Laksa King — Restaurant in Vancouver

Update: came back to give it another chance Oct 2023. Still disappointing! Sizes reduced further, menu prices still hasn’t been updated (see my previous review) but the owner just verbally tell you to expect prices will be different when you pay the bill. The worst of all is the tea leave salad was very small. The 3 of us each took a tablespoon full and it’s already half of it. It was extremely salty we didn’t want to eat anymore. I told the owner we want to cancel. She said rudely that we are not allowed to cancel but she could fix it. We said ok and guess what! She came back with the same left-over amount of “fixed” salad! Not only not apologetic but doesn’t even have the decency to replace the order! Plus she had to add that we should’ve told her earlier! money gauging, dirty, poor service*

Roti Canai: Flaky & crispy. The curry dipping sauce was ok. Almost double $ of what other restaurants charge. Laksa: mediocre. less ingredients than others. Noodles lack al dante. Laphet Thoke: was OK, but I have tasted better in another Burmese restaurant. Pad Thai: quite tasty.

My verdict: Tbh, couple roti & pad Thai were good although small portion size at higher price point but we WON'T return because each dish costed more than the prices stated on menu when we got the bill. We asked the owner and she said due to Covid, they had to raise the prices. I said that's understandable but the point is not-updating the menu/website throws people off. What if customers order based on how much they budgeted for? It's not hard to even just tape new prices over the old one. Owner said we could pay the original amount if we wish. We then noticed on the bottom left of the menu stated "Prices subject to change without notice". This statement makes us wonder the intention is to leave customers in the dark? We still paid the billed amount and left a tip but we were not happy with the dishonesty and lack of integrity. Cleanliness is our other concern. The fly in my photo was so stubborn! It won't leave even when we tried to wave it off. After chatting with an online food group apparently someone else experienced the same thing about charges...

I gave 3 stars because food is good and price is reasonable. For 4 satays at $16, it's pricey but it's definitely good meat, not burnt and the peanut sauce was on point. My dad even slurped it clean without the chicken. The laksa is perfect. U could ask for no spicy as well, which I would have gotten for my kids instead of the pad Thai which was a bit sweet to our liking. (Just s personal preference). Laksa comes with a whole egg, some tofu puff, two prawns, beans prout and good amount of chicken. For that amount, I thought pricing was great. Chicken curry and beef rendang were good too. What failed miserably is the service. When we got there, they didn't get us water right away. We had to ask. And I asked for a highchair for my kid. It looked dirty and I asked for it to be wiped. The young server took a wet towel and plopped and wiped the tray and left. The tray was drenched in water that I had to wipe it myself with a napkin or my kids sleeves gonna get wet. And while we were eating, dirty plates and bowls were piling up, and we put them on the side, hoping they would clear it. But no, I had to ask them to clear it. I deducted the stars because basic 101 waitressing skills was not there. Lastly, it was very uncomfortable sitting there eating in house. Not only was it cram, but the whole time, both my mom and my eyes were super stinging. Everyone else at the table was ok. I wonder if it was because we were sitting near the kitchen but man, that was truly an awful experience dining in. Maybe they should put up partition...

Was craving some laksa while in the neighborhood, and after some online searching figured that a place called Laksa King would be our best bet (you don't name yourselves Laksa King unless you do a good Laksa!). The restaurant is a shabby-chic 50's diner theme, complete with red pleather dinning booths, neon accent lighting and a car-hop wall mural. It feels totally out of place but you really don't care and if anything it makes your dining experience that much more memorable. Our service was pleasant, I did feel a bit sorry for the one server who was working hard to manage the entire place but he seemed to have things under control. Our bowls of laksa came out promptly and steaming hot, I took that little lime and squeezed the life out of it into my broth and proceeded to enjoy its wonderful, complex flavour. It's got a nice spicy kick to it, not too spicy though (I enjoy a medium spice level with things usually so it was perfect for me). I appreciated that the restaurant provided us with a pile of napkins because the spice was clearing out my sinuses very effectively. If I was hungry enough I would have also ordered the roti, I'll have to try again next time.

Will definitely be back to try other items on the menu! Most people who were in the restaurant with us had bowls of laksa and roti in...