7-Chai @ Pandan Perdana

I've noticed this 7-Chai @ Pandan Perdana for quite a while now whenever I'm in Pandan Perdana for marketing or breakfast and looking around for parking space.  Looking for a parking spot here is quite a challenge in the mornings (not only on weekends) as 7-Chai is situated within walking distance of a morning wet market nearby.

However, they have two dedicated parking bays that belong to them (as in they rent them from MPAJ), so you might score one if you're lucky enough (we've been lucky twice in all our visits here).  The signboard says Mee Ipoh Hor Fun, so they obviously specialise in Ipoh kai see hor fun.

And at the top of my list to try was a bowl of Ipoh Kai See Hor Fun @ RM7.50 (small, RM8.50 for big) and I chose to have it plain which comes with just shredded chicken and some smallish prawn.  First impression when it arrived, the layer of orangey prawn oil was a good sign.

First things first, a sip of the broth and I was assured of a good chicken broth with prawn essence flavour fully extracted from frying and boiling prawn heads + shells and chicken carcasses.  The broth of this one may not hit the heights of the excellent one we had at Guang Ji Ho Fun but still very commendable as top-notch quality. ^o^

Next, I got myself the Ipoh Shredded Chieken + Prawn Hor Fun @ RM8 (small, RM9 for big) which had all the prerequisites that a bowl of Ipoh kai see hor fun should have...shredded chicken, prawns, prawn wontons, Chinese chives and freshly fried inhouse made shallots.

Of course a good Ipoh kai see hor fun should come with the type of hor fun (flat rice noodles) that Ipoh has come to be synonymous with...and they indeed hit the mark with its slippery-smooth mouthfeel perhaps only not as thin.

Do note that the noodles is of a good portion size even for small.  If I were to nitpick, I wish they would give more soup in proportion to the noodles.  So my husband asked me to just order big (as that would mean it'll come in a bigger bowl with more soup...yay) and pass him the noodles (which I did on my next visit).

During our first visit here, my husband went for the Curry Noodle @ RM9.70 (small, RM11.70 for big).  It came with not too many ingredients, just (poached) chicken, tofu puffs, fresh cockles (so few that you can count!) and beansprouts.

I was loving the looks of the layer of chilli oil and the spoonful of thick curry on top.  The curry broth looked the part, thick and delicious.  I tasted a spoonful of the curry and thought it was quite good...although it didn't quite meet my husband's high standards of what an excellent curry should be.

Encouraged by the looks of the curry mee, I decided to get a bowl all for myself on another visit...but then mine came looking like this (it was like night and day)! >.<  Looks rather different, doesn't it?  Where's that lovely curry oil?  Eh, how come got fried shallots in a curry?  Looked like it was hurriedly prepared too (perhaps by a worker not tasked to do the job?).  On hindsight, the place was super busy that day with orders taking up to 45 minutes to be served (takeaway orders were turned away too when the lady boss informed that it'd take up to one hour!).

The broth looked thin....and tasted that way too.  The curry had a thinner gravy but it wasn't watery.  Even though it lacked the creaminess and sweetness that I want, the flavours were there (if it looked like the one in our earlier visit), so I think it's still an average tasting curry mee and should please those who don't mind a thinner curry.

Since the curry mee didn't leave a good impression on my husband, there was only one option left for him, the Dry Shredded Chicken Noodle @ RM8.50 (big, RM7.50 for small).  You don't normally see kai see hor fun served this way.  I've only encountered it once before in Mei Sin Kopitiam in Imbi (though I still preferred their soup version...you can check out choiyen's recent post on that).  Just looking at the perfectly fried minced garlic (of the one here) makes my mouth water.

Of course, when both my husband and son ordered the dry style, they thought they'd be getting noodles tossed in a pretty dry black sauce (like wantan mee).  They weren't expecting an almost broth-like sauce so they were skeptical at first but after tasting it, they both exclaimed that it was rather good.

My son chose to have his with prawn wantons @ RM10.70 (big, RM8.70 for small).  The prawn wantons were certainly decent but I preferred another where a whole prawn is wrapped in wonton skin (not chopped up like the one here + a little too crunchy in texture).

I can see why they both liked it when I tried it myself.  The sauce was robust in flavours...made even better with the very generous topping of fried garlic bits which I think contributed significantly to why the noodles were so tasty.  I had mine with smooth chicken @ RM8 (small, RM9 for big).

