The Laksa Kitchen was probably Kentish Town’s sleeper summer foodie hit, packed every night on its brief two-week run at daytime sandwich joint Tolli.
Founder David Tjong teamed up with chef CY Lim to launch the side project (both still have full time jobs). And Lim knows his chops: growing up in Penang Island, he was inspired by his grandfather’s hawker stall to work in many of Penang’s luxury hotels before moving to London, where he’s now executive chef for Ekachai restaurants.
Now the enterprising duo are back for a six-week winter residency, from October 28th until December 18th. “We’ve been back to Penang over the summer,” says David, “and brought back three really amazing dishes.”
Which are? “Chee Cheong Fun – steamed rice noodles, topped with a sweet dark sauce, chilli paste, sesame seeds and dried shallots. Then there’s duck egg char kway teow – wok-fried flat rice noodles with prawns, chinese sausage, kow choi, beansprouts and chilli. And for dessert, Pandan Kaya sponge, filled with coconut jam.”
So far, so yum. And to address some of the issues people had, they’ve also improved their reservations system, increased the walk-in capacity to keep half the restaurant free, and (thankfully) sourced a better house red.
“Plus we’re adding specials so that regular customers can try new dishes,” says David. “My tip is our Assam Laksa, a regional laksa from Penang, with tamarind, mackerel and a really tasty fish stock base.”
Start queuing now.