Coconut Curry Laksa – a soulful star at the new Hearth and Hill

I trust that since my recent preview of Hearth and Hill in Sugar House (2188 S Highland Drive), you’ve had a chance to pull up a pew. If not, here’s another reminder via way of one particular dish – Coconut Curry Laksa.

A quintet of pinpoint-cooked shrimp are joined by a spikily marinated “six-minute egg”, all custardy yolk enscapulated by quivering white. Rice noodles provide the dense heart of the dish, swimming in a complex curry that pulls zero punches. It’s a soulfully rich thing, layer upon vibrant layer.

Thick coconut milk is tapped for the core, bolstered by galangal, shrimp paste, lime leaf, and lemongrass. A striking citrusy spine cuts through that full-bodied gravy, not least a confident use of fish sauce. As I say, no punches pulled; more of this type of thing, please and thank you. Cilantro, scallions, crunchy cabbage, and fried garlic are the final pièce de résistance.

Given the ritzy environs and more crucially, the quality of the composition, the dish is priced at a bafflingly low $17. A similarly well-appointed downtown restaurant could happily slap another $10 onto that price tag and no one would bat an eyelid.

The dish is just one contribution of a rightfully proud CDC, Joshua Bernabe, giddily rifling through those family recipes. Indeed, South East Asian flavors wend their way through the launch menu – Filipino lumpia, scallion and pork gyoza, and lemongrass chicken to name but three dishes. Go there before the crowds beat you.

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Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.   Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.    I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.