2022 Oct, Yee Fung Laksa, Malaysia KotaKinabalu travel (must-go restaurant)

The must-eat soup: Laksa

Malaysian population consists of three main races (Malay, Indian, Chinese). Of course, this country has developed a variety of cuisine based on different cultural background. One of the most famous food is Laksa, the traditional soup in the area of Singapore, Malaysia and countries around. Let's go to Yee Fung Laksa in Kota Kinabalu. 

1. What is the Laksa? 

Laksa is a traditional soup based on the fish or chicken stock with various toppings on it. It is said that Chinese who had immigrated from the main land spread the noodles and mixed with local culture, it had come to be the present Laksa. 

Laksa is largely divided into 2 types; One is assam Laksa which has sour taste of Tamarind creamy and another is mild Laksa Lemak with coconut milk. Yee Fung Laksa in Kota Kinabalu is one of the Laksa Lemak. 

Where is Yee Fung Laksa? 

Yee Fung Lacksa restaurant is located at the end of Gaya Street (Jalan Gaya) between Philiphino night food market and Wisma Merdeka shopping mall. It took only about 10 min from my accommodation, Hotel 7 Suria. 

Let's hit the road following the locals. The two colorful building were often seen in other blog postings. Probably, the main street in Kota Kinabalu. It might be better if it was sunny. But Let's look on the bright side, thinking that I don't need to sweat much. 

On the both sides of the street, there were car parkings. I thought, just like Korea, this country also has same parking system for downtown areas. All around the world, parking is the serious problem in the main cities.

At the end of the Gaya Street, on the left side you can see the greenish sign board, saying Yee Fung laksa. Although the banners clinging under the street gate informs about the Friday and Saturday night market in this street, it wasn't tempting much. 

Inside the restaurant, it was crowded not only with tourists but with the locals who wanted to have a quick slurping. Seeing that Grab Food drivers were coming and leaving for the delivery so often, apparently this place is one of the well-known spots. 

*warning*

There is a toilet in this place but it is literally a 'Toilet', not a 'washroom'. My partner was in emergency to go but he was in panic seeing inside. Hope you go to a loo earlier. 

What you can eat at Yee Fung Laksa

Mainly 3 types of dish are served here; soupy Laksa, dry Laksa, and clay pot rice. Plus, you can have some stir-fired vegies or fishball soup either. 

The price is remarkably reasonable. The most pricey one is only 18 RM (Ringgit Malaysia), which is just about 4 dollars. 

I wanted to try the fancy-looking one, menu AA, but a server in a green apron let me know it's just same as menu A1 but only has extra king prawn toppings. Since we are not big-breakfast eaters, we just ordered A1 (Yee Fung Laksa) & A2 (Yee Fung Ngau Chap, beef). 

*warning 2*

Drinking water in kota kinabalu is not thought to be safe enough for the new comers like us. It might be better to have cold Chinese tea or bottled water. 

A1 & A2 were served only 3 minutes after my order. Guess, they pre-boiled the noddles first then add some soup and toppings as got orders. 

The portion is somewhat smaller than normal noodle bowls at other restaurants, the pic makes them look much bigger though. If you have them as a proper meal, I recommend you have 3 dishes for 2 people. An extra clay pot would be the best choice. 

This A1 menu has the chicken or sea food soup with a trace of coconut milk, which is very mild and rich. It doesn't taste spicy at all, rather tastes sweet. 

The toppings consist of small prawns, chicken, fried tofu strips and cilantro. If you don't take cilantro, you can ask to take them out. For me, I should've asked extra. 

This signiture menu is the very familiar and popular taste which nobody doesn't like. Slurping the creamy and sweet soup, you can enjoy the noodles and plump prawn as well. 

Although my favorite was the original laksa, my partner prefered this beef soup laksa. It has tofu, beef tendon, meal balls, and soem pieces of seasoned beef. 

This soup was almost same as the Korean beef soup, 'Gal-bi tang'. It tastes like herb medicines, maybe largely liquorice..? 

This feels so normal and expectable that I'd rather finish the original soup. 

Bottom line

If you'd got a lot of booze the day before, you must go to this place the next day. Hopefully, this soup will pull you back together.