Sunday, March 22, 2009

Out of the wilderness, into the woods!

This weekend signalled the start of the long and tedious process of flat-hunting! And my general lack of orientation around the property market meant that I had to start from scratch, to leave no ground uncovered. Including neighbourhoods to which I had been less inclined or initiated. Gee-whiz, the process is tiring to say the least, and leaves me with the realisation that I have to do so much more homework!

We hit Kota Damansara on Day #2, and halfway through a dozen appointments with real estate agents (why don't we do open houses plain and simple here in Malaysia??) , we stopped for lunch at Mee Papan, a pan mee outlet. I am trying to understand the Papan in the name, which kinda sorta ties back with the Chinese name " Big Wood" - Papan doesn't make for very appetising expectations but never you mind, we were already knee-deep in unchartered waters anyway.

My companion went with the regular Chief Pan Mee in soup minus the meat, for she doesn't do pork. Generous ingredients, but they didn't translate to the awesomeness potential that pan mee usually proffers.

I had the Zha Jiang Pan Mee. Noodles were standard, the sauce a tad askew. It was sweeter than I'd liked, and the cardamon seeds that popped up were questionable. I wouldn't order this again.

We also gave one of the recommended side dishes a go, Stir Fried Carrot Cake. This was lacking in many departments, and needed the boost from the chilli sauce to go anywhere.

The red bean soup wasn't quite ready yet so she settled for the Yee Mai Fu Chuk (barley & bean sheet) dessert, looked OK, gingko nut peeping up in every mouthful.

Shopfront, with boutique above parading liberal standards of skanky in hip-length tops masquerading as dresses. Would you wear that alone?!

The disappointing meal rang up about RM23, fair enough given the prompt service. But I wonder if the wooden connotation of its name and the unfamiliar neighbourhood was a harbinger of sorts, and if dining at nearby Super Kitchen Chilly Pan Mee would have sealed a better impression of the neighbourhood.

12 comments:

Bangsar-bAbE said...

Yeah, you probably would have been more satisfied with Super Kitchen. I go there quite often. It's no Kin Kin, but it's still quite yummy. =)

Rebecca Saw said...

i agree w bangsar-babe- its pretty good (super pan mee)

worldwindows said...

I have some unconventional wisdom - lack of food around means livable neighbourhood. My 2cts worth. I hunted house a year ago. Mercifully I am well settled now.

Anonymous said...

Hope you will find what you are looking for :)

J2Kfm said...

wondering how this Super Kitchen fares ... many rave about Kin Kin, but i found them to be ... average.
salty and spicy, at best.

mee papan ... hehe, gives a whole new meaning to pan meen

Food Paradise said...

The Zha Jiang Pan Mee attracts me. Never try Zha Jiang Pan Mee before. Would like to try it out one day. lol

HairyBerry said...

yeah, i'm oso thinking if there's a connection between "giant wood" and "pan mee"...hmmm, perhaps a big piece of wood was used to roll them dough..haha!

cardamon seeds?? omg!!!

backStreetGluttons said...

the nervous great sense of longer than a month commitment looms in the distance,
the fine balancing of this love that love perhaps those loves can be daunting we know but we always thoz Kota Dsara is errr, somewhere coldly out in the boondocks.
USJ would have been closer to perfect but then again what is perfect , maybe even papan who knows...good luck !
just do it...again
LOL !

minchow said...

Bangsar Babe and Nomad Gourmand, yes, probably safer to have stuck to Super Kitchen. The disparity in the crowds should've been a dead giveaway!

Worldwindows, yes, do share more of your house hunting experience. I thought I found something over the weekend but ended up more dazed and confused than ever come Monday. It's tough!

CK Lam, me too! Wish me luck!

J2Kfm, yes I'm not sold by Kin Kin strictly either. I think pan mee deserves a national-level competition! It's practically a Malaysian institution!

Food Paradise, hmm I wish I could tell you to try this place's Zha Jiang Pan Mee out but I can't. Better luck elsewhere!

Nic, oh hey, I totally missed that!! PAN and WOOD, d-uh!! Haha!

BSG, that's funny! Coz my house hunting buddy dragged me to see this unit in USJ and I said the exact same thing - out in the boondocks! Yeah, I am not entirely convinced about Kota Damansara either. Back to the drawing boards for now...

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

looks like chilli pan mee may have made u MUCH happier..

Steven Goh said...

RM23 a bit too much already. If the price lower a bit I think this place will be very crowded dee.

Anonymous said...

Hehe, it's one thing for actors to look like "moak" (wood) but quite another for food to taste like "papan" (wood). :P

Btw, I'm apartment-hunting too! O so siens, rite? Eeks.