Sunday, September 16, 2018

Sarawak Laksa at SALTed, Mutiara Damansara

Happy Malaysia Day to my fellow Malaysians!

In case some of you may not know, I am a Sarawak-born, Peejay girl and with that, comes a love for Sarawak Laksa. Compared to Penang and Ipoh cuisine, good Sarawak food are hard to come by in Peninsular Malaysia. Once I find a place or two that meets my standards and fulfill my cravings, I tend to go back to those places again and again for the same dish.


And for my weekend Sarawak Laksa fix, that place is SALTed, located in Mutiara Damansara. Not too far from the Curve and Ikea Damansara, SALTed which stands for Sarawak Authentic Local Taste Extra Delicious, opened up its cafe doors in 2017. After my first visit there on a cold rainy morning after a run in Putrajaya, I quickly decided that this was my favourite place for Sarawak Laksa and Belacan Beehoon.

For me, two parts of the Sarawak Laksa that can make or break the dish are its broth and the meehoon. The right rice vermicelli noodles is a must as it makes a lot of different in soaking up the herbs and spiciness of the broth. The broth itself is made of a laksa paste that can take up to 20 spices and ingredients to achieve the taste. I am pleased to say that SALTed's version was as good as the original Sarawak Laksa in Kuching.


The ratio of broth to noodles was perfect and the dish served with the mandatory shreds of omelette, chicken strips, beansprouts and prawns was just what I needed to satisfy my cravings. Not oily at all, the broth was so good that I usually end up slurping everything down to the last drop. If you can handle more spiciness, then add on more sambal and lime for more intense flavours.

Their Belacan Beehoon was also pretty good considering that it has been toned down to suit the local palate. Given how pungent the original version can be, I am glad that this one was still good enough to meet the approvals of my sisters and my mother who can be quite picky with their food. Sadly due to their ravenous appetites and judgy looks, I was unable to snap of photo of the Belacan Beehoon before the hawks descended on it. Haven't gotten around to trying their Kolo Mee because in my books, charsiew and pork lard is a must for this dish. However, my sister did give her approval for the beef version she had.

Another thing I want to talk about is their Teh C Peng Special. It was super duper legit! At first sip, I felt as though I was sitting in any of the many food courts and Kopitiams in Kuching, drinking on a refreshing glass of Sarawak's iconic three layer ice tea. While a lot of places often serve up a gula-melaka version of three layer ice tea, SALTed got the caramalised taste and texture on point with their brown sugar.

If only SALTed was located in the heart of Petaling Jaya, aka Section 11-14, it could easily overthrow my usual weekday fix, Auntie Christina for the number spot for Sarawak Laksa. Bare in mind though that while Auntie Christina is non-halal, SALTed caters to the Muslim crowd as it is halal.

Ah just writing this review has my tummy growling with a need for some good comforting Sarawak Laksa and a glass of Teh C Peng Special. Anybody want to go with me?

No comments: