Laksa at Malacca Straits on Broadway
My favourite restaurant in Sydney, as I have written before, is Malacca Straits on Broadway. It is a charming and friendly restaurant, which serves up delicious dishes from Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
The restaurant was created by Chef Tan after he migrated from Malaysia to Sydney (see head photo). He started his Sydney career at the renowned Malaya restaurant. He then established Malacca Straits on Broadway, as his own restaurant.
He brought over 50 years of culinary experience to Malacca Straits on Broadway and passionately believes in serving uncompromisingly authentic and true taste of Malaysia into every dish.
Today, he son Khnn and Khnn’s wife run the restaurant, maintaining the exacting standards of Chef Tan. They are often very ably assisted by their charming daughter, Freya. See photos of both Khnn and Freya with me.
I have previously written of the excellent Beef Rendang that they prepare.
Another dish that I love is Prawn Laksa, a dish that is very well known in Australia, though perhaps less well known in Europe.
Laksa is a spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia. Laksa consists of various types of noodles, most commonly thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, prawns or fish. Most variations of laksa are prepared with a rich and spicy coconut curry soup or a broth seasoned with a souring ingredient like tamarind or asam gelugur.
Laksa is a dish of Peranakan Chinese origin, though because laksa has different varieties across the region, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the dish. There are various theories about the origins of laksa. One goes back to the 15th-century Ming Chinese naval expeditions led by Zheng He, whose armada navigated Maritime Southeast Asia.
Overseas Chinese migrants (Peranakan) had settled in various parts of Maritime Southeast Asia, long before Zheng He’s expedition. However, it was after this that the number of Chinese migrants and traders significantly increased. These Chinese men intermarried into the local populations, and together they formed mixed-race communities called the Peranakan Chinese or Straits Chinese.
In Malaysia, the earliest variant of laksa is believed to have been introduced by the Peranakan Chinese in Malacca. The name laksa is derived from the word spicy (辣) and grainy or sandy (沙) in the Min Chinese dialect, which denotes the spicy taste and the grainy texture (either from grinding onion, granules of fish or meat, or curdled coconut milk) of laksa, since the Peranakan Malay is a creole language that is heavily influenced by a dialect of Hokkien.
Not to be outdone, Australia has moved into the Laksa culture. The Darwin International Laksa Festival is a month-long festival held every October across the Northern Territory, and highlights our hospitality sector, while celebrating our multicultural and laksa loving community.