Laksa Sarawak at Pucuk Ubi

I finally made my way to the recently relocated Restoran Pucuk Ubi in Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara in PJU6, Petaling Jaya .  I knew about the relocation from Tho Xin Yee of The Star in her article Ambassadors of Sarawak. Click the picture below to read about it.

  

Although I knew the restaurant shifted to Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara, I didn't know the exact location. I wanted to go to their previous location in TTDI plaza one fine day, to see if there was a new address to redirect customers to their new place; that day never came.

Fortunately, Jason, one of the staff messaged me on facebook and gave me the address.  So without wasting any time I went there the next day.  The location is rather secluded; it's like an unknown patch in the vicinity of Damansara Utama and Bandar Utama despite being neighbor with Center Point Bandar Utama, Uptown and One Utama.  The place looks promising though, with several developments taking place and a number of apartments and condos nearby.

 

 

Without wasting time I ordered Sarawak Laksa.

 

The broth was very thick and dense.  Which is both good and bad because a laksa broth that can stand out in thick coconut milk means the good 'sambal' is prepared properly.  The bad part is the cholesterol kills, if taken frequently of course.  I thought the aroma could be stronger though, if possible, coming from the kitchen as well.  Now that's a laksa trait.  The exotically seductive scent should dance its way out of the kitchen straight to diners nose, like a sexy belly dancer approaching a delighted audience, all eager and with arms (and legs) wide open. 

Ok, let's snap out of that mental imagery shall we.

I got three medium sized prawns in my bowl.  The sambal was quite spicy with distinctive belacan taste.  I could use two or three limes though, cos I like my laksa a little sour than usual.  Helps break the fats they say; not sure how accurate it is but it sure taste great with more lime.  

Then there were the chicken and omelet strips, bean sprouts and parsley leaves.  Personally, I prefer to have chinese coriander leaves instead of the parsley leaves.  Where laksa is concerned, the strong (pungent to some) flavor of coriander leaves beats the good looks of parsley everytime.  The coriander complements the broth and the whole package in general.  I prefer chopped coriander so the flavor is uniformly infused into the broth and every mouthful contains bits of coriander, ready to burst its flavor with every bite.

And here's a little secret for those wanting to brew their own broth.  Drop the peeled prawn shell into the boiling broth and let it cook together with the laksa paste.  And boil the chicken meat in there as well.  Hmm... my aunt will kill me for this.  

Oh, one more thing, don't trust the sambal label when it says to cook in boiling water for 20 or 30 minutes; some even say 5 minutes, can you believe that?!.  As with some things, the longer the better; maybe the whole morning; that's how my mom used to do it when we were little.  We used to have laksa as a grand Sunday event, after church the whole family would go to the morning market and get all the ingredients.  Then we would all chip in with the preparations.  Sometimes we only get to have lunch at 3pm, but the preparation was always half the pleasure of a laksa day. 

Whole lot of laksa love.