Chef Lagenda, Hawthorn by Rockstar

Winter in Melbourne leaves me craving a particular type of food - I want comfort and warmth. Chef Lagenda Malaysian Kitchen was recommended by my friend as a place we could catch up for noodles on a Saturday night. Luckily she booked as even at 6:30 pm it was pleasantly busy.

Vegetarian laksa

Our first offered table was up front near the door which I wasn’t keen on, so another table was found out the back. The overhead outdoor heaters created a decent amount of heat though I still needed to use my jumper as a knee rug to warm up my bottom half, as the back is really an outdoor covered set up. I imagine it would work well on a pleasant summer night.

Chef Lagenda, Hawthorn, chilli prawn noodles

I chose the chilli prawn noodles, without shell. I was drawn to the nostalgia of this dish - growing up, we had a local Malaysian restaurant that made a divine rich chilli prawn dish with a happy-making heat. It was always going to be a tough competition. This tomato egg gravy had a nice chilli warmth. Unfortunately the gravy was watered down when mixed with the egg vermicelli noodles which saddened me as the thinned sauce didn’t stick to the noodles and lost the rich flavour. Luckily there were plenty of plump tasty prawns to make it better!

My companion had a tough time choosing but decided on the vegetarian curry laksa, which she found satisfying and filling (see first pic). There was plenty of tofu and some gorgeous unctuous soft eggplant. She had a side of achar, but found the Malaysian pickled vegetables didn’t live up to the memories of a friend’s mum’s home made ones!

The service was efficient and friendly, and even in the busyness we didn’t feel like we were being pushed out. It’s a slightly noisy atmosphere, in line with the family groups gathered.