Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture · History

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W W Water Works Laksa Johor Bahru 水塘路辣沙

Restaurant name: W W Water Works Laksa House 水塘路辣沙
Address: 36A & 36A1, Jalan Kolam Air, Taman Water Works, Johor Bahru, 80100, Johor Bahru, Johor, 80200 Malaysia
GPS1.471314, 103.736613
Hours: 7:00am to 4:00pm (closed on alternate Weds)
Tel: +60 12-727 3755
Non Halal

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Most people who grew up in Johor Bahru knows about Water Works Laksa 水塘路辣沙. The famous shop which started as a push cart stall has been titillating taste buds since 1978.

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This is the large serving for RM7.

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The soul in a bowl of curry laksa is in it's aromatic spicy broth.

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The aromatic broth looks fiery but it is actually well balanced with savoury, sweet, and mildly spicy flavours. It has good round body but does not have cloying amounts of coconut milk in the broth. It is also not overly greasy. The broth felt slightly grainy from the ground spices.



It is highly drinkable and I happily drank it all up to the last drop of curry.

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The curry laksa comes with house made fish balls ("normal" and fried), fresh cockles, fish cake slices, tau pok and crispy fried wantan skin with fish paste. There is a mandatory teaspoonful of finely chopped laksa leaves (daun kesum) scooped into the bowl of curry at the side.

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I always enjoyed the plump otak otak sold separately as a side at W W Laksa.

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It's a nice balance of savoury sweet spicy flavours in a voluptuous soft "tongue" of fish paste and spices.

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The otak otak is wrapped in a sleeve of coconut leaf. It is grilled till slightly charred outside, imparting the morsel with an addictive smoky char flavour. I literally couldn't stop eating the otak otak piece after piece.

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The cheerful lady boss Mrs Ang who ran W W Laksa with her husband for 36 years is a local legend :-D

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The youthful looking Mrs Ang was later joined at the shop by her two equally famous daughters and now her grandson.

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Mrs Ang originally hails from Singapore and joined her Johorean husband to start Water Works Laksa in 1978. The W W Laksa recipe is Mrs Ang's own creation inspired by her neighbours in Singapore's Old Airport Road.

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Inside W. W. Laksa, it is clean and comfortable, though basic and simply furnished. Besides their signature laksa, W W Laksa House also serves Teochew kway teow soup.

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This is my earlier post, 3 years ago, on W. W. Laksa <- click.

For more laksa shops and stalls in Johor Bahru <- click.

Dates visited: 4 Jan 2012, 4 Jun 2015

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6 comments:

  1. At the time of your visit. Did you spot any malay eat the?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heard the iconic Mrs Ang the linchpin of Water Works Laksa just passed away. A passing of an era.
    Do confirm whether this is true or not !

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, the Iron Lady Mrs Ang just passed away last month. :(

    ReplyDelete

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