Cheng Jia Chicken Laksa Noodles – Chicken Laksa Done Right

I’m back at 630 Bedok Reservoir Market and Hawker Centre once more (the same place where Guang Liang Cooked Food is located) and here I am, trying something else for a change. A few rows behind Guang Liang is Cheng Jia Chicken Laksa Noodles & Hor Fun with a very unassuming signboard that’s easy to miss if you’re in a hurry, but I’ll be narrowing it down to their chicken laksa for this review.

Experience

Located two rows behind Guang Liang Cooked Food, their store can be easily missed with their plain signboard under a white background with red letters in both English and Chinese. For the record, Cheng Jia is written only in Chinese characters (成加), so the stall front should look like this:

The queue isn’t too long but like what happened at Guang Liang, don’t let that fool you. Most orders will take a while, but as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait, but better things come to those who are patient. Besides chicken laksa, they also serve roasted duck rice, chicken rice (both the steamed and roasted variants), char siew rice, as well as Ipoh hor fun. Quite a number of items on their menu, but most customers come for chicken rice, Ipoh hor fun, and of course, their chicken laksa which I feel is underrated.

Sure, it isn’t like the renowned janggut laksa (or Katong laksa as more popularly known) or Nyonya laksa, but this stall has taken a road less taken and does their variant of chicken laksa well.

Taste Test: Chicken Laksa ($5)

At first glance, you may come to the conclusion that this dish may as well be curry noodles, because when was the last time you’ve seen potato on laksa? Perhaps they may seem like a complete faux pas, but it still has the hallmarks of laksa with their coconut milk laded broth, tau pok, and thick bee hoon (with a side of chili paste and laksa leaves). Contrary to what you may think, the chicken plays an important role in the dish and it’s probably one of the only stores that does chicken laksa right which I’ll explain shortly.

The mixed use of chicken cuts, mainly chicken thigh and breast prevented the chicken for tasting dry and bland, and leaving the chicken skin on top is a smart choice of providing the chicken some flavour and moisture that it tastes best when mixed with the laksa broth.

The broth’s pretty robust with an obvious tinge of sweetness. With the sponginess of the tau pok, it soaked up the richer flavours of the broth and makes the taste experience rather satisfying rather than squeezing the broth out and setting it aside. But once the chili paste enters the picture, hoo boy as it made the broth so much sweeter. Not a total deal breaker for me since I like laksa broths with an equal mix of sweetness and umami-ness but for anyone who thinks this is heresy, then I’m afraid that Cheng Jia’s chicken laksa may not be up your alley.

The potato was tender, and can be easily sliced apart with a pair of chopsticks. You might think that this potato is like the weirdo that stumbles into the set in the middle of filming a period piece, but somehow it worked just fine, providing an additional layer of thickness and sweetness in the laksa broth with its starchy residue.

As for the thick bee hoon, it worked best when it’s cooked fresh out of the pot. My past attempts with Cheng Jia’s chicken laksa didn’t go too well when the bee hoon were barely cooked but that was years ago. With the short amount of time the laksa broth and bee hoon were together, the latter was able to absorb the former quite seamlessly and didn’t left much broth behind by the time I finished my bowl.

Final Thoughts

All praises aside, my biggest and only criticism would be that the portions felt a little small even with the extra thick bee hoon. By the time I finished eating, it left me with a strong ‘that’s it?’ feeling and my race to the bottom of the bowl felt so brief in comparison. Like, it could have been more filling and satisfying with a bigger serving as it left me craving more.

At $5 and judging the amount of ingredients provided, that’s already a godsend and I should be grateful with what I got. If a dish leaves me craving more and makes me want to return for it in subsequent visits despite any inconveniences, that’s a sign that the store’s worth returning for.

On that note, it made me wonder how and where chicken laksa originated from with the number of stalls offering it. Probably a think piece to write about once I’ve gathered enough information, but for now, no one really knows.

Address & Opening Hours

Address
Pasar Makan @ Reservoir (Bedok Reservoir Food Centre)
630 Bedok Reservoir Road, #01-17, Singpaore 470630

Opening Hours
Mon to Sun, 9.30am to 3pm
Closest MRT Station: Bedok North (DT29)