chewy

Sometimes, I'm absolutely convinced that Pan Min is just pasta lightly coated in oriental soya sauce and accompanied with a few leafy vegetables, dried anchovies and minced meat.

"Isn't it just pasta? No worries I can make it in US."

I have yet to try that though. Meanwhile, during my last month in Malaysia I tried as many Pan Min stalls I could find. They're always different. 

Kung Fu Pan Min, Ho Chaz @Kota Damansara

Discovered this place while shopping for my prom dress. This is SO unique; the noodles are served in just one LONG, THICK continuous strand! Mmm, the texture! Chewy. Love.

This one's from Damansara Perdana. @Pan Min and Fish Head Noodle stall, beside Four Eight Restoran (8888)

Tastes just like regular kuan low noodles (albeit very very delicious ones). They serve a MEAN (and by mean I really mean addictively tasty) fish head noodles with evaporated milk and fish paste.

Yummerrssss.

BUT!!

...this though, HAS to be my favorite. @Lucky Garden, Bangsar. The "big middle kopitiam" (omg I do not do this coffeeshop justice, I'll check the name out). Honestly the chili belachan is making everything so biased. What can beat this? The noodles are handmade on the spot (as in, you can see the uncle rolling out the dough using the pasta roller and dangling noodle sheets at precarious spots) and they are so wonderful and chewy! The soy sauce isn't so overwhelming, the belachan basically seals the deal. Everything tastes better with belachan. 

I love spicy things. Heck, I eat jalepeno peppers just like that. I consume wasabi in anticipation of an alighted nose canal.

I believe the root of a solid, good bowl of Pan Min is the noodles: they have to be CHEWY, or else it's just a regular bowl of hor fun with soy sauce. Lame. Weak. Could just end up as pork ball noodles, i.e. entering a whole new category. The firm chewiness provide some personality, character. If I wanted noodles without a backbone, I'd order chee cheong fun. The noodles in One One Mee @Lucky Garden (above Sun Huat Kee) was exactly like that. I had a friend who loved it though; it was tasty, but it wasn't pan min. Like dude, where's your substance?

Alright, I think I'm digressing. :P 

Wah so emotional. Eat only la. I slap you.

Anyway, I used to hate the chewiness, and now it just defines the freaking bowl of noodles. The three above are my strong recommendations. :)