Ethnic Eats – Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver

A bowl of soup on a cold day is heavenly and I do like a good laksa once in a while. Laksa, is a spicy seafood and noodle soup from Malaysia, usually filled with vermicelli noodles, coconut milk, and assorted seafood with a dab of sambal chili paste on top for added heat. Heading into Jonker Street in Yaletown, I was most impressed when I saw their laksa ($8.90), with fish balls, slices of fish cake and prawns resting on a bed of bean sprouts. It didn’t quite deliver, however. The bowl was filled with large pieces of shellfish and fish cake which tasty a bit fishy and the noodles had a plastic feel to them, but the broth is exactly as oily and spicy as it needs to be.

The beef rendang  ($11.50 at lunch) smelled delicious and meaty and came served with jambori rice and salad and pappadum. The salad was fresh and coated in a tangy citrus dressing that complemented the main dish nicely, but the beef was a bit on the dry side and much too chewy. Beef rendang is cooked over a slow fire in coconut milk with aromatic spices and can be wonderfully tender. Pondok does a good one, and Jonker Street’s was flavoured well, but could have done with a little less cooking time.

Nevertheless, it is authentic Malaysian food for a reasonably good price. They have a good selection of dishes and even the drinks are exotic. I’ve had iced cincau ($2.80) , which is a grass jelly concoction served over ice. It’s a delicious coffee-esque drink without the caffeine and is strangely refreshing. Likewise, the iced lychee drink is a sweet favorite.

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Jonker Street Restaurant
1128 Pacific Blvd., Vancouver