EatingAsia's first birthday passed quietly last month. We'd forgotten all about it, in part because neither of us are good with dates (family and friends, used to receiving birthday cards and Christmas gifts months late, if at all, will testify to this), but mostly because for us markers of our stay in Malaysia have less to do with measures of time than with measures of taste.
In our first months every Malaysian dish we sampled was wonderful, fantastic, spectacular. But over the past 14-plus months of enthusiastic eating we've honed our palates and, in the process, raised our standards. We can - and do, often - compare this version here with that version there and pass what I'd like to think is sound judgement. This, more than the passage of days and months, tells us we're not just visitors.
We haven't blogged pan mee ('board' noodles - named so, I presume, because they're rolled out flat as a board) since September 2005. We still love Kin Kin's pan mee and go-with, sandy-textured chili paste (it's one of the few spots in KL that we've visited more than once); it's in a class all its own, not useful for comparison purposes. But we think we've been introduced to a classic pan mee that beats, hands down, the the Bangsar version lauded in that year-old post.
What is it about this vendor's wide, taglietelle-ish pasta? It's thick and substantial, tender but a bit chewy, wheaty and flavorful. This woman could go head-to-head with a pasta-making Italian nonna and quite possibly come out the winner. What's more, this pan mee is cooked absolutely al dente, with just the right amount of bite left in the noodle.
You can have it in soup, of course, but for us this pan mee's born to be taken dry, tossed in dark soy and garnished with a jumble of stir-fried chopped pork and crispy minced garlic, a tangle of shredded fresh wood ear mushrooms (toothsome, and intriguingly bitter - a good balance for the sweetness of the soy), scallions, and yummy ikan bilis (dried anchovies), substantial in size and expertly fried to a non-greasy crunch. Reddish-brown dipping sauce is heavy on the belacan (shrimp paste) - much more so than your usual pan mee dip - and fiery. On the side, a meaty broth chock full of fish paste (ask for extra) hand-formed into uneven patties, fucuk (deep-fried tofu skin), and lots of spinach-like (in flavor) sweet potato leaves.
Since being guided to this pan mee heaven by our friend SL I've been back twice. That's a lot of pan mee from the same vendor in two weeks, especially for a gal who can count on one hand the KL eateries she's given repeat business to in the last year.
Pan mee vendor at Kedai Kopi Wah Cheong, Jalan 17/29, Section 17, Petaling Jaya. Early morning-230p (on a recent Saturday she was sold out by 1p), closed Thursday.
*drool*
That's really all I can say. *DROOL*
- CP
Posted by: Chubbypanda | 2006.10.06 at 13:29
u made me missed my mum's pan meen - called mee hoon kueh in Fujian Dialect. Anchovy stock, err....dont remember what veg was that and of course some stir fried minced prok with woodear. For the dough, not rolled but sort of pull them into bite size, thin and cook the same way. It always al dente when my mum cooks them. For me, it depends....chuckle!
Posted by: michael | 2006.10.06 at 16:42
wow. gorgeous photos. Those noodles look amazing.
Posted by: L | 2006.10.06 at 23:13
Hey, I go to this stall all the time! Yes, the pan mee is very good. The lady's friendly too. I think it's RM3.20 or RM3.30 per serving.
Posted by: bayi | 2006.10.07 at 08:20
These photos are some of the best I've seen on this site. Breathtaking.
Posted by: jen maiser | 2006.10.08 at 06:51
Being a Penang food snob, I don't like Pan Mee (at least not the one I had near Petaling Street). After reading your post about fish paste, sweet potato leaves, and the texture of the pan mee, I just have to write this down on my "to-eat" list...;)
Posted by: Bee | 2006.10.08 at 07:29
Yummmm....
I am eagerly waiting my trip back home to Malaysia where I will eat my heart out. In the meantime, I will have to vicariously live through your blog.
Posted by: Karen | 2006.10.08 at 07:35
hey...she uses a pasta machine..west meets east. Nyeeenhhh.. (that's me gritting my teeth in frustration at being sooo far away from the source of those yummy photos.)
Happy birthday EatingAsia, many happy returns of the day..
Posted by: susan | 2006.10.08 at 16:59
Yumyum. I thought I should look at your blog early in the morning instead. But now I realise that I have 4 whole hours till lunch time! Helpch!
Happy birthday to Eating Asia! I still remember what SY and I thought when we first looked at your blog - that anyone who can make a pair of green plastic chopsticks look good will definitely have an interesting blog!
:-)
Cupcake
Posted by: Cupcake | 2006.10.09 at 09:09
Dear Robyn
sorry to be a pest..map please!
TQ
Posted by: ET | 2006.10.10 at 09:13
ET - Don't have a map but can give pretty clear (I hope) directions. Get on the Sprint Hwy coming from Sri Hartamas/Bukit Damansara heading to TTDI. Just stay with the TTDI signs. When you get to the toll get over to the left and take the Section 17 exit (it's marked) that's immediately after the toll on your left. Go straight a few blocks and turn left at the stoplight (there is a Shell station at the intersection), which puts you on Jalan 17/21. Head up the hill and turn left at Jalan 17/38. Jalan 17/29 is straight ahead as you pass the square on your left. Wah Cheong will be anchoring the left end of that block of 17/29. Good luck!
Posted by: Robyn | 2006.10.10 at 11:16
hey,,the best pan mee is the Kin Kin, but that's the spicy version. The original best pan mee in town is in Taman Miharja, Cheras below some condo. You can google and see a lot of writeup about that place.
Posted by: szer | 2006.10.10 at 13:40
Thks for directions Robyn..have to reacquaint myself with the area..
btw belated wishes on your blogs birthday..its refreshing to know ..both of you are foodies! keep on rocking!
Posted by: ET | 2006.10.18 at 08:52