The search for tasty Pan Mee

Every one of us have our own favourite spots for Pan Mee (pronounced Parn-Mee). Pan Mee are homemade flat noodles using a dough made with flour and water and a little oil. The dough is then kneaded till the gluten / starch is developed so that you get the chewy texture. There are several ways you can enjoy this local dish - Thin strand, thick strand or hand torn pieces in Soup, Dry or Dry with dried chilli paste.


Today, Bunny will take you through 2 places of pan mien, both of which are not really my favourite choice. I have yet to find a chewy soup version of Pan Mee since my TTDI shop closed down.

First one is a hidden gem located off Taman Sri Manja in a little surburb called Taman Seri Sentosa. This little stall under a few big trees is popular amongst the Chinese residences in the apartments nearby. The type of Pan Mee served here is Mushroom and Minced Meat.

The stall which is runned by a family of 3 - Mum cooks, Father prepares the rolling and assembly of noodles and Son who prepares the drinks.

The noodles is something different but It's just not too much to my liking as I found the mushroom minced meat sauce a little too bland and the noodles not chewy enough.

I love their chilli sauce and fried ikan bilis here. Their chilli sauce does pack a hefty oomphh of spiciness. A meal for 2 (1 Big and 1 Small) plus 2 iced herbal tea cost around RM12.00.

Next up, we tried Chilli Pan Mee Shop in Kota Damansara. Over here, I like the texture of the noodles but I don't like the soup base as they didn't use the traditional anchovies / ikan bilis to boil the soup and the overall deco of the shop didn't quite gel with me as it was too modern.

The Menu

My friend and I had the dry version which came with a poached egg to make the noodle taste smoother and richer. I enjoyed the texture of the chewy noodles mixed with the dry chilli paste.

My Hunny had the Curry Pan Mee which he wasn't too satisfied with. It looks good but taste only so-so.

We also ordered a side order of soup dumplings which also turn out to be a disappointment as the minced meat filling was too mushy.

The bill came up to RM35++ for the 3 of us. This is one place whereby I won;t be coming to anymore. Simply too pricey!

Bunny Eats Hokkaido Ice Cream @ Gardens, Mid Valley

A few months ago, I had lunch with my close gal pal and after that as we were walking in Gardens Mid Valley, we stumbled across this Hokkaido ice cream parlour that was opened by the same chain who runs sushi zanmai. The parlour is located 2 floors above Marks & Spencers.

My friend and I were fascinated by the flavours available there and since we were sharing, we decided on a waffle with 6 scoops of ice cream. I prefer the waffle here over the waffle at A&W.

We had rock melon, mango, apple, vanilla, dark chocolate and black sesame. The dark chocolate, mango and vanilla tasted ordinary but the rest of the flavours were totally awesome! The rock melon was so fragrant, the black sesame was so flavoursome unlike other watered down versions that I have tasted before...and my most favourite was the apple sorbet!

There were bits of black sesame in the the black sesame ice cream and bits of yummy apple in the apple ice cream. It was a tastebud discovery for me.

They also have various other condiments that one can add to their ice cream as well as an ice cream teppanyaki bar whereby those condiments will be "chopped" teppanyaki style with the ice cream flavours of your choice.

The prices are amazingly affordable as this 6 scoops plus the waffle only cost RM28 inclusive tax. If you wish to sit there and enjoy the ice cream, please do dress warmly as there are many open air cond vents there.

Do go and try it out if you are craving for delicious affordable exotic not too sweet ice creams.

Yummylicious Nails @ HRH Nail Studio

I have been frequenting this new nail parlour called HRH Nail Studio as they offer really great value for money manicure and pedicure services. Currently, they have 3 branches - Section 14, PJ; ss2, PJ and Section 17, PJ.

Their nail art are affordable (starting at RM20 and above for a whole set) and they are willing to draw whatever you want...let's say u saw someone's nails online...all you just have to do is send them a message with your nail art choice a few days before you go in for appointment and they will customise the nail art for you. You can also choose from the many nail art designs in the nail art magazines.

Here are some of the designs that I have done with them recently.

Ultra-Delicious looking, aren't they? The 10 fingers nail arts + manicure + pedicure and 2 more nail arts on my toes cost me around RM120 to RM130.

Bunny Goes to Penang in Aug 2010

It's time to revive my dead blog...*CPRs* the blog....here I am propped up with a badly twisted ankle...can I only settle down to blog.

The Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival or "Phor Tor" happens around the 7th month of the Chinese Calendar and this is when the gates of Hell opens and the ghosts get a month long holiday to roam around. The peak day happens on the 14th day of the Ghost Festival month. If you go around the neighbourhoods, you will Chinese families praying by the roadside or just outside their house gates. By praying, they usually offer food and joss sticks to feed and appease the hungry ghosts passing by and in a way asking them to not disturb the occupants of their house.

I went on a crazy weekend with a few friends to Penang in August for the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival. It was a 2 day 1 night excursion and the reason being that Penang being a small island and more Chinese-fied is more focused on the dying Chinese arts of celebrating the Hungry Ghost Festival. They have schedules of traditional Chinese operas and puppet shows. The shows in KL and PJ mostly show scantily clad babes performing to appease the more modern ghosts and horny human males.

