Victoria’s best laksas: Malayamas, Laksa King, Chef Lagenda, Roti Road and more
A rumoured feud at a famous Laksa restaurant led to diners enjoying two separate Malaysian joints but which one has Victoria’s best laksa? See the top picks.
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First of all condolences to Penang Coffee House which shut down during Covid because if the Hawthorn institution – you needed to queue to get in – was still around, it would easily be crowned Victoria’s best laksa.
Same goes for Doncaster East mainstay The Malaya which also closed down but was one of the first suburban Melbourne restaurants to introduce the laksa to diners in the mid 1980s.
What is a laksa?
Curry and coconut broth with two types of noodles and then pretty much what you want on top of that, chicken, seafood, BBQ pork, it’s the self-contained meal as popular in Melbourne as it is in it’s home country of Malaysia or neighbour Singapore.
Self-described ‘laksa fiend’ Neil McCauley (not real name) gives his opinion on why those restaurants – voted by you the reader – are well deserved entries on the best Laksa in Victoria list.
Malaymas
320 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North
The family-run Malaysian restaurant has been serving Melbourne’s inner north for the best part of 30 years. The food is all great but diners can barely go past the Malayamas laksa which is clearly the most popular choice on the menu.
McCauley says: “I take down this laksa for its traditional curry-based broth”.
Jonker Street
Jackson Court, Doncaster East
Get in early if you want the Jonker Street laksa because it sells out – fast. Another which does its broth traditional Malaysian hawker-style but the added bonus is Jonker’s large laksa menu gives options from everything to BBQ pork, seafood and vegetarian.
McCauley says: “When I’m prowling around Doncaster I always swing by Jonker”.
Roti Road
189 Barkly St, Footscray
Best in the west, another traditional curry heavy broth (at this level its hard to split the restaurant quality) very much in the hawker style. A standout though is the great roti on hand which is an absolute must to dip into your noodle soup.
McCauley says: “I score the laksa anytime I’m in the area”.
China Bar
607 Station St, Box Hill
All China Bars are created equal but some China Bars are more equal than others. Yes, you can get a CB laksa just about anywhere in Melbourne now but the Box Hill version – one of the first suburban China Bars in Melbourne – is the best of the lot. A fine laksa which standouts against most of the pedestrian laksa around town its quality spikes big time with the addition of the special house made sambal.
McCauley says: “I always make time to come out to Box Hill for this China Bar”.
Laksa King
6-12 Pin Oak Cres, Flemington
Big shock if a place called ‘Laksa King’ didn’t make the list but the Flemington institution which has been around for 25 years was a clear winner in the laksa stakes. It was the standout Malaysian restaurant until …
Chef Lagenda
16 Pin Oak Cres, Flemington
… word on the street is, a former chef at Laksa King may have had a tiff with management and decided to open his own Malaysian restaurant practically next door to Laksa King. Either way, no one suffered as diners now had two great choices for tier one laksas with everyone living in curry broth harmony.
McCauley says: “I don’t hesitate to walk into either restaurant in 30 seconds flat if I spot the heat in the kitchen”.
10 Blake Street, Mornington
Le Feu
10 Blake Street, Mornington
Laksa is a labour of love at Le Feu.
“The broth for our laksa is cooked for 10 hours,” restaurant manager Thi Nquyen said.
“It has a depth of flavour that you don’t get anywhere else.
“Customers who have our laksa say that all the others taste like an instant version.”
Ms Nquyen said the eatery served a variety of laksas including chicken and barbecue pork or prawn and seafood.
“Customers can add whatever they like, tofu, vegies, roast duck.”
The Mornington restaurant is known for marrying French cooking techniques with Vietnamese flavours.
Chef Kevin Nguyen worked under French-Vietnamese Michelin chef David Thai and at Shannon Bennett’s Vietnamese bistro Jardin Tan.
