For the best laksa noodles, please use Mount Elephant brand "Guilin Rice Vermicelli" (象山牌桂林濑粉) found at Asian/Vietnamese stores. (In Vietnamese, it's called Bun Bo Hue Guilin.) It's very smooth and exactly like the laksa noodles back home. If you are lucky, you might even find the fresh ones. For a good alternative, try LaiFen Rice Stick/中山濑粉 from Guangdong, China. Fresh rice noodles or laifen/濑粉 are available in Asian grocery stores, but I don't like the texture: they are a tad too thick and not smooth enough. Canned sardines DO NOT make good Penang Assam Laksa. They make the soup base fishy and unappetizing. There is no shortcut to making great Assam Laksa, you just have to find certain freshest fish and make it from scratch. I heard that New York-based Chef Pelaccio of Fatty Crab fame claimed Assam Laksa to be the ultimate Malaysian dish.