Over the past week, many of my friends have been raving on Instagram about the assam laksa from a stall in People's Park Centre.

I have not heard of Super Star Original Famous Penang Laksa before, but the photos of the dish were tantalising.

At $10 for delivery (based on the taxi fare), it was not cheap. But it was the biggest bowl of assam laksa I have eaten, with a generous amount of noodles, fish and garnishes.

There was enough for two small eaters and, because everything was packed separately, it could be easily split into two servings.

It arrived cold, so I had to heat up the broth, which contains lots of deboned ikan kembong and sliced tamarind, before adding the other ingredients.

The rice noodles were the kind used in Penang, which are different from the local thick beehoon. They are fatter and firmer, but are less slippery and absorb the broth better.

Toppings included sliced pineapple, cucumber, onions, green chilli padi, torch ginger flower or bunga kantan, and fresh mint. There were also a wedge of lime and a small container of fermented shrimp sauce or hae kor.

Put together, I got a bowl full of crunch and flavours.

The only weakness was that the broth was surprisingly mild. I had expected it to be more full-bodied given the amount of fish in it. It was sour enough, though, so I left the piece of lime untouched.

The stall also sells cockles ($10), which were delivered live with a tub of chilli sauce.

Cooking them requires little effort. Boil a pot of water, turn off the heat and immediately dunk in the cockles for about 15 seconds - longer if you want them more cooked. Just make sure there is enough water to cover all the shells.

The ones I received were big and juicy. The chilli sauce was, however, a bit salty and not sour enough.

That was when the lime from the laksa came in handy.