When it comes to value for money, you can do a lot worse than fill up on a big bowl of laksa. It’s cheap, the servings are gigantic and while a great laksa is always preferable to a mediocre one, even substandard laksa tends to taste okay.
If there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that any restaurant frequented by hungry university students is likely to serve up a decent cheap eat. So when my younger twin sisters and their friends started raving about Asian Noodle House in Tuggeranong, I knew it was time for a journey to Canberra’s deep south.
Asian Noodle House has restaurants in Tuggeranong, Civic, Woden and Belconnen. While Woden and Civic are definitely closer to home, I was told that the Tuggeranong restaurant on Anketell Street serves up the best laksa of the lot, so that’s where my partner and I ended up for dinner this weekend.
Though I knew it was going to be cheap, I was surprised by how many items met RiotACT’s $15 cheap eats criteria. There were heaps of menu options for less than $15, including laksa ($12-$16), wok fried noodle dishes ($14-$16) and rice dishes ($10-$16.50).
I chose the combination laksa for $14, and my partner ordered the combination Pad Thai for $15. We also added a side of pork and prawn rice paper rolls for $6.50, but the mains were so generous that we could easily have gone without.
The restaurant was reasonably full during our visit, but the service was fast and friendly. Our rice paper roll entrée came out less than ten minutes after ordering, and our mains perhaps another ten minutes after that.
The laksa was huge (if you’re a small eater, definitely get the half-sized serving), and topped with tofu, fried onion and shallots. It was delicious, and while I’m definitely no expert when it comes to what constitutes a great laksa, it was up there with the best I’d eaten in a while. It also wasn’t overpoweringly spicy, which is good if you’re a bit of a wuss when it comes to chilli, like I am.
I find Pad Thai pretty uninspiring at the best of times, and so while Asian Noodle House didn’t make me fall in love with the dish, my partner assured me that it was also enjoyable. He’d order it again.
I should note that we both wolfed down our meals so quickly that we forgot to take a photo of our food. The photo of the laksa bowls above is courtesy of my sister, Katelyn (thanks Katie!).
What: Asian Noodle House
Where: Anketell Street Greenway (Asian Noodle House also has restaurants in Civic, Woden and Belconnen)
Opening hours: Open every day except Monday, 11.30am to 2pm for lunch and 5.30pm to 9.30pm for dinner
Website: http://www.noodlehouse.net.au/Noodle_house/Welcome.html