I guess caters for the daytime work crowd. I guess the cheaper menu doesn’t allow for peanut chopstick rests
Oh, and the sausage thing isn’t on their lunch menu either 
.
Hi, i don’t see assam laksa on their lunch menu on their website. Do they have it? Cheers!
Hi siang – they used to have an assam at lunchtime, but I haven’t been back there in months, so I’m not sure if they’ve taken it off the menu.
Let me know!
after reading comments like these, it prompted me to go there for dinner. i absolutely hated it. the mum’s laksa just tasted like chilli (no coconut flavour), the chicken was not shredded – just seems like boiled pieces of meat and dumped into the bowl, prawns were TINY, etc etc. also had some entrees which were bland. none of us even got halfway through our meal, deciding that the best thing for us to do was pay up and go to nandos. if you guys think this is good then you must never have been to Laksa King in Flemington. Now their laksa is something to write home about… i will never go to laksa me again and will tell everyone about my experience. we couldn’t believe that we paid $40 for such a bad experience.
hi peachie, sorry to hear of your experience. admittedly, the post was written over a year ago and, upon recent visits, I too have found Laksa Me to be underwelming. No, I haven’t been to Laksa King but have heard good things and would like to check it out. being from Singapore, I do appreciate a good laksa!
I agree with Peachie. I went there two years back when I first read about it from food bloggers. I was quite disappointed as the noodles were way too soggy, they just fell apart when I tried to pick them up with chopsticks. Not a good experience at all.
I concurn Hungry Hamster. The first few times we went it was fantastic! It has since gone disastrously downhill, and I went the other day and could only manage a few spoonfuls. The prawns also tasted off! And I *really* disliked the vermicelli – it was a clump of overcooked noodles in horrible broth. Blah.
Oh dear. I rushed over to Laksa Me having read the great reviews elsewhere. over a month desperate to find a decent laksa and had one of the most disappointing laksa experiences ever.
It was the classic laksa made out of a diluted curry sauce, rather than an actual soup. Someone in the kitchen has never eaten a laksa and is not game to try the one he or she makes himself.
I’m not game to go back until someone else tells me different.
I concur with you Misterhorsey. The last few times I have been I have been sorely dissapointed. Perhaps I should amend or annotate my initial review?!
It was sooo good the first few times I went. It has gone seriously downhill since then.