Today, I revisited the Food Place food court, located at Pavilion Mall. The food court is located beside the Oriental Kopi Restaurant. It is time to try food from another stall.
This time, I ordered Siong Tong lala with rice (white salak) from the Li Ji Lala noodles stall, which cost RM18.90 per plate.
This dish, Siong Tong LaLa with Rice (白汤啦啦配饭), is a rice-focused comfort dish rather than a noodle spin-off.
The clams (laLa) are cooked gently so they stay tender and release their natural sweetness into the soup. The clear broth (siong tong) is light but fragrant, built around ginger and garlic, then lifted with Chinese cooking wine. The wine adds warmth and depth, especially noticeable when the soup is hot. Fried garlic and spring onions add aroma and a mild crunch, contrasting nicely with the clean broth. Paired with plain white rice, the dish eats almost like a soup-and-rice set.
This makes it feel closer to home-style Cantonese soup rice rather than a hawker noodle dish.
LaLa dishes are staples in Malaysia and Singapore, especially in Chinese seafood and noodle stalls. The name “lala” simply refers to clams. Siong Tong (clear soup) cooking reflects a Cantonese influence, where minimal seasoning is used to respect premium ingredients.
Pairing clam soup with rice is common in hawker culture—simple, filling, and affordable—while noodle versions (lala meehoon/bee hoon) became popular later for a heartier meal. This rice pairing feels like a back-to-basics interpretation, letting diners enjoy the broth as a soup course with rice, much like home-style cooking.
