Firing up the taste buds

Flavourful noodles: Ang and his daughters serving customers at their assam laksa stall beside the Air Itam market in Penang. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Sour, spicy, tangy and, most importantly, with a delectable umami flavour that packs a punch in the syrupy black shrimp paste known as hekor.

That would sum up the taste of the piquant Ayer Itam assam laksa.