Our top 7 best Sarawak Laksa in Kuching

Why do we make a top 7 laksa review?

Today, we start our journey through the vibrant streets of Kuching in search of the best Sarawak Laksa the city has to offer. Before we delve into our top 7 picks, we want to make one thing clear: every laksa on our list is as delicious as you would expect. This article is not about judging laksa stalls or dishes: it is a celebration of our love for laksa and our passion for sharing delicious discoveries with you. So, sit back, enjoy reading and use this top 7 as an inspiration for your next laksa breakfast.

What is (Sarawak) Laksa?

Sarawak Laksa is a variation of laksa that originates from the Malaysian state of Sarawak, located on the island of Borneo. Is basically is a noodle curry soup that traditionally comes together with shrimps. On top of that, the soup is filled with different toppings, such as the noodles (usually rice vermicelli noodles, but not necessarily), tender sllices of chicken, crispy & fresh beansprouts, omelette strips and fresh herbs like coriander. All of these components adds its own layer of texture and taste, contributing to the overall harmony of the dish.

The curry most of the time is made from a coconut-milk basis that is infused with a lot of spices such as lemongrass, galangal and garlic. It is served on the side with a lime and some extra shrimp paste. This is for you to determine the perfect spiciness level: add some extra lime to make it less spicy or add the shrimp paste to make it even hotter. In short Sarawak laksa is a must try whenever visiting Sarawak.

How did we rate the laksa’s?

Before we dive head first into our top 7 laksa review, we want to clarify what criteria we used to rate the laksa’s. We decided on five aspects of the laksa which seemed the most important to us and used this as a score for the whole dish. The five criteria’s are: presentation, fillings, curry flavour, balance and price-quality. Each aspect is scored 1 to 5, where 5 is the best score and 1 has much room for improvement. Then we added up each score for a total and divided this by 5 to come up with the average score for each dish. And because we are Whaling Around, we use whales to rate the dishes.

The five score-aspects of laksa explained

Where are our top contenders located?

Below we have located all the laksa stalls for you. This way you do not have to search for them yourself and you can simply click on of the whale logo’s to find them.

7. Laksa Fat Cat – Fat Cat Foodcourt

Embarking on our quest to uncover the crown jewel of Sarawak Laksa in Kuching, we stumbled upon Laksa Fat Cat. Compared to most of the laksa’s on the list, it is not located in a popular spot.

Despite claiming the 7th spot on our adventure, Laksa Fat Cat exudes its own charm. Priced at a wallet-friendly RM 8.00 for a regular portion, it offers great bang for your buck.

But what Fat Cat laksa sets itself truly apart from the others, is its unique curry. It is unlike we have encountered so far in Kuching. They try something different, which they do great (although it was a bit too spicy for us). Besides, you get 5 shrimps which is the most we have encountered during our quest. It also comes with beansprouts, chicken and coriander. Unfortunately, the omelette was nowhere to be found.

While it may not have received the top spot, Laksa Fat Cat remains a worthy contender on our laksa journey through Kuching.

6. King Laksa – iCom Square

Claiming the 6th spot on our Laksa expedition is King Laksa, located at iCom Square. Despite its moderate ranking, King Laksa has plenty of strong apects.

Priced at RM 10.00 for a similar sized portion as other - cheaper - laksa's, it falls slightly short in terms of price-quality in our opinion. The King, however, makes up for it with its flavourful curry and generous serving of fillings, earning them two times the score of 4 whales.

The laksa's curry flavour, although rich and satisfying, lacked some spiciness. Thankfully a perfect balanced harmony of flavours between curry and fillings ensured an enjoyable dining experience.

For us King Laksa might have the most delicious taste of them all, but the other aspects costed them a top three position.

4. Signature Madam Tang's Cafe - Saradise

Tying for the 4th spot on our Laksa excursion is Madam Tang, nestled within the vibrant Saradise. Their laksa dish 'Sarawak laksa regular' comes at a price of RM 11.90.

There is two aspects we find truly great. The first one being the presentation. It looks absolutely delicious when served. This made us decide to give a unique 5 out of 5 whalepoints on presentation. We found no other laksa dish to have the same appeal as Madam Tang's. The other aspect is the curry flavour: wow! This curry is so rich and dense you just want to keep eating. That being said, we also felt the curry overpowers the other fillings. Something the other laksa dishes did manage to put together.

