There are several Katong laksa brands across the island that have a claim to be the original gold standard. Which is serving up the real deal? The programme On The Red Dot digs into the stories of rival hawkers.
SINGAPORE: Celebrity photographer Russel Wong was growing up in East Coast Road, a boy of about six years old, when he first tasted the original Katong Laksa. The memory has stuck in his mind even now., the laksa leaf,” said Wong, 62. “ eaten with a spoon, which is important.It is one of Singapore’s famed food names, no less.
It was not the first time, however, that her laksa had generated publicity. The first celebrity to visit her after she started selling laksa in a Katong coffee shop was Hong Kong star Tony Leung — 25 years ago. His Peranakan neighbours were the ones who taught him how to cook laksa, said Tong May Fong, current co-owner of Janggut Laksa. “He was very innovative. He made it his own. He improvised it, which became his secret recipe.”He started out as an illegal hawker in 1952, walking around the Marine Parade area with metal pots hanging from a pole on his shoulders. catching him, … he his noodles so that customers could eat quickly in the event the enforcement officer came ,” narrated Tong.
“At that time, I was selling roasted meats in Toa Payoh,” recounted Tan. “Sway Hong asked me to join her, so I stopped selling roasted meats and sold laksa together.A BATTLE FOR BRAGGING RIGHTSKoh was selling laksa for almost a year when the boss of the 49 East Coast Road coffee shop “wanted it back for herself”, she recounted. Koh moved to number 51, while the coffee shop had its own laksa stall.That was the “trigger point” for the Katong Laksa war, said Chan.
The conclusion to the battle for bragging rights came when Koh’s laksa “became the most prevalent … not just in Katong but Singapore”, he opined. Customer feedback is “the most valuable” because they have been eating “the same bowl of laksa” for generations, she added. “The taste is still the same. is unique. If you taste it, you’ll know it.”Some other stalls, however, have claimed to have the original Katong Laksa recipe. Wong knew of one: Roxy Laksa.
“He called it Roxy Laksa too, but he changed the recipe because he wanted to be completely different from his father,” narrated chef Willin Low, 52, who now shoulders “the responsibility of carrying on Roxy Laksa”.In 1978, Roxy Theatre closed, and the elder Lim ceased plying his laksa. His son carried on but “upgraded” to a stall at the East Coast Lagoon food centre. Then in 1981, Lim Eng Hock’s son, Mike, started working with him before taking over.
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