The Best Dish in Los Angeles County

This afternoon mumsy and I picked up USC Rad Grad Student and drove up to Pasadena to meet Stubborn Gourtmet T at Kuala Lumpur, one of the few Malaysian restaurants in the Los Angeles area.

I don't know why I don't eat here everyday - the food is so damn good! I like this place better than Little Malaysia in El Monte although LM makes these really good fresh fruit Slurpee-like drinks that can't be beat. The cooking at Little Maylasia is a little greasier and a little funkier (they use pig's blood in a lot of their recipes.)

The first thing that we notice when we walk into the restaurant is that it is filled with East Indians eating Roti Canai - yeah dude, we are in the right place! (note to self: next time order the Roti Canai [a flour based pancake served with a light vegetable non-coconut curry]).

I order for myself the Wonton Laksa - the best dish in LA County - which is the Curry Laksa with wontons added to it. The short definition of Curry Laksa is a coconut based curry soup. The laksa is a curry paste that is usually made from onion, ginger, galangal, garlic, lemongrass, chiles, candlenuts, coriander (not fresh although I think that I may have seen recipes that call for cilantro roots), paprika, and cumin, but there are probably as many laksa recipes as there are cooks. The curry paste mixed with broth and coconut milk produces something tart, salty, sour, sweet, rich, tangy, and creamy all at once - in other words divoon! The Wonton Laksa at Kuala Lumpur is served with thin rice noodles (but I always ask for the thick rice noodles), bean sprouts, Chinese broccoli, fried tofu puffs, and those wonderful wontons.

The wontons are filled with shrimp and pork and they are season with something that gives them just this wonderful flavor of funk. I just can't describe it; it's like a good funk like truffles, not too funky like natto.

The soup is served with some chili sauce on the side plus a slice of lime.

Then it was off to the Arclight to see "Little Miss Sunshine" for the second time - still funny a week later! Afterwards we went up to the rooftop bar for some cocktails and snackies.

Drink of the day (it's back!): French Martini