OUR 2023 LAKSTARS ANNOUNCED

The Darwin International Laksa Festival has been and gone for another year.

For the month of October, locals and visitors alike were exploring across the Territory on a mission to try as many laksa and laksa-inspired by dishes as possible. This year there were over 120 dishes across 70 businesses, making it the largest Festival since its establishment in 2019. 

This year’s Laksa Festival came to a culinary close on Friday 29 October at the Laksa Festival Finale. Thousands of laksa lovers flocked to Laksa Lawns to celebrate their love, appreciation and slight obsession with the dish.

At the Finale, laksa enthusiasts were able to chow down on a range of laksas, and try some of their favourite laksa inspired-by dishes one last time before they disappear from venues traditional menus for another year.

The Finale featured a stellar line-up of entertainment, including a cooking demonstration from MasterChef fan favourite and celebrity cook Khanh Ong! Khanh cooked a laksa paste from scratch, and afterwards he faced local legend and Laksa Festival hall of famer Jason Chin from Chok’s Place in a cooking competition.

Our 2023 Laksa Festival winners were also announced, taking out the top spot were:

GOLDEN BOWL BEST LAKSA – CHOW! 

BEST REGIONAL LAKSA – Thai De Cuisine, Alice Springs

PEOPLE’S CHOICE BEST LAKSA – KOPI Stop

PEOPLE’S CHOICE INSPIRED-BY DISH – The Darwin Sailing Club Waterfront Bistro 

REGIONAL PEOPLE’S CHOICE BEST LAKSA – 168 Food Bar, Katherine

REGIONAL PEOPLE’S CHOICE INSPIRED-BY DISH – Gorge View Bush Retreat Katherine 

Thank you to all the venues who participated in this year’s Darwin International Laksa Festival and thank you to the community who tasted and voted for their favourite laksa dishes!