Overall, Madam Tang's laksa offers a satisfyingly spicy kick and an indulgent dining experience that is sure to leave you craving more.

4. Poh Lam Laksa - Chong Choon cafe

Securing the other half of the 4th spot in our laksa quest is Poh Lam Laksa at the Chong Choon Cafe. Perhaps this is the most famous laksa stall in all of Kuching.

For us Poh Lam Laksa excells in the balance between the curry and their ingrediënts. It also comes with the perfect spiciness level. We do missed egg or omelette as a filling and the fillings were not the most flavourful. This made us decide to score them 2 out of 5 whalepoints on fillings. On all the other aspects they score above average as you would expect from this classic laksa dish.

Available for just RM 8.00, it offers one of the best price-quality ratio's we have came across during our ratings. Simply put, Poh Lam Laksa is a stall you have to visit at least once during your visit of Kuching.

3. Madam Lau Laksa - Da' apple kopitiam

Kuching's best laksa 3rd place is given to Madam Lau Laksa. The stall is located at the Da' Apple Kopitiam, near the waterfront and really close to its competitor at the Chong Choon Cafe. With an impressive presentation score of 4 whales, Madam Lau Laksa sets the stage for a much promising food experience.

This laksa is priced at an inexpensive RM 8.00. If you feel like it, you can buy the additional eggpiece (just like we did), for an additional RM 2.00. And if we are truly honest the eggpiece is a worthy addition to the laksa. The fillings have much flavour, just like the shrimps. We loved to see at least one more shrimp in there, as the other stalls mainly come with at least three of them. Because of this, we cannot give them the full 5 whalepoints for fillings.

Madam Lau Laksa delivers a harmonious blend of flavours and textures. We would like to see just a tiny bit more spiciness, but in general it is a very good laksa worthy of the 3rd place.

2. Auntie Goh Laksa - Thompson Cafe

Earning the silver medal in our Sarawak laksa Kuching top 7 is Auntie Goh Laksa at Thompson Cafe. While it may not be the most famous laksa stall, their laksa dish is truly a feast. Featuring a unique array of fillings including incredible crispy beansprouts, delicious egg & chicken and three shrimps. We say 5 out of 5 whalepoints for the fillings. The curry flavour is good with a satisfyingly spicy kick that left a lasting impression. However it is not the boldest we have had, which is why they earn a respectable 4 out of 5 whales.

The aspect Auntie Goh could improve the most is the presentation if you ask us. It did not gave us the spark we were hoping for. Thus earning a modest 3 whales. That being said, it is priced at at an affordable RM 8.00. Offering excellent value for money without compromising on flavour.

That is why Auntie Goh emerges as a top contender for us. It offers an excellent laksa experience that is simply a must try.

1. Duduksama Kopitiam - Saradise

Securing the number 1 spot in our quest of finding Kuching's best Sarawak laksa is Duduksama Kopitiam, located in the always vibrant Saradise. Duduksama shines brilliantly in every aspect, if you ask us. Priced at RM 11.90, it may lean towards the higher end, but the experience (and amount) it offers is worth the Ringgit. It features all of the fillings you can aspect in a Sarawakian laksa: bean sprouts, chicken, coriander, egg and three delicious shrimps. What we found astounding were the incredible soft and tasty noodles that came with it.

Duduksama Kopitiam's Sarawak Laksa promises a symphony of flavours and textures that dance on your palate. It delivers an unforgettable experience - perfectly balanced on the edge of spiciness - that leaves you craving for more. That is why we scored Duduksama Kopitiam a 5 out of 5 whales for curry flavour, fillings and balance. If we were to give them points to improve, we would say they can work on their presentation of their laksa. Which is the reason we did not gave them all of our whalepoints.

All in all Duduksama is our rightfull winner in our top 7 of laksa. We are very happy that one of our readers pointed them out as their favourite place to eat laksa. We could not agree more.

Our quest to find the best Sarawak Laksa in Kuching is completed

In conclusion, our quest to find the best Sarawak Laksa in Kuching has been a journey full of highlights. Each laksa spot offered its own unique twist on this beloved dish. We would like to invite you to share your own experiences and recommendations. Do you agree with our rankings or do you have a favourite laksa spot that did not make our list? Feel free to reply with a comment below. After all, it's great to find undiscovered places and try them out. We hope to see you in our next blog.