The Malaysian Food Review

As good as anything goes, people say imitation is the greatest compliment.  If you have something going great for you like Kin Kin’s Chilli Pan Mee, you know have made your mark when somebody imitates you to take in your spillover customers.  Sometime back, we decided to give the imitation, RESTORAN SUPER KITCHEN a go.  Smoking salmon, homer Bottomless Pit, and me made our way to the outlet.  It is a stark difference from Kin Kin, the interior is well litted, there is air-condition to make you forget about the Malaysian heat, and there are other food available if you are not a pan mee fan.

The pan mee here comes in 2 sizes, regular and big.  They did their very best in imitating Kin Kin, same noodles (but slightly thicker), the minced pork is there, the fried anchovies, the fried onions, even the ever important poached egg is there.  The only difference visually is in the soup, it comes with pork balls, vege and NO poached egg white bits. 

Try as they may, they seem to miss the one magical ingredient.  The noodles doesn’t taste as good.  The chilli is equally fiery but when all mixed up, the kick to burn your stomach is just not there.  It’s like copying your mother’s tried and tested recipe but somehow not producing the same taste.

How was it?                                                                                                               

I would give it a 6/10.  Only because it is brighter, the service is better and the food arrives faster.  Based purely on taste.  Kin Kin would win with two hands down.

How much was it?

A regular seving is only RM4.00, while the large is at RM4.50.  Both cheaper than Kin Kin.

Will you return?

I don’t think i will purposely brave the jam and hassle for this.  If i ever come to this area, i would sit my ass over in Kin Kin.  You should try a comparison, buy having a bowl in Super Kitchen then go over to Kin Kin and let us know your thoughts.

 Till then, may the burning stomach be with you.

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Nasi Lemak is typically referred to as Malaysia’s national dish and ranks very highly on my list of favourite foods. I can never get enough of it, and it’s not unusual for me to have a packet before work and then order it again at a restaurant during lunch. Even while studying in Australia the Nasi Lemak cravings still occurred, which prompted fruitless quests in search of a restaurant that served this amazing dish. Even though we KNEW that we could never find a decent plate of Nasi Lemak anywhere outside Malaysia, it never stopped us trying, and never failed to leave us feeling disappointed and empty at the end of the day.

How great it feels to be back home now and have Nasi Lemak around every corner. One of the more famous ones is Nasi Lemak Cikgu, located in Kelana Jaya. The owners of Cikgu have been around for years, and moved around a lot as well, having started out with just a roadside stall, before finally arriving at their own shop in Kelana Jaya. They even went into franchising, and for a while you could enjoy Nasi Lemak Cikgu at Cheow Yang restaurant in SS2, but not anymore.

I’d lost touch with them for several years due to their moving around, and was ecstatic when i recently discovered them again. They have a nice shop now, but they don’t seem to be getting too many customers. That’s why in the food business, it’s probably better not to be a nomad.

I went with SekSun and 2 other non-reviewers. The shop doesn’t only serve Nasi Lemak, but that’s what all of us were there for.

The fried chicken is probably the highlight of this Nasi Lemak, so I wouldn’t even consider ordering Nasi Lemak Biasa. Naturally, you’d have to get it when it’s freshly cooked, so timing is everything. The sambal is cooked with ikan bilis and onions, and pretty damn good. It tastes a little sweet and is not too spicy so you can add lots of it. My only gripe is with the absence of fried ikan bilis, which, in my humble opinion, should always accompany a plate of Nasi Lemak. That brings my enjoyment down a tiny notch.

This plate has fried egg and some kind of malay meatball (I forget the name) made with beef and potatoes, which wasn’t bad. It’s just a shame nobody wanted to have squid. Next time I’ll definitely try the squid and get them to do a bullseye egg for me. I’ve already had a word with them about the fried ikan bilis. As it stands, I’d rate Nasi Lemak Cikgu a 7.5/10.

Anyway, I hope business picks up for them as I love their Nasi Lemak and don’t want them to disappear again. Go check them out next week after the Ramadan month. To the Malays out there, Selamat Berbuka Puasa.

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