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We came across these…

…at a supermarket here the other day and my girl was delighted as vermicelli is gluten-free so she would be able to eat that. They were selling at RM5.00 per packet and I decided to get the one with noodles as well to try.

At that point in time, I thought they were products of Singapore because I noticed that “Singapore taste/Rasa Singapura” phrase. I was thinking that it was very cheap compared to the celebrated made-in-Singapore one which costs no less than RM10.00 A PACKET now and I truly am amazed that there is a supermarket here stocking up on those which obviously means that there is a market and there are people buying, even at that astronomical price. However, upon closer scrutiny, I found that they were made in Malaysia, Johore, to be exact.

I don’t know why they see it fitting to share the limelight or credit or in Malay, tumpang glamor, when it is actually nyonya curry laksa which isn’t quite the same as the curry mee in the central and northern parts of the peninsula and Malacca/Melaka is as much a home to this peranakan culinary delight as Singapore even though I have not heard or read about any place there that is famous for it , only the one in Singapore which we had here and here before but both outlets have since closed down.

Anyway, I tried the one with the noodles…

…and inside, there were two sachets, one with the laksa paste (sambal) and the other with the seasoning – it appeared to me like the santan (coconut milk) powder was in the latter sachet.

I cooked the noodles and drained well before putting it in a bowl and then I boiled some more water and emptied the contents of the two sachets into it to cook the gravy. Once boiling, I turned off the heat and poured it over the noodles, served it, garnished with some greens, a few slices of char siew (barbecued meat), an egg and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions…

…and sat down to enjoy the fruit of my labour.

Yes, I did boil an egg, hard on the outside and runny on the inside…

…to go with it.

On the whole, I would say it was very nice…

– just like the nyonya curry laksa as I know it to be but considering that kampua mee is RM2.80-3.00 or less and a plate of Foochow fried noodles costs around RM4.00 and this is RM5.00 without the added ingredients and I would have to cook it myself, I certainly would think twice about buying it again.

Of course, it would come in handy for my girl in her school in the jungle for times when she runs out of things to eat or when she does not feel like having much else…and of course, at less than SGD2.00 a packet, this would probably be a steal for Singaporeans coming over across the Causeway.