Nam Heong Vintage @ Pavilion Elite

After two outlets in PJ (one in Da:Men and one in Starling Mall, there's finally one for us KL folks in Nam Heong Vintage @ Pavilion Elite.  My friend and I came here for an early dinner after some shopping.

I've never been to the original Nam Heong coffee shop in Ipoh, so I don't know how the food compares to the original one (though some will bet that it's always better at the original shop) but it's of no concern to me, I'm just glad that we can get a taste of it right here in KL.

Ordering is simply done electronically through a tablet attached to the table...which is great as it'll be quick and easy since you don't have to wave frantically for service (like some places...hehe).  Making up your mind is also super easy when the menu is accompanied by mouth-watering pictures of the dishes.

Once our orders were made, a complimentary plate of fried potato crisps (spicy version) landed on our table. It was a nice touch and kept us 'busy' while we wait for our food to arrive.

One of my most loved dishes from Ipoh is their "kai see hor fun" aka Nam Heong Chicken Hor Fun @ RM11.90 with two good-sized and fresh prawns, generous amounts of shredded chicken, chives and freshly fried shallots.  I shared this with my friend as we weren't very hungry after our earlier brunch at Breakfast Thieves.

Of course it had to have that all important smooth and slurp-worthy "hor fun" (flat rice noodles) with a savoury-sweet prawn and chicken broth.  The broth was lacking a bit of sweetness but certainly a very respectable rendition of kai see hor fun in KL. ^.^  Would have liked a bit more prawn oil though.

My friend and her daughter shared the Egg Noodles with BBQ Pork & Wanton @ RM13.50  The noodles were tossed in a decently flavoured sauce with bits of crispy pork lard for added flavour.  The caramelised BBQ pork (char siew) with the right proportion of lean-to-fat was not too bad.

Even though we were full, it wouldn't be right to leave without trying their famous Nam Heong Egg Tart @ RM3.40 a piece, so we ordered one and a piece of their Signature Chicken Sou @ RM3.40 as well.

Some will say that the price is too much for a piece of egg tart.  Perhaps it is.  But it is a good egg tart and a pretty good-sized one at that with a smooth and fragrant egg custard and a super flaky buttery crust. ^o^

The chicken sou had a crisp, sticky exterior with a shredded chicken filling that wasn't overly sweet but not quite the caramelised version I was hoping for.  Between the egg tart and this, I'd go with the egg tart, for sure.

Our drinks of Nam Heong Ipoh White Coffee (Cold) @ RM4.80, Signature Coffee 'O' @ RM4.20 and Fresh Watermelon Juice @ RM8.20.  Both my friend and I didn't enjoy their coffees.  I know many sing praises of their white coffee and I do like white coffee but, for some reason, I didn't like Nam Heong's. :(

My Personal Opinion

I'd like to say that my first dining experience at Nam Heong has been a positive one...though their famed Ipoh White Coffee (or black coffee) was a miss for me.  I suppose if you're looking for hawker classics in a clean mall environment (and willing to pay mainstream mall prices), this could be a possibility! ^_~

Since what I tried was just a tiny fraction of what they offer, I wanted to return to try more...and I did....but my second outing left much to be desired.

You see, I had seen quite a few dishes (on other blogs) that I wanted to try (like poached baby octopus, fried mantou with curry pork, mini assam laksa, etc.) that were available in Starling but was told they've just started (in Pavilion) and didn't have them on the menu yet.  So I returned (more than 3 months later) one dinner night hoping that I may be able to savour these and more but couldn't find them on the menu.

Not only that but we found some other dishes that we wanted to try (that were listed on their paper menu coz we were given a copy) not listed on their iPad menu (one such dish was the signature dry assam curry noodles which I wanted to try).  There were also many dishes listed on the iPad as Sold Out (and some of them were their signature dishes).  How can a restaurant run out of their signature dishes...at prime dinner time (7.30pm) on a weekend?  I decided to ask a server and was told that whatever I can't find on the iPad means they don't have it anymore (I don't know if that meant just that evening or no longer on the menu for good...even something as simple as char siew rice)! @_@  In the end, we got up and left.

This is certainly not the impression I have of how Nam Heong runs its business (unless it was just this outlet only).  I doubt I'll return to a place where I have to second-guess what will or will not be on the menu or what I can or cannot have on any given day! :P

Nam Heong Vintage
Lot 8.106.00 Level 8
Pavilion Elite Kuala Lumpur
166 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2110 6321