Here’s one I found at PriceSmart Foods up in Richmond, BC in July 2017. They had a ton of these and they sounded interesting. These are from Hong Kong – not a place I would think of when it comes to laksa. Here’s a little about laksa from Wikipedia –
There are various theories about the origins of laksa. In Indonesia, the dish is believed to have been born from the Chinese coastal settlements and the mixing of cultures between Chinese merchants and the local cooking practices.[7] As Peranakan Chinese communities have blended their ancestors’ culture with local culture, Peranakan communities in different places now demonstrate diversity according to the local flavour.[8] In Malaysia, the dish is believed to have been introduced by Chinese immigrants in Malacca.[9] In Singapore, the dish (or its local “Katong” version) is believed to have been created after interaction between the Peranakans with the local Singaporeans.[10][11]
Various recipes of laksas have gained popularity in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia; and subsequently international recognition. Initially in July 2011, CNN Travel ranked Penang Asam Laksa 7th out of the 50 most delicious foods in the world.[12] Its rank however, fell to number 26th after CNN held an online poll by 35,000 people, published in September 2011.[13] Singaporean Curry Laksa on the other hand ranked in number 44th.[13]
In Indonesia, laksa is one of the traditional comfort foods; the spicy warm noodle soup is much appreciated during cold rainy days. However, its popularity is somewhat overshadowed by soto, a similar hearty warm soup dish, which is often consumed with rice instead of noodles. In modern households, it is common practice to mix and match the recipes of laksas; if traditional laksa noodle is not available, Japanese udon noodles might be used instead
Alright – let’s check out this variety from Hong Kong!
Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ho Fan – Hong Kong
A big and hard to remove distributor/import sticker (click to enlarge).
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains shrimp. To prepare, add in all sachets and boiling water to fill line. Cover and let steep for… Yeah – no instructions. Great. I’m going to go with 3 minutes and give it a look and if that’s not enough to hydrate the rice noodles, 5 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Detail of the lid (click to enlarge).
An included fork!
The ho fan rice noodles.
A large dry base sachet.
A decent amount of powder.
The laksa sauce sachet.
Thick and smells like curry.
A solid ingredients sachet.
Kind of surprised to see corn in this.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added fishball, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, egg , spring onion, and fried onion. The noodles are thin and broad with a little more chew than I expected for a rice noodle, however, not an unwelcome one. The broth was good however I think that the amount of water required due to the fill line position was just way too much and what could have been a stronger curry broth was neutered by dilution which makes me sad. 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 087303866793.
