DayOne DayOne Noodles @ Sunway Velocity

DayOne is known as a Taiwanese and Japanese fusion restaurant (that also offers some Asian and local dishes to cater to the tastes of Malaysians) but they're best known for their own-made Chew-Chew Noodle with free-range eggs and high-gluten flour with no preservatives and processed ingredients from day one (no pun intended).

Founded during the pandemic, the restaurant seems to have grown from strength to strength judging by the perpetual crowd at many of outlets.  From their menu (and website), there are 12 branches thus far starting with their first outlet in Mont Kiara, Solaris with more branches thereafter in Sri Petaling, Petaling Street, SS2, Cheras Traders Square, Setapak, Puchong, KLIA2, Pavilion KL, Sunway Velocity Mall, Taipan USJ and Sunway Pyramid.  I'm sure even more outlets will open in future (I believe this business opportunity can be franchised).

I've known about the place since a fellow blogger blogged about it as far back as in 2020 but never thought of visiting until my son gestured me to.  So, we found ourselves visiting DayOne DayOne Noodles @ Sunway Velocity for the first time one weekend evening.

The first thing I noticed when the menu was brought to us was that everything (other than the name of the dish) is written in Chinese.  If you're one who neither reads nor speaks Chinese, it can be a little trying coz only the dish has an English translation but not the more detailed description of the dish (so we basically relied on what we see in the pictures).  Even the servers converse in Mandarin, so it's a bit more challenging for people (like us) who don't speak the language to order (luckily, you can order through their app).

This, being a Taiwanese place, braised pork rice (or lu rou fan) will certainly be at the forefront, so my son went with their Signature Braised Pork Chew-Chew Noodles @ RM18.90.  This one had a chef's hat (as in it's a chef recommended dish), a thumbs-up sign (I take that the dish is good) and a little piggy (to mean there's pork involved) followed by more words in Chinese (I gather that would be the detailed description of the food and what comes with it).

This signature braised minced pork handmade noodle was served with boiled eggs with a custardy yolk, pickled cucumber, soup and a chilli paste + chilli oil dip.  They offer you a second bowl of noodles if you're up for it (as in if you're still hungry).  The noodles top up is free and can be ordered upfront or later (my son's extra bowl of noodles was ordered upfront).

Actually, the portion of top up noodles isn't much, you can finish it in 2 - 3 bites, so it wouldn't be too much for the average-sized eater.  The noodles are cooked al dente with a good, chewy texture (hence the name chew-chew, I suppose...lol) that's a pleasure to eat.  I would say the portion of noodles is on the smaller side that even I could probably finish an additional free portion (which I didn't request upfront not knowing what the portion size would be).  Foreseeing that I'd probably have communication difficulties in ordering extra noodles, I decided not to.

There was plenty of tender braised minced pork although there were more fatty cubes of minced pork than lean meat.  Once mixed thoroughly into the noodles with a bit of that chilli dip (a must), the overall flavours were quite robust.  They also nailed the boiled eggs with a softer yolk (for this bowl) though the cook of the eggs can be a bit inconsistent.

I ordered the Taiwanese Pork Chop Chew-Chew Noodles @ RM28.90 which came served with the same condiments (boiled eggs, pickled cucumber, soup and chilli dip) as in the earlier braised pork chew-chew noodles.

The pork chop was fairly tender but there was none of that expected fragrant and crisp outside layer (from it being deep-fried) as it came almost braised-like in texture sitting in a pool of sauce at the bottom that tasted only of soy sauce and it was a tad salty (for me).

If I were to compare this to another popular Taiwanese place, I'd say Din Tai Fung's pork chop tastes loads better.  For me, it's more fragrant and better seasoned with a more crisp feel since it's served like a fried pork chop (and not braised like the one here).

The chew-chew noodles on its own tasted quite flavourful already as they came tossed in a sauce (maybe due to customers' feedback previously that it was bland tasting like the one choiyen.com had which had no sauce).  Even the shape of the noodles looked different now from the one she had.  The noodles did come topped with some braised minced pork and half a boiled egg (that had a different consistency from the previous bowl).

Anyway, if it's still not up to mark, then the addition of the housemade chilli dip (this one is rather fiery, so add little by little if you can't take something that's too spicy) will further perk up its flavours.  This chilli oil was far more spicier than the one I had at HoLiao Noodles, so those who like a real spicy kick will certainly enjoy this one.

The chew-chew noodle set was served with condiments of pickled cucumber....and this side dish I found myself enjoying the most with its fresh, tangy, crunchy texture.

The soup was robust in flavour and tasted exactly like a herbal soup (again I see it's a different soup from what choiyen.com had).  Such a strong tasting soup is not something I expected to go with the noodles.  Just like there are customers who don't like a too herbally bak kut teh, there'll be customers who don't like herbal soups.  Even though I do drink herbal soups, I'd much prefer a subtle, cleaner tasting soup to balance out the robust flavours in the noodles.

Our side dish for sharing of Golden Fried Tofu @ RM12.90 was a dish of tofu cubes that have been deep-fried to an airy, golden crisp and dusted with that chilli powder that's become a signature of Taiwanese food (which they dust on almost all of their fried food like chicken, pork, mushrooms, sweet potato fries, etc).

When I say airy, I really mean it coz somehow the insides of the tofu were very hollow, so you end up eating more air than tofu...hah..hah...and the amount they give (for the price) is rather shocking (the portion looks like one block of tofu...and one block of tofu is very cheap!).  There were more crispy rice noodles (which lined the plate as decoration) than there were tofu cubes.  The sambal accompanying the tofu was also not outstanding as it tasted like something out of a can (a canned ikan bilis sambal comes to mind). >_<

For drinks, I went with one of their cold brewed Taiwan teas, the Osmanthus Oolong Tea @ RM9.90 that's also available hot in a cup or pot.  Other teas include a green tea, a rose tea and a black tea.

My Personal Opinion

DayOne DayOne has garnered high ratings on Google and continue to pack in the crowds at some of their outlets.  With these many outlets (some are franchised outlets I believe), there's always the tendency that some outlets will do better in terms of taste, consistency and service.

From what I've tasted so far, it's average at best (so I'm not sure what the hype is about) but I will definitely say they nailed the texture of their chew-chew noodles which is a pleasure to eat...that I've got to give it to them.  If I were to compare DayOne DayOne's Taiwanese cuisine to Din Tai Fung's (from the small sampling of their menu I had), I would go with the latter (who is still going strong to this day).

That said, I'm not sure if I'll be back...though there's still a lot more to try from their vast menu like beef noodles, 3-cup chicken, crispy chicken chop and oyster vermicelli that forms an integral part of Taiwanese food that may change my mind yet.  But two things that won't excite me to explore though is the Japanese (can their Japanese food be any better than Japanese specialist restaurants?) or Asian/local section of their menu (who can do better siu yuk than our locals, even Hong Kong-type restaurants here can't compare...#I'm not biased....lol).  If I do return....it won't be anytime soon. ^_~

DayOne DayOne Noodles

B44 & B45 Sunway Velocity Mall

Lingkaran SV Sunway Velocity

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-517 1511