It might look like a lot of sauce but once you mix it with the noodles, they soak up the sauce and it won't look like it's a lot anymore.  That said, I personally preferred to have it in its original form...in soup....the way a Ipoh Kai See Hor Fun should be enjoyed. :P

As you would have guessed, if there's kai si hor fun, there's bound to be poached chicken on the menu.  I got the Poached Chicken (Thigh Portion) @ RM6.50 (1-pax portion, RM13 for 2-pax) to share.

The chicken is wat (smooth) and tender (but not as wat as my favourite one from Guang Ji Ho Fun) with a more than decent tasting soy sauce + oil combination (again not as tasty as the sauce from Guang Ji Ho Fun).

A word of caution though, some days the chicken can be a little underdone near the thigh joint bone (which is usually the case, even with fried chicken leg, as that's the thickest part of the chicken), otherwise it's all good.  If you're squirmish about that, just dunk it into your soup to cook it a little bit more.

I only found out that they have Poached Kampung Chicken (Thigh Portion) @ RM8 here on my last visit coz we so happen was seated towards the back of the shop (near to their food prep counter) that I finally saw two different yellow-coloured chickens hanging..lol.

The lady boss specifically referred to it as ma lai kai and asked if I wanted that.  As you can see, the skin is very fatty (as it's common with kampung chicken), the meat tougher but with more flavour.  Both my husband and I still prefer the normal poached chicken as it's much more tender and wat but we know there are fans of more flavourful meat that can only be found in kampung chicken.

If there's poached chicken, of course there's also Poached Chicken Rice @ RM8 (small, RM9 for big) to be had (which I would get sometimes as a takeaway for my lunch later).  The rice had good flavours but can be a little oily.

Three kinds of dipping sauces are provided...a fresh chilli sauce, a blended ginger paste and chopped bird's eye chillies with soy.  The fresh chilli paste was tangy, not spicy but not the best...it was a little too watery for my liking.  The blended ginger paste with finely chopped scallions was fresh, lightly oily and on point tastewise.  The ginger dip is only provided if you're having poached chicken (with or without rice).

There are only two side orders here, one is the prawn wantons and the other was the Blanched Beansprouts @ RM5.50 (small, RM11 for big) which was rather ordinary.  I thought the soy sauce got diluted a bit once the beansprouts were mixed in to provide the required saltiness although they were plump and crunchy.

Deserving mention is the friendly and super efficient lady boss who is a one-man (or, should I say, a one-woman) show.  You don't see me do this often but I must give credit where credit is due as this is a rare trait indeed for an owner of a food business that's doing well as we've all encountered our fair share of unfriendly and arrogant owners (of famous shops...even the one at Guang Ji Ho Fun).  She manages the queue (by checking and ensuring all her waiting customers have taken a number), takes the orders (even those who call for takeaways) and handles payment...and, throughout the process, she constantly communicates with her customers and apologises for the food delays and waiting period for a table.

My Personal Opinion

I'm over the moon that I've finally found a very good kai si hor fun near me...perhaps not as good as the excellent one in Guang Ji Ho Fun) but certainly a worthy adversary.  My only regret is that I didn't find them sooner as they've been around since the pandemic (circa middle of 2020).

It's now my regular haunt for kai si hor fun for 3 reasons (besides tasting awesome):

1.  It's location is convenient and near to me, first and foremost.

2.  They've a dry-style (not commonly offered elsewhere) which my family absolutely enjoys.

3.  The service and mannerisms of the communicative lady boss which makes waiting tolerable.

That said, it's the kai si hor fun (both soup and dry versions) and poached chicken (with rice or on its own) that warrants your attention here.  Best to skip the curry noodles.

7-Chai Ipoh Hor Fun

33 Jalan Perdana 4/1

Pandan Perdana

55300 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-709 2022

What do I do with ramen noodles?

Last Chinese New Year, we were privileged to receive a festive gift hamper.....and among the items I found inside the hamper was a packet of dried ramen noodles.

Now what am I going to do with these ramen noodles?  It's not that I know how to make a tonkotsu (or pork bone) ramen broth.....nor would I even if I did.  I'm not willing to sacrifice my time over hours and hours of boiling the pork bones (anything from 10 - 16 hours! >.<) to get that sought-after rich, creamy, opaque, white broth that's the epitome of a good ramen broth.

