Today I ventured into town in search for a cheap , Asian feed and stumbled upon Laksa Laksa in Pitt Street. This was no ordinary trip as I brought my mother along for company and opinion. All this blogging and food needs a Greek mother's expert advice on these important matters. Plus Greeks give their opinion on anything whether it's asked for or not...who cares about democracy, it's all about the food.

The difference between us is that I tend to see myself as a Laksa "expert" whereas my mum is a newbie to the experience.
As soon as we see the 2 for 1 offer we are like magnets. A BARGAIN. Yes 2 for $12 bucks is good value. And you can choose different Laksas ranging from chicken ,beef, vegetable , fish, wonton, prawn. Just cant have the combination in the deal. That didnt matter as my mother could not comprehend the word "combination" anyway.
We headed passed a huge bain maree counter which had it's own buffet of stir fries, rendang, noodles, rice dishes...I could have eaten it all if I could have. Most were about $10 or less for a huge serving with rice or noodles. Good deal for the inner city I think.
We ordered the two Laksas , one chicken and one vegetable as we were planning on sharing them. You pay and seat yourself. The place is simple with timber chairs and tables. There is plenty of room throughout and high ceiling. There is no feeling of claustrophobia here.
Our friendly Asian lady tells us that she will bring our food out to us. She even brings over our cutlery and extra chilli in 2 small bowls to our table. My mother looks at the chopsticks in horror and asks me for a fork within seconds. Then she wonders what the red oily stuff is in the little bowl.
Chilli of course.

Lady preparing our soups.

Other menu items include - Gado Gado, Har Mee, Nasi Lemak, Hainanese chicken rice, Penang fried kway teow, Nasi Goreng, Singapore noodles etc.  But since thew place is called Laksa Laksa and they do claim to have the best in Sydney, I thought we'd better try that!

And what a beauty.
Both bowls came out steaming hot and full to the brim. The chicken was packed with chicken! The veg was full of veg! No skimping here at all. Both had their fair share of tofu puffs that soaked the laksa broth just perfectly. Mother could not understand what tofu was and I gave up trying to explain where it comes from after a few minutes. She just had a taste and threw it in my bowl. No  worries, more for me.

The soup was hot, spicy, fiery coconutty, oily. Just the way I like it. I even added the extra chilli condiment that was supplied in the little bowl . Because I'm brave ok?
The chicken was moist and you could tell that it had been poached nicely beforehand in a stock to bring out the flavour. The noodles were a combination of yellow and vermicelli. There were loads of them.  Crunchy sprouts, carrots, pak choy I think all included in the veg Laksa.
Mum was happily tucking away with her fork and spoon and I was making a mess with chopsticks and spoon. BOTH OF US were using more than our fair share of serviettes to wipe the glistening balls of our necks, foreheads and faces. My body started to become numb so I took a 2 minute break. Not very lady like but we are here to eat and only....

Upon leaving , the lady asked us what we thought and we told her we enjoyed it. My mother advised it was too spicy. We were told that they all come spicy unless you specify that you want it mild. NOW YOU TELL US. For me that was not a problem as I love it hot and spicy. But for my mother who is a Laksa newbie, this was a little too much for her. Next time she will know to ask for mild.
Many have said that Malay Chinese does the best Laksa in the CBD , but after trying theirs and this one, I would have to say this is much better by a mile. Thumbs up Laksa Laksa!