Rich, Creamy Laksa Cooked By 73-Year-Old Hawker In Hipster Kopitiam

Opened in late August, Laksa Labo is a new concept by Wayne Tan (left in pic), 42, who also owns Wild Coco, known for elegantly plated nasi lemak resembling those from casual restaurant The Coconut Club.

His new laksa stall is located in the same kopitiam at Balestier that houses Wild Coco – Wayne took over the unit after the previous stalls, which sold wonton mee and fish soup, moved out of the coffee shop.

He is now the sole tenant of the hipster-looking joint outfitted with neon lights and tropical accents. But there is no obvious signage for Laksa Labo aside from a digital poster.

Laksa Labo’s recipe was developed in partnership with Mr Tok (right), 73, a veteran hawker who used to sell the noodle dish in the ’60s. The pair was introduced to each other by a Wild Coco part-timer (more on that later). The stall offers luscious bowls of laksa with tiger prawn and deep-fried snacks such as tahu goreng and zhai er (fried beancurd skin).

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Why sell laksa?

“I’ve always wanted to have one eatery that houses different brands. I was thinking of launching a separate concept [centred on] coconut milk when I found out the other tenants were relocating so I decided to go ahead with the plan,” says Wayne. “Business has been quite stable at Wild Coco as well so it felt like the right timing.” 

He figured a noodle dish would be a good complement to his existing nasi lemak stall. “A lot of customers asked if we had any noodle dishes, or something soupy. That’s when we thought of introducing laksa as a new concept.”

Their laksa is based on a veteran hawker’s recipe

The plan began to take shape after Tok Jing Yang (right in pic), a part-time service staff member, introduced Wayne to his grandfather, who used to own a laksa stall at a hawker centre in Tanjong Pagar. “I wanted my ah gong to have a job that’s less physically demanding. I find the [working] environment here pretty good and I thought he could work here as well,” says the 18-year-old, who has been working at Wild Coco since April.

Prior to joining Laksa Labo, Mr Tok was a cook at Margarita’s, a Mexican restaurant at Dempsey Hill. Before that, he owned a Western food hawker stall at Redhill. During a job interview, Wayne was delighted to discover that Mr Tok used to sell laksa in the ‘60s and decided to hire the veteran cook for his new venture. “I ran my laksa stall for about ten years. I got the recipe from a relative who sold laksa. We’re still using the same rempah now,” says Mr Tok in Mandarin.

The sprightly cook does not have a stake in the biz. “It’s less stressful! I don’t have to worry about not having enough customers,” he quips. He’s also glad to spend more time with his grandson, who helps him out in the kitchen with prep work occasionally. “Once the business stabilises and we start expanding the menu, we’ll look into hiring more staff so uncle can move into a more supervisory role,” adds Wayne.

One kopitiam, two concepts

Laksa Labo shares the same 50-seater coffee shop space – albeit with a separate kitchen and cooking staff – as Wild Coco. The price point at Laksa Labo is decidedly lower – a bowl of laksa starts from $5.80, while a plate of nasi lemak with chicken costs $9.80.

“If I have the opportunity, I’ll open a more atas standalone eatery for Wild Coco, something like The Coconut Club,” he says. “For Laksa Labo, we’ll stick to a kopitiam [setting] for now.”

Despite Wild Coco’s popularity (the stall sells about 250 plates of nasi lemak on a good day), Wayne tells us he’s funding Laksa Labo’s launch separately (he declined to share the amount). “The profit is not very high yet as we still have to cover start-up costs etc. Of course, we have ups and downs in the biz too. We’re almost at the break-even point [for Wild Coco],” he says.

More tropical touches

Since taking over the entire coffee shop, Wayne has added more design flourishes to the space. “I’ve replaced some of the furniture with wooden ones and we’re slowly adding more details as well,” he says.

Indeed, the mod kopitiam looks more congruent now compared to our last visit. Basic plastic chairs have been upgraded with wooden ones to match the tables, and there are more tropical accents like potted plants and rattan baskets to liven up the industrial vibe.

Laksa, mai hum

Laksa Labo’s noodle dish does not feature cockles, which are considered a staple in the traditional dish. “Cockles are tricky – you need to handle them well. It’s also a personal preference as I don’t eat them,” shares Wayne. “I’ve noticed that about half of our customers would order laksa without cockles [not knowing that our version already excludes them] so I don’t feel like we’re missing out on a large group of customers.” Mr Tok concurs. “It’s hard to find fresh, good quality cockles nowadays. We’d rather go without them,” he says.

Classic Laksa, $5.80 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Savoury and creamy with just a hint of sweetness, this luscious laksa features thicker-than-usual gravy that’s heavy-handed on coconut milk – a plus in our book, as the richness makes a good foil to the robust dried shrimp-flavoured broth.

Slippery, smooth thick bee hoon carries the almost goopy gravy well, while the globules of red chilli oil from their house-made sambal added a pleasant, mild spiciness to the overall dish. 

As an old-school laksa lover, we missed the presence of cockles in this dish, though we found the tiger prawn – thoughtfully shelled with its head and tail intact – to be an agreeable ‘replacement’. It’s fresh, plump and has all the requisite bright crustacean sweetness – no wonder Wayne insists on hand-picking the prawns from a nearby wet market every morning.

The other ingredients are of stellar standard as well. The deep-fried tofu puffs (also from the market), soaked in gravy, are especially shiok to chomp on, while the bouncy fish cake is pretty tasty too. The dish could be more aromatic if there was a more generous serving of finely chopped fresh laksa leaves. Still, we enjoyed this tasty, rich bowl of laksa.

Premium Laksa, $8.80 

Shell out for this upgraded bowl if you want more toppings – this $8.80 option comes with an additional tiger prawn, and a larger serving of taupok and fish cake.

Grandpa’s Tauhu Goreng, $6.80 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Another speciality from Mr Tok’s expansive repertoire – this time, based on his father’s recipe. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as this isn’t your typical Indonesian-style tauhu goreng that uses a kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)-based dressing.

Instead, the hawker cranks up a Chinese-style rojak sauce featuring hei ko (thick shrimp paste), chilli padi, lime juice, sugar and ground peanuts in a mortar and pestle before drizzling the luscious dressing over fried-to-order tofu. The heady, sticky sauce is definitely the highlight, providing a lovely umami kick to the crispy and tender beancurd.

San Su Gong, $5.80

Bottom line

Compared to famous spots like 328 Katong Laksa and Sungei Road Laksa, Laksa Labo’s version is more full-bodied and creamy, with a stronger savoury kick from the rempah.

Despite the amped-up flavours, we were able to finish the well-balanced gravy without feeling overwhelmed. We also liked the crispy tauhu goreng drenched in a fragrant, hei ko-heavy rojak dressing. Worth a try if you prefer your laksa on the richer, creamier side.

Address and opening hours

Laksa Labo is at McNair Spring,122 McNair Rd, #01-45, S320122. Tel: 9119-3822. Open Mon to Sat, 10am-8pm & Sun 9am-3pm. More info via Facebook & Instagram.

Photos: Alvin Teo

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.