Photohunt: Delicious ~~ Sarawak Laksa

Category: , , , By Aleckii


I know that this post is loooong overdue. I've been meaning to post it up but somehow have been delayed time and time again. Anyway, for my Photohunt picture post titled: Delicious~

At long last, Sarawak Laksa! Here it is, Sarawak Laksa in its entirety.



For those of you who still do not know about it, Sarawak laksa is a dish indigenous to Sarawakian. It is basically Vermicelli served with a spicy gravy (a mixture of prawn paste, sour tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and coconut milk and some other indigenous spices), served together with bean sprouts, chopped parsley, a squeeze of lime, sliced omelet, Steamed Chicken and the freshest prawn you can possibly imagine.

As you can see here… the ‘prawn’ ended up being substituted by small shrimps… That’s the bane of living in Russia. Prawns are frigging expensive here!

It looks not bad right? A dish prepared by a 22 year old male medical student! And the flavour was amazing too. I'm drooling right now looking at the pictures!

But anyway, for about a year now I took part in an online community for travelers, called Fodors.com. I know that food and travel compliment each other as well as cheese and wine, so I started a thread, asking these questions:

1. Where do you come from? And

2. What food must you absolutely try in your hometown (and where best to try it)?


My answer was this

1. I come from Kuching, Sarawak, it's at the western tip of the Borneo islands, with lush greeneries, sunny weather all year long and warm and friendly people! It's also where we have the Rainforest Music Festival every July!

2. You must absolutely try out the Sarawak Laksa. It's Vermicelli with a spicy gravy (a mixture of prawn paste and some indigenous spices), served together with bean sprouts, chopped parsley, a squeeze of lime, sliced omelet, Steamed Chicken and the freshest prawn you can possibly imagine.

It's spicy, and full of a variety of flavour that will leave you wanting more!

The best place to taste it would probably be my home, since my elder brother cooks the best Sarawak Laksa. Alternatively, there's this shop at 3rd mile in Kuching, called the Golden Arch which also makes really really good Laksa.


But now, in retrospect, I can proudly add, ‘MY OWN KITCHEN HERE IN RUSSIA’ to the place best to taste it.

But anyway, after the thread was posted, the response was staggering! I had a hundred over replies over just a few days. Some interesting answers include these:

===================================================================================

Author: seebee

1. Springfield, Illinois - home of Abraham Lincoln and the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and a great stop on Route 66.

2. Our famous gastronomical adventure is called a "horseshoe". It is an open-face sandwich starting with a piece of toast on the bottom; on top of this you add your choice of meat, such as hamburger, ham, shrimp; on top of this you place a heaping mound of french-fried potatoes; and to top it off, you pour a rarebit melted cheese sauce.

You can find "horseshoes" in any local restaurant.
=====================================================================================

Author: Loveling

1. Bergen, Norway

2. Søstrene Hermelins Fish soup. VERY cheap and the the best Bergen experience all my visitors have had.
=====================================================================================

Author:speckles

1. Adelaide, South Australia.

2. We have a food that is unique to SA. I believe it is unique for a reason - it looks absolutely vile. However, we are still "famous" for it. Even comedian Billy Connolly tried it on a doco he made of Australia.

The pie floater is a standard meat pie (ie the ones which must have a minimum (and probably also maximum) 30% "meat product"). The pie sits in a bowl of pea and ham soup and is covered in tomato sauce/ketchup. It can be bought from a mobile pie stand which sets up at a certain point in Adelaide after dark. You probably have to jostle with drunks and homeless people to get your pie.

http://www.woodbegood.pl/pl/wiki/Grafika:Pie_floater.jpg.html
Another food we are famous for (and is by the same company, Balfours, is the frog cake. Again, they're not the most enticing food, but kids seem to like them. It's even been heritage listed! Says a lot for our state.

http://www.nationaltrustsa.org.au/images/movable/frogcake.jpg=====================================================================================

Author: pollyvw

1. Baxley, GA USA

2. Boiled Peanuts (in the shell)

Buy them from street vendors in season or knock on anyone's door.
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Author: lobo_mau

1 Lisbon

2 Pig's ears salad, eaten everywhere, anytime.
=====================================================================================

Author: angelnot1

1. I come from Poland and live in Australia so ...

2. Poland - bigos( stew of meats including venison,sausages, sourkraut), pierogi ( ravioli like with different fillings), barszcz ( beetroot soup)

Australia- kangaroo steak, Batemans Bay oysters (and all other seafood), waguyu steak, pavlova ( although New Zealanders argue that is is theirs) and of course a vegemite sandwich
=====================================================================================

I am heading to Poland and Norway in a few week’s time so some of their replies really came in handy. Also the post about Adelaide Australia was also interesting. Click on the link to check out how does pie floater look like. Knowing me, I'd give give anything a try at least once in my lifetime!

