Asam Laksa

Asam laksa from the Malay for tamarind, comes from the Malaysian island of Penang. It is made with mackerel soup and its main distinguishing feature is the asam or tamarind which gives the soup a sour taste. The fish is poached and then flaked. Other ingredients that give Penang laksa its distinctive flavour include lemongrass  and chilli. Typical garnishes include mint, pineapple slices, thinly sliced onion, hε-ko, a thick sweet prawn paste and use of torch ginger flower. Smooth round rice noodles is immersed in a soup of flavours

This dish gives a spicy, flowery, minty, sweet, sour, fishy noodle soup that has no comparison. A dish that us Penangites should appreciate for its relation to our culture and history, but something we tend to forget as we slurp up the last noodle, and scoop out the last drops of the thick soup. Every one of the basic five tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savoriness is enhance.