Singaporean

Mo' for Less

by Tom Lee
on Friday, April 29, 2011 12:00 AM

Popular around much of Southeast Asia, laksa is a spicy noodle soup. It is normally considered a product of the Peranakan, the Chinese immigrants who came to the British Straits Settlements at the end of the Fifteenth Century.

There are many worshippers of this quintessential example of Malay and Singaporean cuisine. No doubt, these devotees will be pleased to hear that a shrine to the dish has just popped up on the intersection of DongHu Road and XinLe Road. Mo' Laksa's owner hopes that by mostly concentrating on just one item, the eatery will become the go-to place for lovers of curry laksa.

Seven variations are listed on the short menu, including chicken, prawn, fish ball and lobster. Each is served with a choice of rice noodles, vermicelli or egg noodles, at a chili rating of either spicy or hot.

Making laksa is actually not too complicated and can be simplified down to a "formula", according to the management, in order to ensure consistency. Coconut milk and chili paste form the base of the broth, which is then filled with ample noodles and topped with fried bread, slices of seafood sticks, half a boiled egg, bean sprouts and the chosen filling.

Mo' Laksa's signature dish is undeniably creamy and soothing, but there is still some tweaking to be done with the recipe. At the moment, the only spice that really comes through is the chili, making it feel just a little too simple. However, considering the newness of the venture and the nascence of the staff, it feels more like teething problems than a fundamental flaw.

Other assorted curries and sambal dishes also appear on the menu to complement the star item, as well as several Southeast Asian favorites, such as Satay (RMB28/32), which comes in skewers of chicken, beef, lamb and pork, and Otak (RMB28), a rectangular fish cake that is grilled and served in a banana leaf.

In one respect, Mo' Laksa has unquestionably succeeded: the portions are big and reasonably priced. Regular servings (RMB48-68) are sizable but the large servings (RMB58-118) are simply eye-watering - and not just because of the spice. Judge your appetite wisely or you may get "mo'" than you bargained for.

The size of the servings ensures that nobody leaves hungry.

View Mo' Laksa Information

Comments

Bazzer: Having saw the restaurant being renovated a couple of weeks ago, I had to try this "laksa" eatery. It is a brave act to dedicate an eatery to laksa alone..it is like a beacon light to all South Asian natives to check it out. With price points at RMB 50 to RMB 100 from regular fish-ball to lobster laksa, my benchmark was raised, expecting 5-star hotel quality laksa, like ones found at Stamford Hotel, Singapore. Deep-bowl, thick gravy, fresh spices and large fresh prawns....Alas, having ordered just a regular fish-ball laksa, I can only say (with the price in mind) that "Mo" is only "acceptable" and home-cooked Prima laksa paste is better and more choices of what you can add-in. I am just lucky that I didn't try the more up-market order of prawns or lobster as the proof rests totally in the gravy, which was not outstanding nor thick enough.It is not a disaster but I believe that a signature laksa restaurant has to prove to be more unique than just stylized decor and Zouk mambo soundtracks. Last but not least, the Otak (RMB 28) is two short pieces...but obviously frozen and not char-grilled. Falls short of expectation for that price...try to source own ingredients, make the paste in-house and grill it over charcoal (Shanghai is not short of Uighur people..)Suitable for ang-mohs who miss South Asian spices but not impressive enough to pull in native Singaporeans/Malaysians. Ideal price should be RMB 30 rmb a bowl instead. Estimated life span - maybe 8 months...let's see.Sunday, May 01

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