Ah Eh Noodle House @ Pandan Indah

I've noticed for quite a while now that a dedicated prawn noodle shop, Ah Eh Noodle House @ Pandan Indah, opened up in my neighbourhood.  They were a bit unfortunate to open for business right smack during the initial lockdown period of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

I've driven past the shop many times and finally had the courage to venture in after about 5 months and after reading some relatively good reviews on Google.  I took the reviews with a grain of salt though since I noticed the place is usually devoid of customers.

With a signboard that has a large prawn depicted on it, prawn mee is obviously their speciality, so let's begin with an order of Hokkien Prawn Noodle @ RM8.20 then.  The prawn broth might look the part but certainly did not taste the part.  It was bland and devoid of any prawn umami taste.  Even after dunking in a whole lot of sambal, the taste didn't improve much.

The few, miserable, smallish prawns had no sweetness in them whatsoever and they had this transparent look with a crunchy texture which make me think that they might have used frozen prawns.  With prawns like that, I can't even call this a proper prawn mee! >_<  The fried shallots weren't of the fresh, housemade kind either but of a low quality that was pre-fried and probably straight out of a packet.  Didn't care for the pork belly either that came as a standard ingredient rather than an add-on.

My spouse went for the Hokkien Dried Prawn Noodle @ RM8.20.  I've seen the dried version of prawn mee offered by some prawn mee hawkers but have never ordered one to try before.  I initially thought the dry version would be something like noodles tossed in a more concentrated prawn stock but it was actually just noodles tossed in black sauce (like any dry-type noodle) topped with ingredients similar to prawn noodles.

Well, your best bet would be to toss the noodles in the chilli paste given to try to amp up the flavours.  But it didn't do much good as it was totally tasteless even with the chilli paste mixed in (and with a comment like that, it's quite obvious you can count my husband out for a second visit).

We had a side order of Fried Lobak @ RM6.90 (for 2 pcs).  The filling was too chunky but did have a hint of five-spice.  It was just edible, certainly a far cry from a good lobak.

The Fried Shrimp Cake @ RM4.90 (for 2 pcs) were indeed super crispy, I have to give it at least that though the taste was bland...it was screaming for some salt! >.<  The prawn fritters would have been better if they were well seasoned.  The chilli dip was ok, spicy and lightly sour.

The fritters, however, did come with those small shrimp fries with big eyes and transparent shells intact (similar to krill?).  I think these small white prawns are most suitable for the shrimp fritters as they have a much softer shell to bite into which I prefer.  These ones don't have vegetables (like chives or yambean in them) except some thinly sliced small onions.

With the prawn noodles failing big time, I returned another time (by myself obviously) to try the White Curry Noodles @ RM8.20 hoping it would fare better...and it did....but only slightly.  The quantity of noodles was humungous (great for someone with a ferocious appetite, I couldn't finish).  The bowl was filled with ingredients of (very chewy) cuttlefish, fish cake slices, beancurd puffs, long beans and (smallish) cockles.

The curry flavour is one that's laden with spices than creamy with santan.  You can still taste a bit of that santan flavour but (luckily) the spices are quite well balanced without the taste of curry powder being overly prominent.  At first sip, I thought....hey, this curry isn't too bad only to realise a few sips later that it wasn't salty enough.  If it was bland for me, imagine what it'd be like for my spouse who likes his food on the savoury side.

The curry came served with a darker than usual, almost black, chilli paste that deserves mention as it looked legit (or at least authentic enough) though the ingredients may not be as authentic as a Penang curry mee with its lack of prawns and cubes of coagulated pig's blood.

This curry is already somewhat spicier than the norm but mix that chilli paste in and the curry flavour takes on a new dimension...but it also becomes even spicier.  And because the curry broth is not savoury enough, you definitely need to add more of the chilli paste.

The third and final noodle that I tried was the Jawa Mee @ RM8.20 which came with usual tiny-ass prawns (and there were only three), beancurd tofu, boiled potato slices, hard-boiled egg, bits of shredded lettuce, some crispy crackers (which turned out to be just fried wantan skins!) and kalamansi lime (not lime!).  I thought the dish would have some cuttlefish or prawn fritters...no, there were none.  The gravy (a mix of sweet potato and potatoes according to the lady boss) didn't go down well as it was one-dimensional in taste (of only potatoes to me) and overly thick (and it was served with the same chilli paste as the prawn mee).

I can't say I care for the coffees here either, be it the Iced Ipoh White Coffee O @ RM2.30 or the Iced Ipoh White Coffee @ RM2.70.

Besides Prawn Noodles, White Curry Noodles and Jawa Mee, they also offer other Penang specialities like Loh Mee, Hokkien Loh Mee and Kuey Teow Soup with Fried Popiah and Fried Wantans rounding up the snacks portion of their menu. 

My Personal Opinion

I was ecstatic when I saw a specialist prawn noodle shop opened up in my neighbourhood seeing that prawn noodles is at the very top of my favourite noodles to eat.  The encouraging reviews on Google further fanned that hope....but sadly it didn't come to fruition.

All the noodles I tried lacked seasoning (including the shrimp cake)...and coming from someone who don't like her food too savoury, that's saying a lot.  So this is more suited to tastebuds that like their food less salty or on the bland side.  After three unimpressive visits, I don't think I'll be back to try anything else.  If you're looking for some authentic Penang noodles, I'm afraid you won't find it here.  If you still wish to give it a go though, your best bet is the curry noodles (with a request for added ingredients...and put in lots of that dark chilli paste).

The only positive I can take away from this is that the place is clean and you'll be enjoying your meal in a very comfortable environment, not to mention air-conditioned too.  But it doesn't bode well for them with all three noodles failing to pass the mark especially their signature dish of prawn mee! >_<

Ah Eh Noodle House
M4-A-16 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/1
Pandan Indah
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 011-1442 5349