This page is intended to describe my experiences with various spice pastes to be used as a
basis for meals.
Curries
Teans Gourmet rendang
Eaten on about 17 October 2018.
Extremely pedas, but nice and aromatic. The specified weight of 1.3 kg meat
seems to be too much, but it's probably correct.
Brahim's curry
This was recommended to me on 18 October 2022. I haven't tried it yet.
Laksa
Richmond Penang Assam Laksa
My rating: 5 out of 5
This is the normal assam laksa that I eat. It's quite good.
Tean's curry laksa
My rating: 5 out of 5
And this is one of the best curry laksas that I can get.
DeliBen curry laksa
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
I ate this one on 25 October 2018.
It tastes surprisingly similar to Teans, though it has the surprise of a second foil packet
inside the first.
Valcom “Thai Style” laksa
My rating: 1.5 out of 5
The description “Thai Style Laksa” should be a warning. Laksa is Malaysian. I went into
more detail about this stuff on 1
September 2018. Bottom line: avoid.
Wokka “Creamy Thai” laksa
My rating: 1.5 out of 5
I ate this one, another “Thai Laksa”, on 18 May 2017. Like the the Valcom product, it's not worth eating. It doesn't taste
like laksa, and to add insult to injury it's really only a single serving, making it very
expensive.
Por Kwan laksa
My rating: 1 out of 5
Yet another Thai “laksa”, from Por Kwan. I prepared it on 27 March 2022. I don't think I'll do so again. It has a strange, sour taste that
doesn't really match anything.
I ate this one in April 2019. It tastes very similar to Teans, but it had a lot of spice
sediment (insufficiently ground pepper?), so it's probably less desirable.
I tried this on 29 July 2020. Unlike most of the others, it's really only good for three portions.
But it tastes good—in particular, not so pedas—and I think I can make more of it.
I have eaten this in the past, but didn't make notes. My recollection was that it wasn't
spectacular.
From recollection, this one tastes very good, but it's also extremely expensive—about $3 per
serving for the paste alone
“La mian” laksa
My rating: 3 out of 5, downvoted because of inconvenience
This is a “complete” package, which means that it includes coconut powder and noodles:
I made it on 5 and 6 June 2022. It doesn't taste bad, but the portion sizes are irritating (about 1½
portions), and like the Katong Laksa (which it resembles up to a point), it's very
expensive. Interestingly, the address of the manufacturer is the same as for the Katong
Laksa (56 Senoko Drive Singapore), though the post code differs.
Yi “Singapore Laksa” paste
My rating: 3 out of 5.
I made this on 23 September 2022. I had half expected it to be similar to the Katong laksa, but in
principle it's closer to the Tean's Gourmet paste. Unfortunately not as flavoursome, and it
also doesn't produce enough servings. It's rated at about 1200 g, which is either 4
servings of 300 g (too little) or 3 servings of 400 g (too much). It's very hot, so I
diluted it to 1280 g (4 320 g portions), which should be enough. I don't think I'll buy it
again.
Woh Hup Singapore Laksa paste
Mak Nyonya curry laksa
I bought this in September 2023, and I haven't tried it yet.
Noodles
Tean's mi udang
I have eaten these on a number of occasions, notably on 10
October 2017, 2 May 2018 and 9 October 2021 but not really come to a good way of preparing them. They want to
make a total of 1800 g of broth (200 g paste and 1600 g water) for 6 portions, but that's
too little for me. It's also very pedas, so
maybe it's worth making 2 kg of broth and splitting it 5 ways. It might also be worth
freezing and removing some of the surface oil. On the positive side, it tastes good.
In late 2023 I bought a new batch of this paste. It doesn't taste as good; it seems to have
Fenugreek in it, which really
doesn't sit well. And it's still just as pedas.
Chiliz mi udang
I bought this in November 2023. It's similar to the Tean's paste, but not as pedas. Sadly,
it's also not as flavoursome.
Phở
My rating: 4 out of 5.
This is the paste that I use in my phở recipe.
Per portion 40 g paste and 300 g water.
This paste is made in Thailand by Por Kwan, and I've found their other products to be
anything but authentic. It's quite possible that this paste is also not authentic, but I
like the taste. It's time to go to a good Vietnamese restaurant again.
My rating: 1 out of 5.
These are cubes intended to be enough for 500 ml of water (about 1½ servings). They're
tasteless and inconvenient.
To be classified
I haven't tried these yet.
