The husband wanted to go BreadTalk IHQ for some sports apparel warehouse sale so I suggested to walk over to Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee (nearest MRT is Tai Seng) for lunch beforehand since it was nearby.
Just months ago, it’d take 2-3 hours to queue for a bowl of ban mian here. We are really glad the hype storm is now history and that this place is once again queueless so we could come back anytime for the noodles.
The menu is very straightforward with only 6 items on it.
On every table, you’d see this order chit so just write down your orders, make payment at the counter right inside the shop and wait for your food to be served.
Do note if you come during peak meal times, you’d have to share tables with other people if you have a small dining party of 1 or 2.
This Fishball & Bean Sheet with Meatball Soup ($4) is not to be missed! The fishballs were big, bouncy and juicy though they tasted a little fishy. I preferred the meatballs that were firm and springy and didn’t have any gamey smell like some packet ones. The bean sheets stood out the most because they were deep fried to a nice golden brown and were really flavoursome. Delicious!
And this was the Signature Dry Chilli Pan Mee ($5) that Kin Kin is famous for in KL. You mian (thin noodles) with minced pork, fried ikan bilis (anchovies), fried shallots, meatballs and a poached egg. The unique thing about this is that it’s served in a dry version unlike the usual ones we have from Qiu Lian Ban Mian and the like.
The dry chilli flakes weren’t tossed with the noodles so you’d have to add them yourself (as much as you like if you can take the heat) and mix everything up. Normally when you dine elsewhere, you’d see their chilli soaking in raw oil and it’s just troublesome to drain that unwanted oil while trying to scoop the chilli but I don’t have such concern here as their concoction is all dry.
I added two heaped spoonfuls of the chilli and it was already mighty but at a bearable level. The husband followed suit and started sweating and sniffing away halfway to his meal, lol. So my advice is to start small and gradually add on the chilli. It’d not be enjoyable if all you can taste is just spice!
I loved the texture of the noodles that were cooked till al dente so they were chewy and firm to the bite, exactly the way I preferred my noodles to be. The ikan bilis were crispy and lent some fragrance and crunch to the otherwise bland noodles (because there wasn’t any other sauce to flavour the dish). The minced meat was lean and though it was braised or stewed in sauce, it didn’t have much depth. I wished my egg was a little less overdone.
Overall this was a decent bowl of ban mian made delightful by the combination of the runny yolk, crispy ikan bilis and spicy chilli as well as the novelty of having a dry ban mian. It’s good but it’s not spectacular. I probably wouldn’t queue more than 15 minutes for this.
Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee
534 MacPherson Road
Singapore 368220
Tel: 6743 1372
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kinkinchillipanmee
Opening hours: 11.00am to 8.00pm daily
I would love to give a try one of the weekend 🙂
oh yes you should 🙂 i think it’s a refreshing change from the usual ban mian 🙂 hope you’ll like it!