By Kianna Koh

I am very sure every Singaporean has heard of this dish; the famous 328 Katong Laksa. It used to be found only at East Coast Road but now this 328 Katong Laksa has other branches in Singapore, and lucky for the Westies it is now open for business in Westgate, a mall in Jurong East.

In 2013, Singtel organised the Hawker Heroes Challenge pitting our local cuisine hawker food against the famous Michelin-starred chef, Mr. Gordon Ramsay. The three representative dishes of our hawker culture were chicken rice, chilli crab and laksa. 328 Katong laksa was shortlisted at the laksa representative, and Mr Ramsay was then given time to learn the techniques to prepare the three dishes. The result? 328 Katong Laksa had won against Mr Ramsay’s take on it! From here, we can actually point out that the 328 Katong Laksa is pretty good, but honestly, what makes it stand out from other laksas.

In laksas, there is actually a seafood called sea cockles, but locals would refer to it as see hum. In some or most laksas, the sea cockles would be served raw, which some people would not be able to stomach. But for 328 Laksa, the cockles are actually quite cooked inside the gravy, which makes it taste better. The 328 laksa also has more dried prawn in the gravy giving it a unique taste. Also, the gravy is a bit more thicker than other laksas, because they add more coconut milk.

Credits to: Ashley Rahee Hong-Kwon

Some other side dishes that taste superb would be the Otah, so do remember to order that to go with your laksa!

Overall, laksa is a really rich and savoury dish that I believe everyone should try at least once in their life because it is something they definitely will not regret!