But anyway, it’s my turn to ask here:

1. Where do you come from? And

2. What food must you absolutely try in your hometown (and where best to try it)?


Enlighten me with your answers!
 

14 comments so far.

  1. Unknown January 8, 2008 at 2:19 PM
    yummy!my favourite :)prawn are pretty pricey here too.I remember when i was in kuching,i can eat sarawak laksa everyday!delicious man!Lets exchange link!your blog is cool...:)
  2. Unknown January 8, 2008 at 8:02 PM
    wah!!i wish i could cook laksa here. but over here there's no laksa paste for sale. i miss my laksa!!!
  3. Trinity January 9, 2008 at 2:38 AM
    wah.. look so tempting! Especially the sambal! waaah.. slurrrppp...

    I am from Indonesia, and we have laksa as well, but it different from sarawak laksa..
  4. Starz in De Sky January 9, 2008 at 1:23 PM
    yerrr.... laksa.. making me hungry nia o... wait after my exam must cook laksa to eat. yummy~
  5. Aleckii January 9, 2008 at 1:57 PM
    sweetie pie: Hey there! I've added your links there to- Blogs that I love to read. Thanks for visiting. When I was in Kuching also, I go for laksa every other day, and can't ever get sick of it!

    Chelle: You're in KL right? Cannot find sarawak laksa in KL meh? I've tasted lots of other variants before but the Sarawak one is truly the best.

    Trinity: You know sambal too? I blended it myself using fresh chilli, onion and sambal kering. It went along nicely with the laksa. How different is the Indonesian laksa then?

    starz in de sky: Wa... then Raymond must be happy right? Heehee!
  6. Yvonne Foong January 9, 2008 at 5:56 PM
    Aw man... I wanna et Laksa. But everything is expensive in KL these days. Go to KLCC or The Pavillion and you will have to pay RM8-RM9 for a ridiculous bowl of laksa. Crazy! I think the average RM3.50-RM5.00 per bowl is also costly considering our average wage. it would be different if Aleckii lives next door.
  7. Aleckii January 9, 2008 at 11:42 PM
    yvonne: RM9? That's like... 3 times the price in Kuching. Come to visit la anytime, in Kuching or Russia, will cook for you one dun worry!

    You want to know something though? I calculated the cost for this laksa right? It costs us RM30 or 270rubles for a 3 person share, so this particular bowl costs RM10.

    Russia's inflation is way out of control...
  8. Unknown January 9, 2008 at 11:56 PM
    the laksa here is terrible and not as tasty and delicious as laksa swak. there's this laksa shop at section 9 selling all kinds of laksa including laksa swak but i dont want to waste rm6 to get it coz i know the laksa will sure taste like santan.
  9. LX January 10, 2008 at 2:25 AM
    Yummy-ness! I am a No.1 fan of Sarawak Laksa!! I love it so much that I only order Sarawak Laksa everytime I go out for breakfast. I used to eat it twice a day (breakfast and lunch) but now the metabolism rate decreasing dramatically, so must control. Heheh..
  10. Yvonne Foong January 10, 2008 at 3:39 AM
    Lynxx01: U were mad.
  11. Anonymous January 10, 2008 at 6:25 AM
    laksa laksa!!! like it so much! when are you gonna cook for me then?
  12. Aleckii January 10, 2008 at 6:48 AM
    chelle- I know that feeling! Paying extra for something that's not of quality! Poor you! But then again... Kuching is only one click away (by clickins I mean on airasia's webpage!)

    lynnxuan: We're alike, you and I. We must form a new body, the SLLA, Sarawak Laksa Lover Association. Definitely a lot of members one!

    ad: ... You never mention to me pun, how I know? What? What does my memory tell me? You said my cakes were what? DRY!?!?!?!
  13. enghaw January 10, 2008 at 2:49 PM
    yerr, i wanna eat also. miss food back in msia so muzh... laksa. kolok mee, kueh chap.... i wanna go home. haha!
  14. Naru January 11, 2008 at 3:24 PM
    i miss laksa.. sobsob

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