Decent Noodles at Lion City

Lion City
Location
: 1177 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.lioncityrestaurant.ca/

It’s odd — Singapore’s cuisine is incredibly delicious, and yet there’s maybe like half a dozen Singaporean restaurants in the entire GTA?  If that?  I feel like there should be one in every neighbourhood, but at least we’ve got a few of them.

One of those few restaurants is Lion City in Mississauga, which serves a diverse menu of Singaporean classics that, alas, were mostly unavailable when I visited.  I guess they were having kitchen issues?

Lion City

The laksa was one of the few dishes that was available, and hey, I’m never going to be mad about having to order laksa.

The style of laksa they serve here features a really tasty, curry-and-seafood-infused broth that’s made luxuriously creamy thanks to coconut milk, and that comes with a generous amount of thick rice noodles.

Lion City

It was far from the best laksa I’ve ever had, with a flavour that was a bit too muted, and with slightly overcooked noodles, but it was still tasty.  The various toppings — shrimp, fish cakes, chicken, tofu — were all well prepared and complemented the soup quite well.

This is going to make me sound like a maniac, but there’s a type of instant laksa you can find at Asian supermarkets from a Singaporean company called Prima Taste, and… I honestly think it’s a little bit better than the version they’re serving here, with a more vibrant flavour and a better texture on the noodles.

Lion City

I know that recommending instant noodles, of all things, over a restaurant dish sounds like a food crime, but trust me: try those noodles.  They’re so much better than any other instant noodles you’ve ever had.

Amazing Khao Soi at Khao San Road

Khao San RoadLocation: 11 Charlotte Street, Toronto
Websitehttp://www.khaosanroad.ca/

The Khao Soi at Khao San Road is improbably good.  It’s the type of dish where you have your first mouthful and think “wait… is this as delicious as I think it is?”  Then you take another mouthful, and yeah: it really is that good.

Khao soi is a Thai noodle soup that features a super rich curry broth topped with crispy fried noodles for texture.

Khao San Road

The version at Khao San Road is outstanding.  That restaurant is one of those places with a perpetual line out the door; once you try the food, it’s easy enough to see why.

The curry-infused soup — made indulgently rich thanks to creamy coconut milk — is so damn satisfying.

There’s nothing subtle about it; it’s an absolute flavour bomb, but with a complexity that ensures it never feels one-note or overwhelming, despite how assertive the flavours are.

Khao San Road

I had it with chicken, which complimented it quite well; you can also get tofu, beef, or shrimp.

The combination of the crispy noodles on top, the chewy noodles in the bowl, and the ultra-creamy soup is seriously addictive.  It’s ridiculously good.