King of Laksa serves great guilt-free laksa, but needs better flow

Let’s be honest: Laksa has never been associated with healthy eating. 

Right now, you can probably picture a gloriously sinful bowl swimming in a layer of orange oil loaded with coconut milk richness, and with enough sodium to get you feeling thirsty. 

It’s everything a nutritionist might warn you about — at least, until two former fitness consultants (one of whom is actually a doctor) decided that it doesn’t always need to come with a side of guilt. 

The result? King of Laksa, a stall that promises all the flavour of good laksa, without the guilt. And the growing queues in Aljunied are proof that people are sopping it up.

The backstory

Don’t be fooled by the name: King of Laksa is unrelated to “King of Fried Rice” or any of the other “kings” in Singapore’s food scene. The stall first opened in August in a coffeeshop on Geylang Road, before moving to its current location on the second floor Food Gallery near Aljunied station last month. 

Before becoming hawkers, the husband-and-wife duo Kotthika and Dr Qian Yu ran a business helping people slim down through wellness and fitness coaching, where they’d sometimes serve bowls of home-cooked laksa to their clients.

These healthier bowls — completely free of added salt, sugar, and MSG — were so popular that the pair decided to take a stab at selling them full-time.

Of course, the only thing on King of Laksa’s menu is its laksa, available in two options: The regular version with prawns or cockles at S$8, with the option to top-up for more protein, taupok (tofu puffs), or noodles.

You can also request for a “slimming laksa” with half the amount of noodles, or even none at all, in exchange for a few extra ingredients.

Our verdict

As a “healthier” hawker concept, King of Laksa is really quite refreshing. If you’ve always loved laksa but felt bad about eating it too often, this is your answer.

It’s familiar, but noticeably cleaner than the typical hawker version. 

It’s a tad more expensive than your usual laksa, but the ingredients are fresh and high-quality, and you can finish the entire bowl without the heavy, greasy feeling that sometimes follows.

That said, you might want to wait a couple of months for the queue to shorten and the operational kinks to be ironed out — more on that later.

What it’s good for

The experience starts right after you order, when Kotthika grabs a steaming hot porcelain bowl from a boiler and places it on your tray. He then takes a couple of minutes to cook up a batch of noodles in his rempah-broth, with a carton of Heng Guan coconut cream in one hand to thicken things up.

After pouring them into your bowl, Dr Qian Yu carefully spoons on your topping of choice, as well as a spoonful of dried laksa leaves and signature chilli. Something that stands out is the complete lack of that oily surface layer you always see in laksa. 

The broth looks lighter, but there’s still that pretty orange hue that promises flavour.

The broth is still somewhat thick and creamy from the coconut cream, but not overly rich. If you’re used to stronger flavours, this might taste a bit mild, but it still has a smooth, comforting profile. 

Enter the dark red and fragrant sambal chilli. It tastes like a milder version of hae bee hiam: Savoury, slightly sweet, full of dried shrimp and some shallots, and not particularly spicy. When mixed into the laksa, that’s where the magic happens, adding an extra depth of umami, richness, and even a bit more texture due to how coarse the sambal is.

The red, glossy cockles make for a nice contrast against the milky orange of the laksa. They’re a bit slippery, but taste undeniably fresh, while soaking up the gravy and being lightly cooked by the heat of the laksa, so there’s less of that metallic taste that sometimes drives people away from cockles.

The prawns deserve special mention too. I’m not sure why only one of the three prawns still has a tail attached, but these were otherwise very easy to enjoy: Not as plump as a large tiger prawn, but still firm and sweet. 

My recommendation? Get both the hum and prawns for the full King of Laksa experience.

Elsewhere in the bowl you get a few pieces of flat tofu puffs — these are clearly great quality. Rather than an afterthought, the taupok absorbs the broth beautifully, while retaining its firm bite. 

I can’t empathise with those who opt for the “slimming laksa”, because these noodles are too darn good. 

They’re cut into small strands a la Katong Laksa style, making them much easier to scoop with a spoon. The chewy texture is just tight, not too soft or mushy, holding up well in the soup without becoming a soggy mess.

What it could improve on

The laksa is good enough for me to return, but the general speed and flow need some work, considering they’ve already been open for several months now. It took me three separate trips to actually try everything here, despite there being only one dish technically on the menu. 

The first time on a Friday, they ran out of prawns at 5pm before the dinner rush — supplier issues, according to Kotthika. The second time I arrived on Sunday at 11am during official opening hours (they’ve since updated the timing on Google to 11.30am), but they didn’t actually open until 11.45am, as the couple was still setting up. After waiting a further 10 minutes in the queue, I had to run off for another appointment. 

Third time was the charm, though the ordering system felt a bit erratic as some customers were able to pre-order before the lights turned on at 11.30am, leaving those in the queue wondering what was happening. 

Perhaps a beeper system or a numbering system might be better, so customers can order and wait comfortably at their tables, rather than standing in line. That said, the couple is clearly very committed and hands-on, so improvements are likely as they settle in.

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? As much as a food court can be.

Is a reservation necessary? No.

How to get there? King of Laksa is inside the second floor food court (above Sheng Shiong) of Block 118, a 10-minute walk from Aljunied MRT Exit B.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

For more ideas on what to eat, read on the new menu of Middle Eastern  restaurant Fat Prince at Tanjong Pagar and our guide on Christmas takeaways this year.