Sim Lim Eatery Sells Laksa Cooked With Earthworms, Boss Claims It Enhances Flavour & Freshness

Nestled among a row of eateries on the second floor of Sim Lim Square is month-old eatery Nanyang Spice. The cosy 20-seater sells hawker favourites such as prawn noodles, lor mee, and kaya toast. It has a nostalgic vibe with its Peranakan tiles, wallpaper, and enamel bowls to match.
It’s easy to overlook it in favour of its super popular neighbour 3 Meals A Day, known for its viral salted egg-centric rice dishes, and ordinarily, we would. But something piques our interest when we peer in the shop: a sign touting its signature dish lumbricus laksa aka laksa with earthworms.
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What is lumbricus?
Before you go “eeyer”, the lumbricus (the scientific name for earthworms) here are not the creepy crawlies you’d find beneath a leaf litter at the park, but the dried version of a type of earthworm used in traditional Chinese medicine called di long.
Sold in medical halls, the protein-rich earthworms are said to have anti-inflammatory properties and can “improve blood circulation and lower cholesterol”, says Nanyang Spice boss Zac Choi, 54.
According to him, the worms aren’t caught but farmed.
Sliced open to remove the organs and dried, they look exactly like how you’d imagine — dark, rough and scaly, kinda like slightly scary herbs. Or mini snake skins. Yikes. Interestingly, its aroma resembles that of leather.

Apparently helps prevent laksa gravy from going bad quickly
Zac tells 8days.sg that back in the old days, dried earthworms was a secret ingredient commonly used in laksa to prevent the coconut milk-based gravy from going bad, as well as enhance its savoury taste. This is not based on science, but by handed-down practices from the past — it’s believed that earthworms could “eat away” the bacteria in the laksa.
“When my mum sold laksa in her hometown of Malacca in the ’60s, she added di long to prevent the gravy from turning sour, so I followed her recipe,” he says.
“You can leave it out unrefrigerated overnight and it will not go bad. I’ve tried it before, and it works. Guaranteed,” he declares.
Secretly tested market for wormy laksa for two years
A serial entrepreneur, Zac, who co-owns spa chain House Of Traditional Javanese Massage, has invested in many businesses over the years.
Some of his past F&B ventures include Killiney Kopitiam franchises, and Hot And Spicy Nasi Lemak Family Restaurant which operated in Pasir Panjang for six years.
Prior to opening Nanyang Spice in October, Zac had been selling his lumbricus laksa at his hole-in-the-wall joint Niu Moo Moo Bubble Tea in Coronation Plaza for two years.

However, he did not publicise his secret ingredient for fear that customers would not be able to accept it.
“It was only after the customers became regulars that I mentioned it to them. They were shocked but they have been eating my laksa for so long and like it, so they were okay with it,” he shares.
It was his bestseller and he could sell around 60 bowls of laksa a day there.
Encouraged by the positive response, when his lease at Coronation Plaza ended in October, Zac invested around $30K to start Nanyang Spice, which he runs with one staff member who does most of the cooking.
“I wanted a bigger space so I can expand my offerings. I also feel my food is better than average and will be able to shine in a better location [like Sim Lim],” he says.

Customers receptive towards worms in laksa
So far, Nanyang Spice has attracted a few curious customers with its earthworm-infused laksa. Response has been rather positive, though some were initially squeamish when they found out about the unusual ingredient.
“They have the misconception that we use worms dug out from the soil, but are open to trying our laksa after I explain to them that it’s like herbs with medicinal properties,” shares Zac.
While business at the eatery is “better than Coronation”, he feels it can improve. Apart from the weekday office lunch rush and church crowd on Sundays, it’s quiet.
“It may seem like there is high footfall, but people are here just to eat at 3 Meals A Day. We do benefit from some spillover business, though. Customers may come over to our shop when they see that there’s a queue next door and they don’t want to wait,” says Zac.

The menu
Nanyang Spice offers a small menu featuring local favourites like lor mee, prawn noodles, and of course, laksa. There are five variants of laksa: cockles, shredded chicken, prawn, yong tau foo, and the Da Si Xi, which features the first three aforementioned ingredients and squid. Prices range from $6 to $10.80.
Rice dishes like lu rou fan and steamed minced pork with salted fish start from $6.80. There’s also a small selection of snacks such as ang ku kueh, soon kueh and glutinous rice sourced from 146 Famous Bukit Merah Ang Ku Kueh.

Cockle Laksa, $6 (8 DAYS Pick!)
The laksa gravy here is made using a recipe adapted from Zac’s mum’s version. However, instead of making the rempah from scratch, he uses a supplier-bought spice blend which he pimps up by frying with blended buah keluak, blue ginger and lemongrass. It is then simmered with earthworms and hae bee for about an hour.
Only around five earthworms, each about the length of an index finger, are added in the pot as the “taste is quite strong”. Zac doesn’t serve the earthworms swimming in your bowl of laksa, but if you are curious to try it, just request for it.
So what does earthworm-infused laksa taste like? Well, very similar to regular laksa. We were expecting a herbal or earthy hint, but could not detect any. Though thick and rich, the mildly spicy gravy could be more lemak with coconut milk. We like that it brims with hae bee, ensuring flavourful bits of dried shrimp in every mouthful.
As for the strip of earthworm we asked to try — it’s surprisingly yummy. Chewy and lightly umami, it reminds us of snacking on dried cuttlefish. Thankfully, it doesn’t remind us of soil at all.

Another highlight of the dish is the generous serving of hum – we counted a whopping 15 plump blood cockles, some as big as a 20-cent coin, in our bowl.
Zac shares that he not only doubled the portion of cockles, but also lowered the price of his laksa from $6.80 previously at Coronation Plaza to $6.
“We get mostly an office crowd who are more price sensitive, plus there are a lot of eateries around here, so I need something to attract customers to my shop,” explains Zac. The laksa also comes with two pieces of tau pok, fish cake slices and crunchy bean sprouts.
Herb Braised Pork Rice, $6.80
On a bed of rice sit chunks of fat-streaked pork belly coated in gravy and sides of salted vegetables, leafy xiao bai cai, two mini meatballs and braised peanuts.
The pork belly is cooked for at least a day in a braising sauce consisting of dark soya sauce, herbs and spices including dang gui, star anise, cinnamon, and 13-spice powder. While we enjoy the umami sauce which has a distinct star anise hit, the meat isn’t quite tasty or tender enough.
Zac admits that he ran out of lu rou and had to make a fresh batch the same day so there wasn’t enough time for the flavours to permeate into the meat.

Classic Lor Mee, $6 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Despite its name, this is not your typical lor mee. The gravy is made using pork belly braising liquid, giving it a savoury, herbal taste. We usually douse our lor mee with vinegar and garlic but we think this gravy is good on its own. It isn’t overly thick and starchy too – a plus in our book. Comes with braised pork belly, ngoh hiang, two meatballs, and half a braised egg.
Bottom line
While the idea of eating earthworm-infused laksa might give you the heebie-jeebies, this lumbricus laksa tastes just like the regular stuff. Honestly, we can’t tell if the worms ‘enhanced’ the gravy, but the critter itself did taste kinda umami. Overall, we enjoyed the rich, robust gravy and generous serving of cockles. As for the other dishes, try the lor mee with a herbal punch.
Nanyang Spice is at #02-02, Sim Lim Square, 1 Rochor Canal Rd, S188504. Open daily 9am-8pm. Tel: 9187 7097. More info via Facebook and Instagram.
Photos: Aik Chen
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.