BEST LAKSA: KOPITIAM

Every expense has been spared in decorating the joint; but the mismatched tacky tables and the wobbly wooden chairs recreate an authentic Malaysian coffee house perfectly. Forget about the slick City hotels and the finer dining establishments that lay claim to serving up the best laksa in Sydney. Walk into Kopitiam in Ultimo and you are suddenly transported to the bustling streets of Kuala Lumpur or Penang complete with plastic chop sticks and laminated wall hangings. For over a decade, the Chan family has been feeding some of the best Chinese-Malay cuisine to locals, students and ABC staff and presenters alike.  The menu offers a range of “hawker style” dishes, but for my ten bucks (with change) – I rarely get past their delicious chicken laksa: chunks of chicken, tofu, shallots and half an egg atop a bowl of vermicelli and bean sprouts, all floating sumptuously in a sweet and spicy broth of curry chicken soup and coconut cream. It’s pure manna in a bowl. (Lawrence Gibbons)
594 Harris St, Ultimo. 9282 9883