Laksa Bar

I’m no expert but the soup base here hit the right spot on my taste buds.
I felt their soup base was rich and loyal the the original Laksa recipe in my book. I ordered the Softshell crab Laksa as recommended by Unilocalers but honestly the Softshell crab was just alright, not spectacular. I will probably try the chicken or seafood version when I’m in town again.
Also tried the Rendang beef which was very tasty, the stew has a bit too much ginger (or south ginger) but I don’t mind at all.
Pay first and take your number to the table, if you seat next the the kitchen window you can see how your order is prepared!

First time trying out this place and was immediately hit with the fantastic smells that filled the room.
We had crab and praw spring roll starters which were terrific followed by a great version of the Malaysian classic rendang beef.
This place is now my goto Malaysian restaurant well worth making the effort.

The curry laksa here is really tasty and very rich with a decent variety of toppings. Some of the other dishes I have had here have with not been as good. Once after a nasi lemak, I got sick. No one wants a nasi lemak cleanse. This place has potential but for me, it is only the laska that has hit the spot. Good name.

Good place to have curry laksa in Melbourne CBD, they have different options to add fried chicken and fish, seafood in the noodle (even the noodle they also have thin rice noodle and or normal), good curry and chili especially in a cold day

Before the review proper, I am sure the opening hours reflected on Unilocal is incorrect, it does not operate from 1130 – 0900.
So I have ordered the soft shell crab laksa, the laksa gravy is good but that is pretty much about it.
The batter on the crab was way too heavy a coat, imagine what is left after a good soak.
As the soup depletes, you find slices of fish cakes and mock crab meat, the appearance of half a fried egg killed my appetite, (while I am sure it was not dropped in by accident) replacing it with half a hard boiled egg would have made a less tragedy out of it.
Maybe something else if this place gets a second chance.

A great place to pop in for a cold Melbourne day. The laksa will warm you up and the prices will keep some pennies in your pocket.

I love Malaysian food and my favourite has to be the curry laksa — so in my pursuits for a good laksa, I first landed at the laksa bar at chapel street. Loved the seafood laksa there. Turns out they are second of the franchise, and the more popular one is this one in the city.
In comparison, this place is packed and almost a hole in the wall. But my word, the laksa is great. I have tried the seafood, chicken and vegetarian versions. My favourite is gotta be the seafood, followed by the veggie. I haven’t tried a lot of the other fare, but by the reviews, looks like I may have to pay them a little visit soon !!

Nasi Lemak Merah: not-​so-​fragrant coconut rice — quite plain in stead. The paste is interesting, not really spicy. It’s a but weird to see pickled vegetables and pineapple in this dish.
Chicken laksa: less spicy and more meat than Paparich. I kinda like laksa here.

Laksa Bar is a refreshing little place on Little Lonsdale, clearly reminding me of typical noodle shops in Malaysia /​Singapore with stools for seats, wooden tables and pleasant «incomplete style» décor all round, stacks of drinks boxes lined along the counter and random objects around the place.
But of course the objective of checking out this place was to try their laksa. So I politely ignored the other parts of the menu (note: wide selection of rice dishes and wok fried noodles) and went straight to ordering the Soft Shell Crab Laksa.
As I have not tried every laksa available in Melbourne, I can’t say the Soft Shell Crab Laksa is the best around, but it’s definitely one of the best and was pretty EPIC. Not only was the presentation excellent, the crabs were fried perfectly, noodles were done just right (using the typical yellow and rice noodle mix) and the laksa soup was flavoursome, thick and a bit chunky. In addition, the laksa also contained an egg (a good surprise inclusion), crispy fried wonton skin, beanshoots, fish balls and a small piece of crab stick (which I didn’t think was necessary in a soft shell crab dish). The only thing I would suggest is to ask for extra spiciness if you’re into spicy food. They even do a small sizes for those with smaller stomach capacities or perhaps prefer a not so heavy meal (regular size is quite generous.).
If you’re into laksa, and in the city hunting for a nice bowl of laksa to cure that laksa itch, definitely drop by this place and have a go. Delicious, simple, straight forward Malaysian laksa awaits you…

Great veggie laksa. I didn’t check for sure whether it was free from all animal products but it was darn tasty, filling and just the right thing for a cold night.

The laksa stock is very flavorful especially with the laksa leaf flavor, with good portion of the ingredients.
On a separate evening had the char kuay tiao, moist and really nice texture. Both dishes taste better than many places in Malaysia.

