PP Noodle Station

Update: This business has ceased its operations.

Located at the former location of Prillion Cafe is a new restaurant: PP Noodle Station (碰碰面板面). There is an opening promotion from now till 2 February 2014, where each order of noodles comes with a free drink.

The restaurant is so new that it still carries the old imagery from Prillion Cafe.

As the name implies, this restaurant specializes in pan mee (板面), a type of noodle made from wheat flour. The dough is typically flattened using a hand cranked press, therefore the noodle resembles a plank ("pan", 板). According to the restaurant, its pan mee is free of lye-water (碱水) and preservatives (防腐剂).

There are several variations of pan mee, and a handful of other rice and noodle dishes. Some menu items are still not available, presumably because the kitchen is still not fully equipped.

We started with the Pan Mee Soup (招牌清汤板面, RM6.90). My golden rule when I visit an eatery for a first time: always order the proclaimed signature dish. If I am disappointed with it, then there is little incentive to try the others.

The Pan Mee Soup comes with a dropped egg, minced meat, anchovies, black fungus (木耳) and choy sum (菜心). The soup base is quite tasty as it has been boiled with anchovies.

For the noodle, we ordered the thin version which gives it a circular cross-section. For soup-based pan mee, I prefer thinner noodle to allow the taste of soup to penetrate the it more thoroughly. I am reasonably satisfied with the overall taste. The only complaint is the small portion compared to the price.

We also tried the Curry Mee Special (特式咖哩鸡面, RM7.50), which is actually a dry version of pan mee with thick curry gravy and chicken pieces. Several slices of fried potatoes are also added in the mix.

The curry gravy is quite thick but turns out to be too salty, even after stirring it with pan mee. As for the chicken chunks, we find them quite delectable as the meat is tender and tasty.

The type of pan mee used here is the thick version. This gives the noodle a taste which feels more "starchy" and "dough-like". Apart from over-saltiness and the small portion, this dish is quite acceptable.

The complimentary drinks are Herbal Tea (特制凉茶), which normally cost RM2.20 for hot version, RM2.50 for cold version. The herbal drink has some barley (薏米) at the bottom.

I think PP Noodle Station is a decent eatery, but I feel the menu is quite limited. Perhaps it should also improve on the taste of some ingredients such as the curry gravy.