Sungei Road Laksa - Charcoal Laksa Eaten With Just a Spoon

There are laksa stalls all over Singapore, but there’s only one that still cooks its broth over a charcoal fire. Sungei Road Laksa at Jalan Berseh has been doing exactly that since the 1960s, when the precinct was a hangout spot for trishaw riders who’d stop for a bowl between fares. Decades later, the queue hasn’t gone away — and neither has the charcoal.

The stall has no branches, no franchise, and no plans for either. A sign on the signboard makes this clear. It is one stall, one dish, and one way of doing things — the old way.

The name goes back to Sungei Road itself, a stretch that once bordered the Rochor River (sungei is Malay for river). Locals also knew the area as Kek Sng Kio in Hokkien — 结霜桥, a nod to the Singapore Ice Works that used to operate nearby. The trishaw laksa vendors who plied their trade along this road gave rise to the style, and the name stuck even after the stalls moved indoors.

Sungei Road Laksa has been operating out of Jin Shui Kopitiam at Blk 27 Jalan Berseh for decades. The coffeeshop is easy to find — there’s usually a queue snaking out front to guide you there.

The menu is exactly one item: laksa, at $4 a bowl. That’s it.

The stall runs with assembly-line precision. One person takes orders, another loads the bowls with ingredients, and a third ladles in the broth from a large pot sitting over glowing charcoal. It’s a system they’ve refined over decades, and it shows.

The broth here isn’t the thick, coconut-heavy gravy you’d find at some other famous stalls. This version is lighter — fragrant with spices, coconut milk, and dried shrimp (hae bi), but not cloying. It’s the kind of broth you can drink to the last drop. The charcoal fire is said to lend a depth and aroma that gas cooking simply can’t replicate, and whether or not you can put your finger on it, the soup does taste distinctly alive.

The thick bee hoon (laksa noodles) comes pre-cut into short lengths, a nod to the traditional way of serving — no chopsticks needed, just a spoon. Toppings are kept classic: generously portioned blood cockles, slices of house-made fishcake, crisp beansprouts, and a scatter of daun kesum (laksa leaves) for that signature herbal fragrance. A side of robust sambal chilli arrives with every bowl — packed with umami from dried shrimp, it does a lot of heavy lifting if you want to dial up the heat. The portion is small by modern standards, and ordering two bowls is not unheard of.

Address: Blk 27 Jalan Berseh #01-100, Jin Shui Kopitiam, Singapore 200027Nearest MRT: Lavender (East-West Line), Exit B

Opening Hours: Daily 9.30am – 5.30pm; closed every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month

Price: $4 per bowl