We stopped at Ipoh's Foh San for brunch but I really have to admit that the dimsum standard has gone downhill. This was my favourite...the Chives Prawn Steamed Dumpling.

We reached Penang just in time for lunch and our guide cum driver took us to Penang Street to have the famous Cendol, Assam Laksa, Prawn Mee (Penang Mee) and Char Kuay Teow. I was pleasantly surprised at how they serve the Prawn Mee. Unlike the reddish broth I get in KL/PJ, this was came in a very tasty clear prawn broth. It was so delicious that we ordered another bowl.

1st Bowl....

2nd bowl

Then we tried the Char Kuay Teow....it was yummy also...

Lastly, we finished off with the Asam Laksa which was served in a clear broth as well...it was very delicious as it was just the right tangy sweet salty taste. What I didn't like was the fish was all minced at the top, I would have prefered some bite-able fish pieces as well.

I can't remember how much exactly they cost but they were expensive for the small servings.

After that, we checked in to Tune Hotel. My recommendation is not to stay there. Although they are clean but their walls are so thin and not soundproof at all. We could hear our next door neighbours talking, the people outside walking on the corridors...u get the idea? Being a no-frills hotel and after all our add-ons, I could just paid an extra RM50 more to enjoy more comfort and privacy at Berjaya Penang Hotel instead.

We rested for a while before meeting some Penang photographers for dinner. They took us to Macallister Lane for delicious Kuay Chap. What is Kuay Chap? They are actually internal spare parts of pig and in this case, duck as well cooked in a broth and served with flat rice noodles...."Kuay" is the flat rice noodle simmilar to Kuay Teow...and "Chap" means mixture of stewed organs or spare parts.

It was like tasting heaven...!!! So delicious and well prepared. You must go around 6.45pm to enjoy this dish and they are usually sold out by 8pm!

Please keep an eye out for this stall and his loads of innards....very delicious...

Such a huge bowl of stewed pork intestines...well cleaned too...

A huge bowl of pig ears and snout....yummy.....

My bowl of kuay chap with duck meat and coagulated duck blood....next time i will just call for chap....I was also suprised that the broth was liquid and not starchy like the ones I ate in Singapore. You cannot find Kuay Chap in KL or PJ...or maybe is because I don't know where to look....

My most favourite dish....a plate of sliced pig ears...non fatty and full of collagen

After such a wonderful dinner, we set off to look for some opera sights. It was my 1st time watching an opera close-up and I was so surprised that it was in Cantonese. Usually, the operas in Penang are in Mandarin or Hokkien. The title of the opera was Golden Phoenix, The Lady Bandit. In short, it tells of a righteous lady bandit who steals from the rich and helps the poor. She meets the incognito Emperor of China who has lost power temporary due to his evil relative. The script was very funny as the performers have inserted modern terms into the script as well.

Here are some scenes from the opera...

We didn't stay for the entire show as we were tired. It was an eye opener experience for most of us.

Next day, we had dimsum in Penang but it was only so-so and cannot be as tasty as Foh San in Ipoh. Here are some of the stuff that was offered from the dimsum trolley.

After Breakfast, we went to Khoo Kongsi. It was a meaningful visit. The Khoo clan house praying place was very meaningful. Each decoration on its wall depicts a moral value story. The paintings of deities on the walls are at least a century old. There were also secret compartments on the staircase for luck and fortune. Too bad I don't own a wide angle lens...it was truly a beautiful sight and I hope to visit there once again.

If you looked properly, there are also Gurkha statues within the walls and surroundings of the clan house. This is because back in those days, they already believe the power of Gurkhas in providing safety to their clan house. There are also carvings of many animals admist the clan house with each character giving a different meaning of luck, prosperity, strength and other good values.

Notice anything different of the picture? There are actually swallow heads embedded in the chinese character

This window has the literal meaning of "Wishing You" .... or in cantonese, "Chuk" - Bamboo; "Fook" - Bat

and next to this window was this carving...which carries the meaning of "Peng Onn" or Peace/Safe Life. "Peng" is depicted by the flower vase and "Onn" means stuck on the wall. So the whole meaning is "Wishing you a safe and peaceful life".

We met Bee Yong and her bf (now fiance) and they took us for very delicious fish head curry and other dishes for lunch at YMCA.

After seeing Bee Yong and Fiance off, we went to Spice Garden and Teluk I-forgot-the-name. After that, we left Penang at 4pm...on the way back, we were hungry and stopped by one of Ipoh's oldest restaurant - Hoong Tho for dinner. The deep fried fish wantans were spectacular as usual and we ate heartily.

Freshwater Prawns Yee Mee. The Yee Mee was delicious as it was deep fried in fresh oil and didn't have that aftertaste of rancid oil. The Prawns were fresh and succulent.

Hoong Tho's signature fish paste dumpilings. Light and crisp and bouncy freshwater fish paste was used.

My favourite "Gui Fa" noodles...I prefer the Yee Mee version more though. This dish was using glass noodles. Full of wok-hei....nice :)

After dinner, we headed back to PJ. It was a nice trip but if I were to do it again, I would opt for at least 3 days 2 nights trip instead of weekend trip.