Where can you get the best laksa in Darwin? Here's the verdict

Forget sex, politics and religion. If you want to start a fiery debate at a dinner party in Darwin, ask the table where the best laksa in town is. Then brace yourself. In the unofficial laksa capital of Australia, opinions are strong, recommendations are aplenty, and love for the South-East Asian dish runs deep. So much so, the city hosts an international laksa festival every year. Last year, Chok's Place, a Chinese takeaway shop in the Smith Street Mall food court, won the coveted "Golden Bowl" and "People's Choice" awards. Over the course of the month-long festival, countless litres of laksa were consumed, and dozens of laksa-inspired dishes were created, including the "laksagne" at beach-side eatery De La Plage, the laksa spritz at One Mile Brewery, and the laksa smoothie bowl at Harvest Press Cafe.

If it isn't already entirely obvious, laksa is serious business up here in the Top End. And as a serious investigative journalist new to town, I set out to hunt down the very best laksa once and for all.

That's how I ended up here: standing in a seemingly never-ending queue at 11am in the morning in 36-degree heat with a line of sweat running down the back of my leg. I'm at Parap Village Markets lining up at the infamous Mary's Laksa stall (parapvillage.com.au). The weekend institution has been a firm favourite with locals for 20 years and is an official "Lakstar" of the annual laksa festival. The takeaway soups are hot property. Hotter, still, is the temperature at the markets. I'm counting the people in front of me in line - eight - when an electrical fire breaks out at a stall opposite Mary's. A crisis is narrowly avoided when someone pulls a smoking power cord plug out of the electricity box. The plastic is melted and charred black. Did I mention how hot it is?

As I near the front of the line, the man behind me points to the chili sauce on the counter and turns to his friend to say, "Just looking at that stuff makes my arse burn." When it's my turn to order, I make sure to ask for extra chili.

My first Mary's experience lives up to the hype. The wontons are silky, the soup is at once creamy and spicy, and the tofu is a joyous burst of flavour. The only negative? There was but one square of the tofu. Call me greedy, but I would have liked more. There's a reason Mary's is a Lakstar, it leaves you wanting more - and willing to wait in line on burning-hot concrete under the midday sun. Mary's was an obvious place for me to start my hunt, but I'm ready to branch out, to take the road less travelled, to find an undiscovered gem. In a fleeting conversation at the pub with a bloke whose name can only be Jimbo, I'm told Deck Bar does a decent bowl of the spicy noodle soup. It's a surprising recommendation. You see, Deck Bar is a pub at the very end of Mitchell Street, a party strip better known for its late-night brawls than its quality broths. I'm sceptical, but I take "Jimbo's" word for it and head to Deck Bar on a Tuesday night. Out on the deck, a guy sings an acoustic version of Drops of Jupiter, water misters attempt to cool down the lingering heat of the day and patrons drink schooners of Black Fish (aka Great Northern Super Crisp for those uninitiated in Top End lingo). To my happy shock, the laksa is tasty, fresh and full of vegetables. Best yet, the serving size is overly generous. I go to bed full and say a silent prayer to Jimbo for the hot tip, "Thanks, mate."

I race through the laksas "near me" on Google Maps. Thai Thai restaurant in Casuarina hits the spot. Rendezvous Cafe doesn't disappoint. But it's Sa-Bai Thai that impresses me the most and becomes my local go-to for lazy take-away nights on the couch.

It's at this point I should admit that I came into this investigation with a hypothesis: there's no such thing as a bad laksa. It wasn't long before I was proven wrong. My sister recommended the vegetarian laksa at a popular beachfront pub overlooking Fannie Bay, and I went into the meal with high hopes. What I got was something closer to flavourless dish water with spongy tofu and soggy noodles. The disappointment stung - unlike the laksa which was void of any chili.

I should have known better: my sister's favourite meal is peanut butter on gluten-free toast. It was time to bring in the big guns, the laksa experts, the ones in the know. Of course, I'm talking about the tradies. If there's anything a sparkie knows, it's where to find a good takeaway. I ask an electrician where his favourite laksa place is...

"Oi, you know that random takeaway joint in the Hibiscus shopping centre?" he points north, in the direction of the Leanyer suburb. "Yeah, they do a really good laksa. Add the pork wontons."

With that, I'm introduced to the delights of Fresh Cuisine, a humble shopping-centre take-away cafe with premade white-bread sandwiches on display in the front counter and laksa hiding in small font on the menu printed above the cash register. Don't be fooled by the unassuming setting - the laksa is a treat! The broth opens with a lemongrass flavour and ends with a smooth kick. The noodles - thin and delicate, and fat and satisfying - are perfect companions. And the tofu is the best kind: plentiful. I eat leftover laksa for breakfast in the morning and know it'll be a good day ahead.

In the great slurp-stakes of '23, I've discovered that favourites are favourites for a reason. It's hard to compete with the reputation and delicious richness of a Mary's laksa; but secret spots are ripe for the finding here in the unofficial laksa capital of Australia. Just ask Jimbo.