I ate: Cha Cha Pan Mee Original

I was introduced to proper pan mee around a year ago when i had my first bowl at Jojo's little kitchen at Kuchai Lama and a year later pan mee has earned its place in my good books as one of the most frequently ordered hawker fare that i can think of. Just a few weeks ago when i was back at Jojo's looking for that piece of magic that took my by storm the year before i was disappointed by the drop in quality they exhibited. Could it be the nerve of opening their sixth branch or have they just became sloppy after their great success over the past year.

Then came Cha Cha pan mee located along the same row as Jojo's which for me has restored that old sense of magic that i have been looking for in a bowl of reasonably priced pan mee.

Probably when they called it original pan mee they actually meant what they said and went all out with it. A large bowl of nicely shredded pan mee topped off with potato leaves, mince pork, mushrooms and fuchok. Filled up with sweet savory broth like any good bowl of pan mee. You could add another ringgit for a bigger bowl and a poach egg at a very reasonable RM 6.50.

My dining mates ordered the dry version which went quite well with him and another mate ordered their curry pan mee which was pretty decent as well.

Cha Cha pan mee is a pretty decent place for a quick lunch if your looking for nice hawker food minus the sweat and humidity of an actual hawker. If i had to choose this against Jojo, this would have my vote any day.

Location:

Cha Cha Original Pan Mee
12 Jalan Kuchai Maju 9
Off Jalan Kuchai Lama,
58200 Kuala Lumpur.

I ate: Thim Kee deep fried fish (tilapia) @ Pudu

It has been ages since i actually recall a proper time where i actually went food hunting with my dad. What other opportunity other than the afternoon after the end of a major exam. Yea, i sure am grateful that i actually have parents who are as much of a foodie as i am or perhaps it does run in the family not just during my time but in the previous generations before me. So we went to downtown Pudu famed for their exquisite roast ducks and the location of the infamous and historical Pudu Jail.

I was shown around to a few notable food locations before we made our stop for lunch at a roadside shack filled to the brim.

Its not exactly the most comfortable dining places located directly opposite the old Pudu Plaza along Jalan 1/77 C. Parking around this area is near impossible but didn't really affect us as we used the lrt and made a stop at Pudu station followed by a 10 minute walk.

Best thing about these places are that the menu's are already condensed to their own signature dishes. We started off first with their butter squid which i was expecting to come out similar to calamari rings which wasn't anywhere close to it when presented to us.

Soaked in the most delicious butter-milky rich broth cooked with curry leaves for the added fragrance, chopped green chilli giving that spicy kick and a subtle hint of rice wine. It surely was something to savour upon.

For the next dish i had a very skeptical perception about it from the very beginning when i heard about deep fried tilapia. By nature tilapia has a very soft delicate skin with a soft flaky meat and the very idea of deep frying it count add up to a disaster. But it turned out other wise, the fish was brilliantly butterflied (in cooking terms, cut open bottom side then spread out side ways resembling a butterfly) the deep fried under very high temperature keeping it nice and soft on the inside with a nice crunch on the outside and based with an unidentified awesome sauce which complimented it perfectly.

The third dish was a simple fried chicken, as simple as it might sound its not your average deep fried chicken. Surely one of the best i have had so far. Lightly crisp on the skin with a soft, tender and juicy meat on the inside. Dipped with their home made sauce gave it the great tangy edge to it.

Like most hawkers around the area, the meal was very reasonably priced at Rm 44 seeing that we ordered portions for three people it was worth every single bit of it. This is the sorta meal which will leave a deep impression on your tastebuds for a long time.

Location:

Thim Kee Steamed Fish
Jalan 1/77c, Off Jalan Pudu,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Its located directly opposite Pudu Plaza, the signage for this hawker isn't the most obvious so do keep on the look out for it.