Laksa Hadn’t really checked out the second floor of Shenton House for a while; was pretty surprised to find out that a new eatery has opened along the same stretch of shop units where Tofu Lane is located. Previously a spot named Drama Mama that was serving up Western cuisine, Ann Chin Popiah and Amoy Street Lor Mee, 家乡 Taste of Home had taken up the corner-most shop unit located at the end of the building at Level 2. The eateries at Shenton House are probably best known for being economical, fuss-free spots to dine at — 家乡 Taste of Home does not defy this statement. On first look, 家乡 Taste of Home does bear a bit of difference from that of the space’s former tenants in terms of appearance — the most obvious being that of the well-lit yellow signage which adorns the shopfront. While the interior shop layout has not changed much from that of the former tenants of the space, one rather stark difference would be its slightly more “homey” look; there is a wider use of elements with wooden accents from the flooring to the furnishings that adds a warm touch. There is a large standee that mentions “Tasty Home Cooked Meals Here” that attempts to capture the attention of patrons that might be queueing up for the other dining establishments here — the menu at 家乡 Taste of Home comprising of a rather limited variety of simple dishes that would fit well with the demographics of the crowd here. There are only four different mains being listed on the menu at 家乡 Taste of Home; itself being split into two sections — one being the Asian Delights and the other being the Nourishing Soup section. The former comprises of a Chicken Curry + Rice and Laksa, while the latter would consist of a Lotus Root Soup / Old Cucumber Soup + Rice. Desserts are also available here — think items like the Peach Gum Cheng Tng and the Green Bean Soup, while beverages available at 家乡 Taste of Home includes Nanyang-style Kopi & Teh, hot chocolate, Calamansi / Lemon Tea, Chrysanthemum and soft drinks.
We weren’t quite decided on what to have at 家乡 Taste of Home whilst walking into the eatery considering how we had only found 家乡 Taste of Home by chance; that being said, we went for the Laksa since it has been quite a while since we have had one — let alone a decent one. The Laksa comes priced at $5.90 ala-carte. It comes with all the usual suspects — think slices of fish cake, shrimp, beancurd puff and Laksa leaves; all drenched in a familiar orange / red-hued gravy whilst also coming with thick bee hoon (we weren’t asked to specify our choice of noodles), which was also our default choice of noodles whenever we have Laksa. There is some waiting time required to prepare the order though they are pretty quick in churning out the orders here at 家乡 Taste of Home — patrons will be asked to take a seat whilst waiting for their order, with the display calling the order number which they are serving to inform the patron to collect their meal. Taking a sip of the Laksa broth straightaway, we found that the Laksa from 家乡 Taste of Home was something that was decently done — nothing too gastronomic, but yet pretty flavourful despite how it looked. For one, the Laksa gravy here is actually mildly spicy on its own — wasn’t particularly intimidating however, and should do well for those with a lower tolerance to spiciness. That being said, the gravy carries a sufficient punch of rempah spices that goes into the making of the dish — adequate amounts of coconut milk also being added to provide a thicker flavour for the Laksa; the balance was most certainly on-point here, though the only qualm we have had is how the gravy came being just warm rather than being piping hot like how we would preferred it to be (we visited the eatery for late lunch; closer to that of 1pm on a weekday). Meanwhile, the shrimp gave a good bite; quite fresh and came naturally sweet, while the fish cake slices were decent — the beancurd puffs managed much of the goodness of the Laksa gravy for an extra oomph. Overall, not too shabby for a new stall — probably a good alternative to consider for a sit-down lunch when the other eateries there are just too crowded to dine-in at.