Le hubby and I have a tendency to run errands whenever we have days off. Today, we had to drop by SS19 and I have heard and read about a famous pan mee stall in that part of town. I was sort of prepared for the long wait as people have complained about it many times.
What I wasn't prepared for was their serving system. I went up to the stall and was surprised to see it manned by a fairly young chap. My impression was that this great pan mee was cooked by a tough, seasoned old shi fu since this stall has been around for years and years.
Anyway, he gave me a number on a piece of cardboard, which could either be 08 or 80, and told me to go sit down and he will come by to take our orders later. Le hubby and I were quite lucky that day because we managed to find a table under a fan. The coffee shop was full at that time.
And so we waited... And waited... And waited... I looked around at the other occupied tables and started to feel a sense of apprehension because the majority of them have not been served yet. The guy was bringing bowls to one table and then moving to another table to take the orders. He would go back to the stall, prepare the order and help serve and cook. I think there was one main cook (another young fellow) and 2 helpers. This went on for many rounds before it came to our turn.
More than 40 minutes had passed when he finally took our orders. He gave us a pair of chopsticks and two little bowls containing a green chili condiment. I suppose this is a signal that our table shall be served with pan mee soon.
After 10 minutes from the time our order was taken, our pan mee arrived, steaming hot and quite delicious looking.
There was a generous heaping of deep-fried ikan bilis and minced pork at the top. I had asked for extra daun manis (sweet green leaves) and I suppose they do not skimp on ingredients.
This style of pan mee is what I would call mee hoon kuey (in Hokkien). The texture of the pan mee was quite lovely. It was smooth and yet had a slight chewiness to it. This can only be achieved with hand-shredded type of pan mee. And the folks at the Ho Kien stall do it quite well.
The broth was tasty albeit a little salty. When mixed in with the fried ikan bilis, minced pork, slivers of mushroom and daun manis, it was a beautiful soupy accompaniment to the pan mee. The green chili condiment was perfect with the whole blend of taste and provided a slightly tangy kick. I also think one of the reasons why everything was so tasty is because they use MSG in their cooking.
The Ho Kien Pan Mee stall is situated inside Restoran Lien Heng. There are only 3 or 4 stalls operating in this coffee shop and most of the patrons were there for the pan mee. You need to be very, very patient and prepared to wait (Dad, avoid this place at all cost!). Most of the customers were staring into space whilst waiting. At least I had an iPhone to keep me occupied.
As much as I like the pan mee here and think that it's really nice, I will not be returning anytime soon. It is just too much of a waste of time with all the waiting. Le hubby and I got there at 10.35AM and could only finish our meal at nearly 12PM. For two bowls of pan mee, it is so not worth it. There are good pan mee stalls not too far away that don't require such a long wait.
Prices:
Pan Mee (S) = RM5 per bowl
Location:
Ho Kien Pan Mee at Restoran Lien Heng
22, Jalan SS19/6, Subang Jaya, 47500 Selangor.
6 comments:
I'm not sure if this is the one I was told about, but I was told of one with a long wait in Subang. Am still keen to try. Maybe next time I go at 9am... on a weekday :P
Yep, this is the one. I checked on 4sq and loads of reviews to confirm if it was the right place. Was sat there for a long while and had lots of time to surf :-)
Wow, can't believe I've not tried this one! Will go check it out :D Thanks for the post!
Hey Reiko, Just be prepared for a long wait time. I've read it gets very busy during lunch hour.
Oh I went there the other day with kc, the wait wasn't as long as yours, possibly because it's on a weekday too. Took about 20 mins for them to take my order and then another 5-10 mins for the food to be served.
I like the soup, and their green chopped chili, very appetizing! :)
Over all, it feels like an old-style pan mee which is different from what we usually eat, but this is still very nice for me, except I usually prefer spicy pan mee and this is not exactly spicy enough. :)
I'm hokkien , since I was born my parents always bring me to a pan mee shop at klang. The shop name was fatty mee hun kuih. In my opinion , they sell the best pan mee. I have tried eating the ss19 pan mee , it wasn't that good. But since I'm staying in subang and everyone around me goes there so I gave it a try. But in conclusion , Fatty Pan Mee is the best pan mee shop. Your argument is invalid. :) you guys should go , give it a try ^^
Post a Comment