For the most delicious bowl of laksa, there’s no better place than Limapulo.
Visitors to Limapulo will immediately notice the restaurant’s sense of nostalgia. The ambience is reminiscent of the Straits Nyonya decades ago, as every ornament, furniture and article is dated to years gone by.
Welcoming the visitor is Limapulo executive chef John Tan Kim Chye and owner Alan Yun. Coming from a proud Baba-Nyonya family meant it was the duty of Tan (affectionately known by customers as ‘Uncle John’) to carry on the legacy of delicious Nyonya cuisine.
“Our passion for Nyonya cuisine led to the idea of opening restaurants dedicated to Nyonya food,” said Uncle John, whose repertoire of Nyonya recipes was largely handed down across generations in his family in Malacca.
His godson Yun had opened restaurants in other locations before Limapulo, which came to The Row KL (formerly known as Asian Heritage Row) by invitation in 2014. Within just one year, Limapulo’s reputation as a Nyonya specialty restaurant had spread far and wide over the Internet. “We sometimes attract foreign tourists from as far as Britain to our doorstep,” enthused Yun, who co-owns Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles nearby.
Explained Uncle John: “This recipe was taught to me by my mother, whose laksa was the pride of our family. The only difference is that while she uses the traditional method of approximation (agak-agak) for the quantity of ingredients, I carefully measure out mine.”
The laksa served at Limapulo is not strictly a ‘curry laksa’ per se. “We do not use curry leaves or curry powder, so the dish is instead known as Nyonya Laksa Lemak,” said Yun, who is married to popular actress Emily Lim.
The paste used in the laksa comprises no less than eight core ingredients such as turmeric, shallots, galangal, lemongrass, candlenuts and dried chillies. Needless to say, the preparation takes a lot of work.
“Because we only use fresh ingredients in our laksa, preparing it is a very tedious process as it takes hours to peel the ingredients. Blending the ingredients takes more than three hours and preparing the broth takes another two hours,” added Uncle John.
It is due to this limitation that Limapulo can only prepare a minimum number of bowls of laksa in a day.
Packed with ingredients such as hard-boiled egg, shredded chicken, fried tofu puffs and tofu skin, bean sprouts, fishball and fish cake, the quality of this tasty laksa is undeniable.
“The laksa is normally sold out by lunch, which is a good thing because we do not believe in keeping leftovers for our customers,” said Yun.
With great taste comes service with a smile as Uncle John himself is often found seated at the shop’s entrance, waiting to welcome customers and tell them about the Nyonya delicacies still in stock.
“I feel proud today, knowing that our dishes are appreciated by our patrons, and also honoured that in my twilight days, we have received recognition for having the best laksa in town,” he mused.
Apart from laksa, bestsellers at Limapulo include Nyonya Pai Tee, Nasi Lemak, Cucur Udang, Sambal Terung and Udang Chili Garam.
Limapulo opens for lunch and dinner daily, except Sunday. For more information, call 03-2698 3268.