Laksa is a damn delicious cure for Melbourne’s weather-​induced blues and Laksa Bar is one of the most convenient places in the city to stop in for a big bowl.
Coming here with the sole goal of scoring a big bowl of chicken laksa, I failed by getting distracted by their noodle menu and ordered some Char Kway Teow (for which I have a bit of an obsession with), but my husband got a regular bowl of laksa.
The Char Kway Teow looked pretty promising when it arrived — a big plate of dark, rich, sticky noodles. Unfortunately it was just ok. Not Singapore good. The prawns were tasty. I added a side portion of chilli to give it some oompf which definitely improved the flavour.
So I had to watch in envy as my partner happily devoured his laksa. Thankfully the regular sized bowls prove too big for one person (even for a big eater!) so I got to share. The broth and chicken were excellent, this would definitely be my pick coming here again.
It’s a laksa bar, order the laksa.
They also have a small size offering which I think is more than enough for a lunch serve.
Overall a nice meal for under $ 15.

It’s a win when Laksa bar happens to be one of the only decent places open on Good Friday. It’s another win when it serves relatively affordable tasty and filling meals. Of course there are meals here, but when coming to Laksa bar, it’s a tad odd not to order after what the restaurant is famed for. In effect the same as heading a few steps up to Gami and forgoing on the chicken. East Malaysian Laksa is always a great starting point, and is tasty with the combination of noodles, prawns and chicken. It’s a welcome change from other noodle soups, but my favourite continues to be Phở. Easy no fuss meals, that are nutritious. I’m sure this place will become a blessing during the colder months.

Whenever I go to a Malaysian restaurant, I always get some type of stir-​fried noodle dish. But since I heard so many great things about the laksa here, I decided to give that a try. It also happened to be my first time trying laksa ever.
I had the seafood laksa ($ 15.90). I liked the broth because it flavorful but not overly salty or spicy. But the shrimp didn’t have any flavor to it. It’s not even that it was bland, it just didn’t even taste like shrimp.
Our table also ordered a few appetizers to share — the satay tofu and the fried soft-​shell crab. I really liked the peanut sauce (?) that was on top of the tofu. It went well with the bed of bean sprouts and cucumbers. The soft-​shell crab was fried to perfection — it didn’t taste too greasy like a lot of fried foods might. It comes with this sriracha-​mayo type dipping sauce.
Everything is self-​serve at Laksa (except for the food). You order and pay at the counter, grab your own utensils, plates, and water, but they’ll bring the food to you. Not sure if that’s a Melbourne/​Australia thing but it was weird. Not that I’m above setting the table, I just wasn’t used to that since we don’t do that in the States. I guess Americans are just lazy.
I would recommend the laksa — just stay away from the seafood one.

I am a big fan of laksa and asian food in general I had herd about this place and was exited to try it out. I met my friend there on a Saturday afternoon the was no waiting for a table we walked in and got seated straight away.
I ate the house seafood laksa and it was great. The coconut broth is to die for full off spice.
Just bring cash as they charge 50cents to use eftpos if your order is under 20. Considering a big bowl of seafood laksa is only $ 15

The laksa broth is amazing here. So much going on! Another plus is that they also sell beer and beer food sized asian goodness. It’s a bit pricey here but I suppose cos it’s located in the city they have to maintain their upkeep somehow!
It’s hard for me to compare to laksa king in Flemington — they are both equally as good and both have a unique flavor. I guess it comes down to location and convenience — if you’re in the city come here. If the city is out of the way then Goto laksa king!
Tips — sit down and browse the menu, then go up and pay. Also self serve water and cutlery in the middle !

This place had me with soft shell crab.
I got the soft shell crab laksa and thoroughly enjoyed it. The broth was fragrant and rich — good balance of spice and coconut flavor. And that soft shell crab was just gooood, a perfect match.
After you get seated, pick out what you want, then go to the cash register to order and pay. Sometimes I see a few people waiting for someone to take their order… but you gotta do that at the register.

Really good laksa! I had the east Malaysian laksa, just to switch it up, and I was in the mood for just rice noodles. I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but given that, it was better than I expected! The broth was super flavorful, and a spoonful will tell you that much time and many ingredients had gone into making that soup perfect. The chicken was also so soft and tender. Heads up though – it’s a big bowl, and very filling.
Only con was the noodles were slightly over-​cooked. But I didn’t mind it too much. Plan to revisit for the other laksas in the future.

We had been craving laksa all week and a friend told us we wouldn’t find a decent laksa in the city. We discovered this place on our way to Chinatown and from the moment we walked in and could smell the spices we knew it would be a good feed.
A serve of spring rolls to start us off was proved to be the best spring rolls either of us have ever eaten, followed shortly by a laksa so full of flavour we both ate too quickly.
The only thing we would have liked would have been a big more vege in the laksa.

Soft Shell Crab NASI LEMAK… WIN!
So we stumbled in to the Laksa Bar after a night of caffeine finished by beer from the friendly staff at League of Honest Coffee. It wasn’t our first choice I will admit but they had really good heating and plenty of tables.
I almost happened to recall Laksa Bar has extensive Nasi Lemak options which is always win in my head. As you can see from my photos the Soft Shell Crab Nasi Lemak looks amazing and it tasted great as well. They key for me was the great sambal, the rice was not over powered with flavour which is just how I like it and the anchovies and peanuts were separate and very tasty.
Will come back for this dish again!