Heritage Laksa Stall From Penang Opens Pop-Up Shop In S’pore, Crispy Tempura Fish Laksa Worth Trying
Most folks associate Penang laksa with the famous assam-style variety, but have you heard of Penang laksa lemak? Think of it as a cross between the clear tamarind and prawn paste-spiked fish broth noodle dish that the Malaysian state is famous for, and the coconut milk-rich kind common in Singapore. Now, you can get your paws on some at the Granny Q pop-up, which starts 29 April and will run for a few months till further notice. Who and what is Granny Q, you ask? It’s a humble laksa hawker stall from Pulau Tikus, a small town in Penang. The eatery is run by five siblings and named after their late grandmother, Granny Kew. Even though it only opened in 2022, their lone menu item of laksa lemak is made with their grandmother’s treasured recipe which according to them, dates back to the 1920s. The dish is described on their website as a sort of “Nonya-Thai laksa”. Interesting.
The Singapore pop-up will be hosted from Fridays to Sundays at hipster mod Japanese joint, Rappu Handroll Bar at Duxton Road. It’s brought here by The Proper Concepts Collective, also behind trendy Mexican-Indian diner, Ms. Maria & Mr. Singh, which was opened in collaboration with celeb chef Gaggan Anand.
If the pop-up is successful, co-owner of The Proper Concepts Collective, Sheen Jet Leong, tells 8days.sg that we might see a permanent standalone Granny Q outlet in Singapore.
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Granny Q’s co-founder & niece will cook at SG pop-up
But aside from the pimped up toppings, the bowls will remain true to the original recipe. The laksa noodles, rempah, chilli flakes and hei ko (fermented prawn paste) are all imported from Penang.
One of Granny Q’s co-founders, Esther Heng (extreme right in pic), will be in town to train the Rappu cooks and serve at the pop-up on selected days, while her niece will be stationed here for its entire duration.