Wednesday, May 16, 2007

328 Katong Laksa: Hits you right there! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!



As you know, nothing quite hits that spot like a good bowl of laksa. In fact, if there is a Umami scale, Laksa should rank 9/10 while hospital porridge specially ordered for a hypertensive, diabetic, heart bypass patient would rank 1/10.

And when it comes to Peranakan style or more specifically "Katong Laksa" style Laksa, the place to be is... well..... Katong!

At the height of the Katong Laksa craze, there must have been about 4 or 5 stalls all competing for the Katong Laksa crown. When I first ate there 20 years ago, it was just a stall in an old coffeeshop, but since then, that stall moved across the road, then another stall came and occupied the old stall, then another one opened next door and so on until there were about 4 or 5 stalls around that same junction. Last year, the some copy cats closed down and there were 3 stalls left. I tried all 3 at the same go and decided that my favourite was 328 Katong Laksa. I think most people's taste buds must have agreed with mine because when I visited them again last week, they have taken over the corner coffeeshop as well as the shop next to it. It's almost like the endgame in Monopoly.




The one thing that I always miss in my bowl of laksa is chicken meat. Usually I like to have plain white chicken, but on this occasion, the chicken rice stall up the road was under renovation, so I had to settle for fried chicken cutlet from the economic rice stall in the same coffeeshop. Let the chicken soak in the Laksa gravy for a while and pop it in your mouth!! Hits you right there, Yeah Yeah Ye'ah!

The Laksa gravy is still one of the best around although I must admit that it was better in the days when the Lao Ban Niang was cooking it only for her one stall. Back then, the best part of the meal was finding the minced up Hae Bee (Dried Prawns) at the bottom of the bowl. Nowadays, it is minced too fine such that you can't really enjoy the grainy bits in your mouth. Nonetheless it is still one satisfying bowl of Laksa. 4.5/5

Conclusion

Used to be better, but it still has the ability to satisfy that savoury crave.

328 Katong Laksa
Main Branch:
216 East Coast Road
Hotline 97328163
8am to 10pm

7 comments:

wanderinrhapsody said...

My parents, who grew up in Katong and insist that they recognize the laksa seller from their youth, maintain that the real original Katong Laksa is actually hiding at a kopitiam behind the Bedok Swimming Complex (right behind the SPC Petrol Kiosk, I think). Maybe one of these days, I'll be able to convince them to try the highly-recommended 328 Katong Laksa at Katong! =)

smart said...

Yes that is a good laksa stall. Guess location is the problem, many will just go to Katong for laksa.

stay-at-home mum said...

Sorry, but my favourite is still marine parade laksa, which the original "Janggut" started. His nephews run the stall now, and they are in Roxy Square.

Anonymous said...

The one behind Bedok SPC Petrol Station is the original one. They are only open in the mroning, will colose about 2.30pm daily. Run by a old uncle and auntie. I personally prefer this to 328.

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

i've been searching Spore foodblogs for that ultimate bowl of Spore laksa but when i came to this recommendatn, i am very disappointed. last yr, straight fm the airport, we went all the way to 328 katong for their laksa n it wasnt even as good as what we get in the food court near our hotel!maybe its me but the soup was 100% thick santan (makes me nauseous) with no hint of other flavor or spices except for the daun kesom garnish.

Damien said...

The two aged folks selling laksa at the coffeeshop behind the SPC station are the grandparents of the original Katong Laksa (the jangut brothers i think)

lujia (路加) said...

I tried this 328 Katong Laksa a few times as well, think is not this main brand, I use to park my car along the road side (East Coast Road), the stall side wall pastes a lot of photos, indeed very delicious, not very heavy. I like the way they do the prawns, they take out its intestine mud. That’s I always do whenever I eat prawns.

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