Damansara Heights

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Wed 26 Jul 2006

Wan Tan Mee - Restoran Shangri-La - Jalan Batai

Posted by Fidel Gastro under Chinese, Noodles, Damansara Heights
[2] Comments

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Famous Hong Kee Wan Tan Mee is very popular among people living and working in the Damansara Heights area. After hearing so many rave reviews about it, I decided to give it a try. Epicurean tagged along to do his pan mee review. For photos of the restaurant please refer to epicurean’s post.

Upon reaching the said restaurant which by the way is named after a 5 star hotel, I was unpleasantly surprised by the appearance of the Head Chef. He wore a white pagoda t-shirt (a very thin white t-shirt) that was DRENCHED in sweat, and sometimes, when he shakes his arm vigorously, drops of sweat roll of the edge of his sleeve and into the soup… yummy.

I gathered enough courage to eat the food marinated in an old man’s sweat as I heard that it is very good, and I was EXTREMELY disappointed by it. If I am going to risk my life eating a stranger’s sweat, the least they could do is make it tastier.

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The noodles itself are okay, but I have had better in many more places, and like most average wan tan mee shops, the noodles get dry before you are done eating. The char siew is also pretty ordinary. Nothing I would travel too far to eat. The wan tan is, once again, average at best.

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My biggest problem with this place is the soup. It tasted like water flavoured with a few drops of sweat from sweaty uncle’s sleeve. The trip was a waste of time and money. Should you still want to go taste the wan tan mee out of curiosity, please be forewarned that the shop is usually quite crowded during lunch hours.

I will review better wan tan mee hopefully in the near future.

And before i forget, here is a special treat for all of you. Please note that this photo was taken on a RAINY DAY. Please enlarge it to appreciate it in its entirety.

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Average cost per person – RM4.00 – standard price

Rating - 5/10

 

Tue 25 Jul 2006

Pan Mee - Restoran Shangri-La - Jalan Batai

Posted by smoking salmon under Chinese, Noodles, Damansara Heights
1 Comment

The trouble with working in Damansara Heights, is that there just aren’t enough Chinese coffee shops to go around. So after doing some digging, I was alerted to the busy but rather ineptly named Restoran Shangri-La on Jalan Batai. Nestled within a small block of shops in a parking lot, this place, along with the 2 other coffee shops on the block is a haven for many Chinese workers from Pusat Bandar Damansara and the surrounding areas. I was recommended to try the Pan Mee and the Wan Ton Mee at Restoran Shangri-La.

Pan Mee (flat noodles) has always been one of my favourite dishes, so I decided to give it a go. A typical Pan Mee dish comes in soup or dry varieties, and usually has the following ingredients - ikan bilis (anchovies), minced meat, fried onions, black fungus, Chinese mushrooms, tapioca leaves and chilli. But what makes for a good bowl of Pan Mee? In my opinion, a Pan Mee dish is only really really good when the ikan bilis is big and crunchy, soft tapioca leaves are used instead of other veggies, and the chilli condiment is thick and packs a punch. Oh, and I personally much prefer the dry or ‘Kuan Lo’ Pan Mee to the soup version.


Back at Shangri-La, I ordered the dry Pan Mee and was kinda unimpressed when it arrived. Upon tasting it i felt that the ikan bilis was a little too flaky and the noodles a little too dry and sticky. And choy sum instead of tapioca leaves? I was underwhelmed. What could’ve maybe saved this from being dumped in the pile of ‘average’ Pan Mees was the chilli, but even that was as bland as it looked.


I doubt they would be overly concerned though, as business is pretty good. It’s hard to get a table here at lunch time, so on weekdays you really should get there by 12.30 latest to beat the office crowds. I’ve had to wait 20 minutes just to sit down, and its not uncommon to see different groups of people sharing tables. At least the service is reasonably quick.

Parking is easy, but it’ll cost ya RM1.50 to get in. If you’re lazy, cheap and/or obese you can always park further out and walk.

Anyway, I wouldn’t recommend the Pan Mee unless you can’t be bothered to drive to KL or Damansara Utama for a good one. Or if you work in Damansara Heights at a company that’ll send you a warning letter if you take an extra minute for lunch. There’s definitely better to be had for your RM4.00.

5.5/10.