In 2022 Le Feu Mornington was a finalist in the 2022 Restaurant and Catering Awards for Excellence.
Le Feu is the only Vietnamese restaurant accredited by Coeliac Australia.
The menu is fully gluten-free with almost half being vegan and is also completely peanut-free.
It even has a separate FODMAP menu.
Fortuna Noodles
shop 2/96-100 Thompson Ave, Cowes
Fortuna noodles is a classic to the Bass Coast area and a go to for noodle night.
Their Laksa is a spicy treat which will warm you up as we head into the colder months.
With noodles, chicken and a nice hearty broth you can’t go past this Laksa.
It is made with love in a family run business so every serve tastes extra special.
Bringing a little bit of south east Asia to Bass Coast, you have to try this Laksa.
McCauley says: “I’ve never been”.
Asian Noodle Cuisine
3 Birallee Pl, West Woodonga
Located in west Wodonga, Asian Noodle Cuisine is best known for serving authentic Asian dishes, including Laksa and Chinese soup in the border city.
Owned by husband Ken and wife Rosy, the Asian restaurant believes in the value of customer service and has been running successfully since 2014.
Their Curry Laksa Seafoods is one for the books, combining seafood and vegetables in coconut milk and a curry base soup served with hot thick egg noodles.
Asian Noodle Cuisine believe in the motto, “part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”
Rice Scoop, Sunbury
46 O’Shanassy St, Sunbury
Rice Scoop has been a locals favourite since it opened and wheeling out a delicious Asian-inspired menu.
While the restaurant is known for its signature dishes with the five spices pork belly and soft shell crab with chilli jam, another customer favourite is the classic laksa.
While chefs are always trying to make the menu as innovative as possible, staff say the dish is made special because it uses fresh seasonal ingredients served alongside “exciting and innovative” cocktails.
Penang Alley, Warrnambool
81 Liebig St, Warrnambool
Found in the Ozone car park in the CBD, this hidden gem is sure to capture many locals’ and visitors’ attention.
Penang Alley down in Warrnambool offers mouth-watering laksa dishes from their pop-up cafe and food stand.
The business also offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options for those with dietary requirements and don’t want to miss out on having one of the town’s best soups.
Customers can choose from a kari chicken laksa soup or with kari vegetables.
Their laksa dishes also have a coconut rice to enhance the overall taste of their product.
Nasi Lemak House
115 Grattan St, Carlton
Laksa lovers can choose from three flavours at the popular Nasi Lemak House, which serves Malaysian hawker food including Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, Mee Goreng.
For Laksa fans, the choice is between chicken – with egg noodles and rice vermicelli noodles,
chicken, fish cake, tofu, cabbage, carrot, beanshoots and spring onion; seafood – with egg noodles and rice vermicelli noodles, prawns, squid, baby clams, fish cake, cabbage, carrot, beanshoots and spring onion; and tofu and veg – with rice vermicelli noodles, tofu, bok choy, cabbage, carrot, beanshoots and spring onion.
Noshi Noodle and Rice Bar
70 Church St, Whittlesea
A local, family-run business, Noshi serves up delicious Asian dishes to the people of Whittlesea.
Their Laksa offering is a Curry Laksa Soup with egg noodles, rice vermicelli and a choice of chicken, prawn, fish cake and tofu with vegetables in a coconut curry soup.
The humble restaurant opened in the town just over ten years ago, when the owners “took on a challenge to bring the food we love to the heart of the Whittlesea township”.
Jin Yang Noodle Bar
Mitchell St Bendigo
As the weather gets colder in Bendigo, the soups make a return to menus and the traditional southeast asian laksa noodle soup is an appealing go-to comfort dish. The soup, which is especially popular in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, combines coconut milk and spices in a distinctive noodle soup that should be filling enough for a meal rather than a starter, before the entree. At the Jin Yang Noodle Bar you can enjoy variations including chicken Laksa, in its casual bar style seating are or as take away.
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