16 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington
Translated loosely, it means ‘legendary chef’ in Malay. Rumour has it that the chef at Laksa King had a falling out with management, and so decided to start his own restaurant… right next to Laksa King. Talk about competition, or revenge.
Curry Laksa
No surprises here – it tastes very very similar to Laksa King, albeit slightly creamier. I dare venture to say that I would award Chef Lagenda’s curry laksa the ‘Most Value for Money’ award. At $9.20 at time of publishing, it matches Laksa King’s prices (go figure) – but there are plenty that work in its favour. Chef Lagenda offers a slightly larger serving, and offers a generous serving of meat and prawns in this dish. I counted four medium sized shrimp as opposed to Laksa King’s measly one. The only complaint I have is that the chicken slices weren’t deboned and cleaned properly.
Hainanese Chicken Rice
The Hainanese chicken rice comes with a rather large portion of rice and chicken. The soup that comes with it is really tasty, but I can attribute that to the ton of MSG in it. At $8.50, it’s a really good deal, and probably one of the cheapest chicken rice in Melbourne city. My only complaint, is like the Curry Laksa, the chicken could have been cleaned a little bit better.
Overall, I think Chef Lagenda shows that Laksa King is a bit overrated. The menus are fairly similar, as are the dishes (especially the Laksa), but more reasonably priced.
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 9 /10
If you were planning on going to Laksa King, try going next door to Chef Lagenda instead. You may be pleasantly suprised. Shopfront image taken from Chef Lagenda website.
oh hey you live in Melbourne? Hmm…this place next to laksa king sounds worthy of investigation