I've eaten my fair share of ramen noodles though not particularly a big fan of it.  Ramen is best eaten at specialty ramen shops.  It's not something I would ever make at home.  For those who do, it's really a labour of love as it needs so much time and effort.  Since ramen noodles is a bit like our local Hakka noodles in looks, texture and taste, I thought I'd use up the noodles and cook something simple with it...hopefully with some Japanese-Chinese influences.

This packet of dried ramen noodles isn't any ordinary ramen noodles I gather.....as it says sun-dried sea birdnest handmade ramen on the box.  The pack came with 4 portions of noodles when opened.

No instructions were found in the packaging to advise how long I need to cook these noodles, so I'll just have to wing it! ;)  I cooked two portions of noodle (since one looked like it was so little, after all the whole pack was only 150g).  Testing along the way, the noodles were al dente after 4 minutes.

Once done, just lift them up into a bowl.  The noodles were pretty easy to lift up with a chopstick actually. They don't fall off as the noodles are in nice, long (not broken up) strands.  Before cooking the noodles, I had to prep some ingredients for my noodles.  It was a spur of the moment thing, so I just used what I had available.

I had some leftover fresh shiitake mushrooms (that I cooked the other day), a piece of fried beancurd (from my earlier chee cheong fun breakfast) and spring onions in the fridge.  Since this was going to be a meatless bowl of ramen (no chasu...nor know where to begin to make one), I thought shiitake mushrooms would make a good substitute for its earthy, meaty texture.

A proper bowl of ramen always come with a ramen egg (ajitama), a marinated soft-boiled (or should I say medium-boiled) egg with a custardy yolk that's barely set.  But why would I even bother to make a soy marinated egg for just one bowl of noodles.  So, I replaced it with a fried omelette instead (but sliced it into thin shreds for better presentation...lol).

It so happened that I had a chicken and prawn broth I made earlier (and froze), so I used that for my soup base.  I reheated the broth and boiled the leftover shiitake mushrooms in it to soften them.  Then, it was just a matter of assembling all the ingredients (nicely)...before pouring in the hot broth! ;)

Hey, the final product does look like it had a bit Japanese influence (no?) due to the shiitake mushrooms (fresh ones, not the dried Chinese kind) and spring onions which I chopped ever so finely to mimic those you'd find in abundance in a bowl of ramen (too bad I didn't have any dried Japanese seaweed).

To finish the balance two portions of the ramen noodles, I thought I'd cook it Chinese-style taking inspiration from a bowl of Hakka-style noodles.  For this, I just sauteed some minced pork that has been rubbed in a little cornflour and seasoned with salt, chicken powder, white pepper and a very light drizzle of soy sauce (just a little so that the noodles will stay white-coloured).

Once cooked, toss them with the al dente ramen noodles.  As traditional Hakka noodle does not have robust dark sauces for flavour, the minced pork would need more seasoning so that the noodles do not end up tasting bland.

Of course, the traditional Hakka noodle also gets its flavour from being tossed with pork lard oil and topped with cubes of crispy pork lard but since I don't normally have that at home, I can only toss them in fried minced garlic and garlic oil together with lots of chopped spring onions.   Finally, finish it off with more crispy garlic bits...and more chopped spring onions! ;P

Since I still had some frozen chicken stock in the fridge, I had the noodles with a side serving of soup filled with store-bought, restaurant-quality fried fishballs.

This actually turned out better than I expected.  It was a pleasantly delicious meal if I have to say so myself. It may not be as good as those authentic Hakka taipu noodle shops because of the lack of pork lard but certainly a good enough homecooked version if you enjoy subtle-tasting noodles.

As for the ramen noodles being sun-dried sea birdnest handmade ramen...well, it didn't taste any different from any plain ramen.  I just have to imagine I'm eating birdnest ramen...lol.

I didn't know what I would do when I saw the ramen noodles in the hamper and thought it might go to waste. In the end, it turned out to be the most tasty thing from the hamper.  I like the texture of these ramen noodles.

After this positive experience and knowing what I can do with them now to produce a quick, simple and nourishing meal, it has encouraged me to look for (an appropriate brand of) dried ramen noodles the next time I'm in a supermarket. ^_~

Tasty La La Noodles @ Pandan Indah

I was driving around my neighbourhood one morning when I stumbled upon a signboard that said....tasty la la (clam) noodles.....and unknowingly stumbled upon a gem of a find.  It's situated next to a Mazda showroom or in the row behind the one and only bread and pastry shop that serves western meals (formerly Fougasse, then Ficelli, now Maison Boulangerie).

