food

Sampling one of Johor’s finest curry laksa

BY JAMES TAN
October 09, 2015

Did this noodle's reputation as one of Johor Baru's best curry laksa stand up to the ultimate taste test? – Pic courtesy of James Tan, October 9, 2015. Laksa is one of Malaysia's favourite foods and it can be found all around the country in all its colourful permutations. This Baba-Nyonya invention is technically a noodle dish with spicy broth, but this description is where all similarities end.

Up north, the term laksa is usually taken to mean assam laksa with its sour-ish tamarind-infused soup, while from south of the Klang Valley, right up to Sabah and Sarawak, it's usually the curry laksa variation with its hot coconut milk-based soup.

Water Works Laksa House, or better known as WW Laksa House, serves the latter. Here, it's a brew of Nyonya-styled curry spices in a thick santan soup. WW is an institution on its own, having served Johorians from as far back as the late 70s when it operated as a roadside stall. Today it dishes out its delicious laksa from its own corner lot premises along Jalan Kolam Air.

I love stories like that because it's usually a fairly good testimony to the taste of the food, and I'm happy to report that WW Laksa House doesn't disappoint.

WW Laksa House is fairly easy to find. It sits along a busy main road so you won’t have too much trouble spotting it. I got here close to 3pm, towards the tail end of their day, so there wasn’t a crowd.

I take my seat and a restaurant worker lays down a plastic basket with some otak-otak in it. She tells me it's on a pay-what-you-eat basis. But I'm single-minded in my objective today, and that is to sample what is supposedly one of Johor Baru’s best curry laksa.

The laksa was a lovely sight, a nice assortment of deep fried goodies in a bowl of fragrant reddish orange curry broth. There is the customary and essential taufupok (or bean curd puff), a fried wanton, a vegetable fishball, fish cake slices and cockles. 

This is what a good bowl of curry laksa should look like after you're done with it. – Pic courtesy of James Tan, October 9, 2015. This is then topped with slivers of chopped limau purut or kaffir lime leaves, and here lies all the difference.

I had thought the leaves were merely visual garnishes, but instead its presence added a new dimension to the taste.

It gave off a tangy aroma with hints of sour lime notes, asserting itself upon your taste buds but never quite overwhelming the taste. Very, very nice!

At the end of the meal, I left not a single drop in the bowl. The serving size may be a little small for some, but perhaps that is their strategy to leave you longing for more. 

So in the final analysis, I have this to say: it's definitely one of the better curry laksa I've tasted. It's hearty and unpretentious, yet somewhat complex – quite the feat for a simple meal like this. I'd definitely return for more. In fact writing this review weeks after the fact, makes me long to return and if that's not a resounding testimony, I don't know what is.  – October 9, 2015. 

W.W. Laksa House | Add: 36-A, Jalan Kolam Air, Taman Water Works, 80200 Johor Bahru | Tel: 6012-7273755 | Opening hours: 8:30am – 3:00pm daily | GPS coordinates: 1.471400, 103.736600 | Non-Halal

* All of The Malaysian Insider food reviews are incognito and reflect the personal opinions of our merry band of foodies. If you know of any restaurant serving awesome grub, share it with the rest of the world and drop us a line with details at [email protected].