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Taste of Home, Healing for a Homesick Foodie – Sarawak Laksa

January 12, 20211870 views0

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Homesick. 😊

Life has been challenging, especially for the past year. For many, it was compounded by the fact that they are working in another country, away from home. The restrictions and inconvenience imposed to help protect many are taking its toll. And like me, many of them are feeling even more homesick than usual. 😔

However, advances of video conferencing have helped us stay in touch with our family members back home. And we also look to the comfort of food to help us deal with the homesickness that we’re experiencing. More specifically, familiar foods that we love from our hometowns. 🏡

During this travel restriction period, many of my fellow Malaysian expatriates in Singapore visit food places like Anson Town Cafe/Bistro. They offer a taste of their favourite hometown foods. Many will pay regular visits to have some of the things they miss, like chee cheong fan, asam laksa, etc.

For me, one of my favourite hometown food in Sarawak is its laksa. However, finding one with the authentic flavours that I’m familiar with has been difficult. Many of the ones I’ve tasted in Singapore have modified their recipes to cater to the local market’s taste. That was until I discover Sarawak Delicacy Laksa & Kolo Mee in Bedok.

It all started with me going around Singapore, tasting the different versions of Sarawak laksa. But alas, it was to no avail, and I was close to giving up when I hit the jackpot! I had finally found the taste of home! 👏🏻

When I got my bowl of laksa, the look of it was already familiar. A bowl of bee hoon swimming in this delicious looking broth with shreds of chicken and fleshy prawns, freshly peeled without the head. Topped with a generous serving of coriander, and a serving of belacan chilli paste with a piece of lime.

I scooped the belacan into the bowl, squeezed the lime on top of it all, and gave it all a thorough mix. Then I took my first sip of the broth. Wow! That warm sensation of familiarity took me right home. 🥰

What made this version of laksa different is the intense, pungent flavours, that many associate with, for lack of a better way to describe it, the smell of dead fish, in a pleasant way. According to my friends who grew up in Singapore, they tasted food with the same flavours during their childhood. However, they no longer could find food with flavours like this. This is the first time that they’ve tasted something so familiar.

Aside from the taste, the bee hoon and prawns are both cooked just right, both have a nice lovely crunch when you bite into them. The bee hoon soaked up the broth’s essences really well, delivering a mouthwatering sensation that is so satisfying. The prawns 🍤 are fresh, sweet-tasting and really meaty.

Overall, the ingredients worked really well with the broth’s intense flavours to deliver a fabulous, accurate rendition of Sarawak laksa! 👍🏻

But I must say that the rest of the Sarawak laksas I’ve tried are by no means, bad or horrible. They are really delicious and excellent in their own right, and I encourage everyone to have a taste as well. But I must say that I’m just elated, and comforted to have found something so familiar far from home to lift my mood when I’m missing that bit of home. 🤤

Sarawak Delicacy Laksa & Kolo Mee
📍Blk 204 #01-435, Bedok North St 1, Singapore 460204

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