The interior of Tasty La La Noodles @ Pandan Indah is a bit dark coz it's painted in tones of black and grey, more appropriate as a place to drink than a place to eat, in my opinion.  When I'm eating, I prefer the place to be cheery and bright so that I can see what I'm eating clearly...lol.  But I did venture here on my own many times to try out their noodles and got hooked.

The very first thing I wanted to try was a bowl of their tasty La La (or Clam Soup) Noodles @ RM12.90 (after all, that's what their signboard claims).  When it arrived, I was totally flabbergasted at just how the bowl was totally covered with la la so much so I couldn't even see the noodles! O_o

First and foremost, the la la clams were fresh, plump and juicy...and there were plenty of them, probably between 30 - 40 in a bowl! ^.^  Omg, I've never gotten this many la la in all my previous bowls of la la noodles I've eaten...there's usually only half the amount (of say 15 - 20).  I did commend the lady boss (when paying) on the plentiful la la she gave (although some days the la la can be much smaller).

As for the broth, you can taste two flavours distinctly....the Chinese rice wine and ginger taste.  When I was waiting for my bowl of noodles to arrive, I was regretting that I didn't go for the add-on rice wine for RM2 but apparently I didn't need to.  The ginger is so finely julienned (almost grated-like) that the soup base takes on a spicy note (not chilli-spicy, but ginger-spicy, though I did find a few slices of red cili api).  I love the taste of ginger, so I was fine with it but I think they should still dial down the ginger just a bit so as not to overpower the soup.

As for the noodle of choice, if cho mai fun (thick rice noodles) is offered, that's always my first option.  It goes really well with soup noodles as the noodles don't absorb the soup quickly like thin meehoon.  The portion of noodles given was also quite a lot which I couldn't finish as I had to make sure I ate up all the clams.

They give you a separate bowl to store your eaten la la shells.....and you can clearly see that the aftermath was quite a mountain of shells.  Watch out for those fiery red bird's eye chillies too as they bring some serious heat if you bite into them. >.<

On my second visit, I went for their Grouper Fillet Fish Noodles @ RM20.90 featuring truly fresh, thick slices of grouper (sek pan or kerapu) fillet.  This one was garnished with loads of really bright and springy Chinese parsley (which I adore like in the earlier bowl).  Not only that, but it was topped with a good spoonful of crispy fried garlic and a few leaves of sang choy (lettuce) too.

You get 7 - 8 good-sized pieces (of at least 1/2 an inch thickness that's about the size of a soup spoon) of very fresh and sweet tasting sek pan yue.  The fish slices were so flaky and delicate that it broke the moment I lifted it up with a chopstick...signs of a fish that's really fresh (I had to scoop it into a spoon to be able to take a photo).

The soup base is more ching (clear) and subtle in flavour compared to the earlier la la noodles.  You still get the taste of Chinese rice wine in the soup but the wine is not as strong as the one in the la la noodles.  Even less prominent is the taste of ginger but you do bite into a few thin slivers of ginger at the bottom of the bowl.

I chose the Big Prawn Ginger Wine Noodles @ RM22.90 on my third visit.  Not only were there big prawns, the noodles were served with fried egg shreds that have been stir-fried with lots of finely shredded ginger.  

Athough the menu says "big prawns", the prawns weren't super big-lah but I'd say decently big for the price paid.  You can see these tiger prawns were cooked just right (their bodies have not curled up completely).

I noticed the menu pic showed 3 prawns but the bowl came with only two.  Oh well, I thought, it's ok as long as the prawns were fresh, firm, juicy and sweet tasting....and they were indeed all that. ^o^

I was about half way through the bowl of noodles before I realised that there was a third prawn hidden at the bottom of the bowl.  Hmmm, I think the presentation needs a wee bit more attention to ensure all 3 prawns are showcased distinctly for the diner to see immediately...lol.

The fact that I could peel these tiger prawn so effortlessly and properly, with the tail still intact, is a sign that the prawn were indeed at its freshest.  The soup base of this bowl had the strongest smell and taste of of rice wine and ginger of the three I've tried thus far.  That's probably the reason why the words "ginger wine" were included in the description of this dish on the menu.  So, brace yourself for the heat effect you'd get at the end of this meal.

