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Out of Laksa

I didn't realise how quintessential a good bowl of laksa was to the Australian diet until I moved to San Francisco. Growing up in Sydney, a delicious creamy bowl of laksa was easily accessible from pretty much any local "Asian"* takeaway joint or food court. If you worked in Sydney's CBD then you've probably had some amazing laksa for lunch on Hunter Street, Wynyard on a cold winters day.

But ask most people in the Bay Area if they know where to get laksa, they'll probably ask you in return "What's laksa?"... to which your heart might just sink into a dark dark place with the sobering realisation that you are living in a dystopian reality without laksa.

If you're Australian you know that almost nothing else can satisfy the flavours and textures that your body seeks when it seeks laksa. The coconut-ty / slightly fish sauce-y broth, a bowl filled to the brim with noodles, bean sprouts, chicken, prawns, fish cakes and maybe a boiled egg, and those amazing spongy fried tofu cubes that soak up all the delicious brothy goodness... 


A picture perfect laksa by Marion's Kitchen (click pic for recipe)

In general San Fransisco and Sydney actually have some big things in common:
  1. Expensive Victorian terraces
  2. A big iconic bridge
  3. Coastal city surrounded by nature
  4. And a massive Asian population... 
And a massive Asian population equates to some epic Asian food! All you need to do is checkout SF's bustling Chinatown (which btw happens to be the birthplace of the Fortune Cookie!) or historic Japantown in the Fillmore district. Good quality Thai and Vietnamese food are also plentiful across the city with a smattering of Korean food across the city. 

But unlike Sydney (or Australia for that matter) Malaysian / Indonesian food is almost non-existent in SF. I'm not sure why there are not as many immigrants from that part of SE Asia in the Bay Area, especially when there is such a big Thai and Vietnamese community. But either way it's definitely made me appreciate how lucky we are in Australia to have lots of Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean food available-lah.

If you are in SF and desperate, there is actually one Malaysian restaurant called 'Lime Tree' with locations in the Inner Sunset and the Richmond. It's a humble family-run business and they do offer laksa which will do the job if you just need a hit of the flavours. They also have some good roti bread and a beef Rendang. (There also happens to be a Vietnamese restaurant in the Mission literally called 'Laksa' but be warned... they don't actually serve any laksa!).

SF has the perfect weather for soupy, broth-y, noodle-y goodness which is why you can find pho, ramen and hot-pot everywhere. SF is screaming out for a laksa! Or at least... I am. And I'm sure a bunch of Aussies are too.

JS

*During the 90s a lot of generic "Asian" takeaway joints usually offered a disconcertingly long list of items that ranged from Thai to Chinese food. You could often get prawn crackers, pho, laksa and sweet & sour pork, all in the one order.... which if you're happy to sacrifice quality, isn't always a bad thing.

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Location: San Francisco, CA, USA

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