SARAWAK-SA.

YUM: Ms Sim with her Sarawak laksa. PICTURE: K F SEETOH

That's what you get when you try to mumble 'Sarawak laksa' as a big spoonful of this dish is hijacking all the senses inside your mouth.

To begin with, that's not going to happen too often as one can barely count to two the number of hawkers offering this delightful laksa here.

It's one of those dishes which draw well-travelled Malaysians from Sarawak back to their sleepy capital, Kuching, for their regular fix.

Same story that we have for the Sungei Road laksa with the travelling gourmets here.

But making a good version is not a walk in the park, as balancing the many spices used in laksa is like trying to get a motley group of multi-racial folks to sing an impromptu aria perfectly.

Yes, the performance can go either way, usually south or deep south.

But then a successful restaurateur here wanted to go back to her roots to savour and relive this Sarawak laksa culture.

The choice for her and her husband was to take that flight to Kuching and head for arguably the most popular stall there (Chong Choon Cafe, Abell Road), or set up a stall right here.

But there was also this to consider: They can't cook this dish for nuts.

The couple are the folks behind the successful Secret Recipe chain of eateries in the region.

'I could not just introduce this dish at our eateries as we would not be able to charge the $12 price tag needed to justify returns,' said Madam Sim, who, like quite a few successful entrepreneurs, decided to 'pay it forward'.

She tapped on a social enterprise community project and ran a small central kitchen with 'recovering clients' at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). She provided jobs and 'very patiently' trained their more able clients.

'We had to finely dissect the tasks in the kitchen - one to shred chicken, another just to slice the omelette, one to chop prawns, one to cook the paste and so on.'

And after three months, operations were smooth enough for the first set of ingredients and pot of Sarawak laksa paste to hit the streets.

So about nine months ago, Share Kitchen was bravely set up in the very volatile laksa zone of Katong.

Okay, nothing said above has any bearing on quality and, yes, I have had the pleasure of tearing into the version at Chong Choon Cafe in Kuching.

So how does this match up?

I have tried Madam Sim's version on at least half a dozen occasions and I was quite surprised to learn that it came off a central kitchen in a hospital.

'We bought this A1 brand paste as many of our relatives in Kuching say it's the best,' she said. 'But they don't tell you what kind of stock to cook it with, so we came up with a chicken and prawn head concoction.'

This Sarawak laksa is simple. An aunty cook (not from IMH) blanches only one type of thin yet rough beehoon in the laksa and it comes topped with shredded chicken and omelette, prawns, fish cake and bean sprouts.

But what gives it that edge over the nearby Nonya versions is that squeeze of lime. The whole rempah base for the laksa broth, which I can't fully decipher, sits very well with the sharp tang.

Not much of dried shrimp is used, and the belacan flavour is milder than in the Katong versions.

It is not so coconut-ty and milky either.

A dollop of their side sambal can heat things up if you like.

Now, if you want to decipher that rempah for me, please note that they dish out only 30 to 40 bowls a day, as Madam Sim says it's 'an experiment'.

But I'll warn her ahead to cater for the good food crowd there.

Makansutra, founded by KF Seetoh, is a company that celebrates Asian food culture and lifestyle. It publishes food guides in and around the region, produces a food television series, develops interactive mobile content and services, operates food courts and eateries, organises food tours and events, and consults on culinary concepts.

FYI

WHAT: Share Kitchen

WHERE: Fu Sen Coffeeshop 228, East Coast Road (at Jago Close)

WHEN: 7.30am-2pm, closed on Mondays

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