BY CK LAM

Penang Assam Laksa has been selected as the No.2 Must Eat hawker food through an online poll on the VisitPenang website in 2009.

The strong aroma of the herbs, the sourness of the soup from the fragrance of the assam and the quality of our Penang prawn paste makes our Penang hawker food, the Assam Laksa so different from the others. There are many places around town that sells this noodle.

One of the more well known Assam Laksa is from the stall beside the Ayer Itam Market. This sourish sweet Assam Laksa has smooth Lai Fen (noodle) with topped on ingredients of bunga kantan (ginger flower bud), onion, cucumber, lettuce, red chili, mint leaves, chili padi and drizzle with Penang famous Heh Koh (prawn paste).

This stall with a small sitting area can accommodate groups of visitors and tourist arriving in bus loads visiting the nearby Kek Lok Si Temple. The stall is open from late morning right up to around 8pm.



Lately I came across a stall in Perak Road serving this delicacy. This is a slightly different version of laksa. It comes with add-on ingredient and a whole big piece of deboned fish which you can bite into. The slightly sweet brown and tangy sourish fish based soup is not too thick and neither too light.

You can have the laksa on its own or with the unique add-on large round fish balls which is a popular item among the customers. A basic bowl of Assam Laksa cost RM2.40 with every additional fish ball at RM0.30 per ball. This stall is located in Khean Hooi  coffee shop on Perak Road with its frontage facing Sum San Primary School and its side on Perak Lane.



There is a good and tasty Assam Laksa in Taman Emas coffee shop located directly opposite the Penang Chinese Girl’s High School on the busy Gottlieb Road. The Assam Laksa (RM2.50) has the right balance of sour, sweet and spicy flavor and is very appetizing. Most customers will have some fried spring rolls (RM0.60) to dip in this flavorful laksa soup.

Another popular laksa in Penang is found at two stalls located opposite of each other near the Balik Pulau market.  Every tourist will try to stop at this place to savor both of the Assam Laksa which is claim by many as the best laksa in Penang.



It’s very difficult to say which is the best stall for Assam Laksa in Penang, I guess you have to visit Penang to try them out yourself.

Written by CK Lam, food blogger and editor of http://www.what2seeonline.com ; featuring the Best of Penang Food. She constantly combs Penang for the best gastronomical delights and loves promoting Penang Cuisines, Culture and Heritage.