NOT a food blog
I’ve mentioned before that I am a seasonal creature with seasonal tastes, but if there is one dish that I’ve loved since 12, it’s Assam Laksa. When my mum makes it, she boils a huge pot of broth, almost 10 litres for a family of 6, because we enjoy drinking the soup on its own. In fact, it isn’t uncommon for us to drink several bowls in one day, minus the noodles, as her soup is always thick and flavourful thanks to the abundance of mackerel chunks in it.
I don’t live with my parents anymore, and I can’t always ask for Assam Laksa on my fortnightly visits home, so I’m pretty pleased that I can get great Assam Laksa right here in KL. The newly opened Rice Cafe on the other side of Jalan Maarof serves an assortment of local meals from Nasi Dagang to Singapore Fried Bee Hoon. Despite being new to the restaurant industry, the owners have shown that a lot of hard work and interest in the food that they serve goes a long way. A wise man once mentioned to me that another eatery that he frequents serves the same kind of dishes, but they don’t taste the same despite having the correct ingredients. He then concluded that the dishes missed one element. Love. Now, you may choose to laugh at him or spit on him, but I do believe that having an interest in 1. food, 2. your restaurant, and 3. the people whom you serve, goes a long way and that love is reflected in the end product.
The Assam Laksa at Rice Cafe has a thick broth and is overflowing with aromatic ingredients – mint leaf, bunga kantan, daun kesum – and has the right amount of tanginess from tamarind and sweetness from har ko (prawn paste). If you’re not one for Assam Laksa, try the Nasi Lemak which comes with extremely crispy and tasty fried chicken. The extra special version which Nigel and Frat Mustard ordered came with chicken that was marinated with lemongrass and galangal and served with crispy bits of the same concoction…to die for. Lisa also seemed pretty pleased with her Singapore Bee Hoon.
The restaurant currently serves local favourites, but will soon venture into chinese dishes as well.
Rice Cafe
Lorong Maarof (If you’re coming from Jalan Bangsar into Jalan Maarof, at the traffic light near McD’s turn right, then make another right turn and you’re there)
Bangsar, KL.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Also check out Fatboybakes and Cumidanciki.
(Note: Thanks, Fatboybakes + Ciki, Nigel + Lisa + Frat for the birthday treat here on two separate occasions…so sweet of you.)
Food, for me, is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
Food, for me, represents the love of family, the fellowship of friends, and the community and communality it brings.
ai wei
August 25th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
i wan assam laksa! had a so-so ok-ok one at Chawan, bangsar. still unsatisfied…
will love to try this one from RICE 🙂
Chin
August 25th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
The mint leaves and ginger flower brought me a comforting feel about this bowl of laksa. Can’t help but like it.
J2Kfm
August 25th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
so this was a part of the bday celebration?
sorry, i missed their posts.
will get to them later.
happy bday, belated-ly.
A Lil Fat Monkey
August 25th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Daym, i was supposed to be there too. Oh well, whatcha doing on your actual birthday? Wanna have lunch here too? LOL
Jun
August 25th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
having been born and bred (albeit only for 7 yrs) in the land of assam laksa, i never appreciated it until when i came to oz. never even craved for it when i went to kl. funny.
Rasa Malaysia
August 26th, 2009 at 12:11 am
This looks potent and authentic!
thenomadGourmand
August 26th, 2009 at 12:51 am
ahh..must head thr soon! Good old fashioned food (NL, bee hoon) alws gets my vote ;p
550ml jar of faith
August 26th, 2009 at 7:14 am
10 litres of LOVE Soup sounds about right! I could down bowls and bowls of the good stuff, minus the lai fun, at one go…. of course my breath is never pleasant after that, but a small price to pay!
J
August 26th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Happy birthday! (in advance)
🙂
(A really good bowl of Assam Laksa is so hard to find! Must try soon – it looks great…)
lotsofcravings
August 26th, 2009 at 10:08 am
luckily i dont like assam laksa..
so im not kicking my arse for missing the lunch.. conference ended at 1.30pm yesterday..
thule aka leo
August 26th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I wanted to try their nasi lemak with the lemongrass chicken and also asam laksa last Sat… but they were not opened yet when I arrived sometime around 8.40am… what time do they open for business??? sigh… maybe this weekend I will try to go again…
Bangsar-bAbE
August 26th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Argggghhh…I had to missed this! =(
*chomping on Apong Guan in Penang while typing this*
Happy Birthday LL!
cumidanciki
August 26th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
what can we say.. ur a cheap date! haha
HairyBerry
August 26th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
there are some phrases that just subconsciously make one salivate. almost hypnotic.
assam laksa is one of them.
hail the Malaysian tom yam!
pssttt, when your Mum making assam laksa again ar? i wanna self-invite. 🙂
sc
August 26th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
i do agree that cooking from the ‘heart’ would bring wonderful results 🙂 not a big fan of assam laksa though :p but would sure try the nasi lemak!
unkaleong
August 26th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I normally don’t take assam laksa after one particularly bad experience with a bowl from a certain pasar malam. Took me years to get over the phobia! *ROFL* This assam laksa however, put all my fears to rest 😉
Pssstt….No other ‘pictures’ ar?
jason
August 26th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Joe, how could you not like assam laksa!
I love assam laksa, the thicker the broth, the better!
Dharm
August 26th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
oooh.. That Laksa really looks good! I swear la, your photos are getting better and better!!
Life for Beginners
August 26th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
“He then concluded that the dishes missed one element. Love.”
Aye, how wise the man is. And so is with the things in life. There is no perfect recipe for this or that, but surely a sorely missed ingredient if absent would be Love. Now, if only I can find more low-calorie foods near my apartment… made with L.O.V.E. 😛
bogoshipda
August 26th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
I love assam laksa. this is a must try then…
msiagirl
August 27th, 2009 at 4:05 am
heh, was just complaining to myself that the one dish i wish i coulda got for myself in Png was the assam laksa…now will have to just look at it!!!! Happy Birthday dear friend! xox
little fish
August 27th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Hi L! 🙂
Thanks for posting new and nice food ..I will def give it a try
superwilson
August 27th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
happy birthday!
Assam laksa looks good and nice pictures!
Christine
August 27th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
We will definitely drop by here on our next visit to Bangsar 🙂
Happy Birthday Meena!! 🙂 Enjoy yourself!
kampungboycitygal
August 27th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
happy belated bday meena! im sure u’ll have a blast of time!
Kiran
August 28th, 2009 at 2:40 am
Happy Birthday Meena 🙂 It’s still the 27th here in the US. All those mouth-watering photos, makes me so weak! I want some laksa! Soon 😀
Chris Tan
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
We were at Rice Cafe las week and bumped into one of the owner very friendly and I would say sexy too ! Had assam laksa and spring rolls … I would say I will definately go there again !
QUEEN
September 6th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
do you have their contact number?
Gardengirl
October 27th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I love food and i cant stop thinking about it. The pictures look sooooo good.