Best assam laksa!

SBread's assam laksa is thick with fish, yet it comes with the fillet of half a kembong in it. - Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 If theres a good assam laksa anywhere, Ill be there like a flash. It has to have the right balance of sour, salty and sweet. It has to be generous with the fish.

A good fish stock, mostly from ikan parang boiled in assam water, with lemongrass, as we used to cook it at home, and the fish flaked into the curry, together with a good rempah and all the fragrant leaves of daun kesom and bunga kantan, makes a great assam laksa. And I must see chunks of fish in it, not just the powdery bits in the curry.

These days ikan kembong is mostly used, but that does not detract from the sweet fish flavour of the assam curry, if enough of it is added into the curry. And I must say I found the best assam laksa so far at SBread in the Gardens, Mid Valley. Its a food stall sandwiched between Rak Thai and Pulau Ketam Yong Tau Foo, in that space between the Megamall and Gardens.

The place has a name that you would not identify with laksa; it used to be more a bread and toast place. Toast is still served with kaya that is made every morning. You can have Yam Kaya Toast or Pandan Kaya Toast. This kaya toast is done in the style of a popular outlet in the Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok.

But first the Penang Assam Laksa, which is served topped with fresh mint, pineapple and shredded bunga kantan, with a spoonful of prawn paste. Tip all of this into the assam laksa, and amazingly it gives the right balance of sweetness to it, besides lacing it with a distinctive taste. Its a laksa thick with fish, yet it comes with the fillet of half a kembong in it.

According to stall owner Tan Quee Siew, all her customers like the Assam Laksa that way, with big pieces of fish. The laksa was exceptional and I would come back again for this.!

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Delectable nasi lemak with added pandan juice. - Picture by Choo Choy May

We moved on to nasi lemak. Tan is obviously a skilled nyonya cook. She had added pandan juice to the coconut milk to cook the rice. So you get a whiff of pandan aroma in the rice and the santan hugs each grain, touched with a little salt. The nasi lemak comes with sambal and hard-boiled egg, and either chicken rendang or chicken curry. We liked it better with the chicken curry which had all the lovely nyonya flavours.

Toasted charcoal bread topped with otak-otak - Picture by Choo Choy May

SBread is also well known for its Bamboo Charcoal Bread which can be toasted and spread with kaya, or topped with otak otak. You can also buy a loaf home. The nutritious bread, which is black from Japanese edible charcoal, is rich in minerals, has cleansing properties, improves circulation and lowers acidity levels in the body.

Its unusual to have an otak otak topping for bread, let alone charcoal bread. Pieces of fish were visible in this creamy, spicy otak otak.

We had a drink of barley to cool down. But it was no ordinary barley water; it was tinged pink by a leaf called Rhoea Discolor that it had been boiled with. It is shaped like a pandan leaf, and its rich in iron and phosphorous; its supposed to help with digestion and cleans your intestines.

Patrons savouring their meals at the Sbread outlet in Gardens. - Picture by Choo Choy May

Sbread is a convenient brunch, lunch, tea or dinner place. There are also fried noodles, Mee Siam, Tomayam Beehoon, Instant Noodles with Dry Curry and Mee Goreng Mamak style. Then there are the breakfast and tea snacks like yam ca! ke, chye kuih and woon chai koh.

For Friday lunch there is Rice Wine Chicken, and on the first and 15th day of the month, there are vegetarian dishes.

SBread serves a mean Penang coffee, thick and smooth with condensed milk. Its the place for the fragrant Thai iced tea too.

SBread is located at LG232B, Lower Ground Floor, The Gardens Mid Valley, Tel: 03-2283 2929.