What was interesting was noly only did I enjoy the prawns, I found myself enjoying the fried egg bits just as much, if not more.  There was plenty of it, so I'm assuming two eggs were used.  I also noticed the egg bits had lots of orangey yolk, a sign they were kampung eggs...and indeed they were coz there's also an option for Ginger Wine Kampung Egg Noodles (RM10.90).

Yet another variation they offer here is golden (or fried) fish puffs (RM12.90) and pure fish paste (RM10.90) noodles.  I decided to go for the Golden Fish Puffs + Pure Fish Paste Noodles @ RM12.90 so that I can sample both in one go.

The pure fish paste patties were bouncy with a denser texture due to the flour in them.  If you've been a follower of my blog, you'd know that I'm not so in favour of bouncy fish paste although most places make them this way.  

The golden fried fish puffs, on the other hand, had a much softer texture which I was told was due to the combination of tofu and fish paste used to make them.  They were downright delicious. ^o^  Although not in the menu, you can order both the fish paste and fish puffs separately (without the noodles) and you'll be charged accordingly.  I was told it's quite popular as a side dish with diners.

When it comes to noodles, they've 4 choices here...bee hoon, kuey teow, rice noodle (aka cho mai fun and my favourite) and mee sua. Mee sua is something I never order as this noodle tends to become super soft and mushy when steeped in soup.  I also don't fancy kuey teow with seafood-based noodles for some reason.  It's only either thin beehoon or cho mai fun for me when it comes to seafood noodles.

On my first visit, unaware of the good portion size of the noodles here (which I always struggle to finish), I asked if they had anything else other than noodles and was told they serve their inhouse made sai to yue paeng (fish cake) too.  So, I got myself a side dish of Fish Cake @ RM9.90.  I would say it's a fairly decent fish cake but not my favourite as I've eaten lots of better fish cake than this.

It's quite surprising to see a shop specialising in seafood noodles also offer poached chicken rice.  If you didn't notice it in the menu, you get a not-so-subtle hint with two poached chicken hanging at the front of the shop (they're fake by the way...lol).

I ordered their Poached Kampung Chicken (Thigh) Rice @ RM10.90 since someone told me it's good.  First impression, the meat is lean but flavourful and the skin a little fatty and thick.  Note that this type of skinny kampung chicken, you get a rather thin layer of meat only.

But alas, the soy sauce mixture wasn't my favourite and the chicken is for those who enjoy the slightly firmer texture of kampung chicken (which is different from the smoother, softer choi yin kai).  Obviously there are fans who swear by the extra flavour in these yellow-skinned kampung chicken.

The rice though looking like it was made with a good chicken stock was unfortunately not.  Other than the smell of ginger I got and the rice was certainly not oily, there was just not enough flavours in the rice to make it stand out as a good chicken rice. 

Also got a portion of Blanched Beansprouts @ RM6 as a side order.  Though crunchy, the soy sauce for the beansprouts wasn't even near the good tasting ones.  I could also taste a hint of sesame oil in the mix which I'm not particularly keen when it comes to vegetables.  Beware too of those tiny fiery red cili api which lends quite a bit of heat to the dish.

You get three types of dipping sauces served with the chicken rice...a fresh blended chilli paste, a ginger paste and sliced red bird's eye chillies in soy sauce that's served with the noodles (the fresh chilli paste is served with the fish cake as well).  The spicy note in the blended fresh chilli comes through first and it isn't as oily or tangy as some of the chilli dips that come with chicken rice.  The ginger paste which has a much darker colour (probably from being sauteed in oil) was just ok.

Mind you, for a shop that's not predominantly a kopitiam known to serve coffees, eggs and toast, they sure make a mean cup of coffee and tea.  I was taken aback at just how thick (kaw) and good their Signature Hainan Kopi Ais @ RM4.80 and Signature Teh Ais also @ RM4.80 were.  The final one is Kopi O Ais @ RM3.80 but this one is a bit too strong to have without milk.

My Personal Opinion

I was pretty stoked at the overly generous amount of la la this place gives for their la la noodles.  If la la is your thing, then you must make your way here.  Perhaps they should call themselves Plenty La La instead of Tasty La La! ;D  I'm glad to have found such fresh seafood + soup noodles (two things I'm very fond of) so close to home.

Usually for a shop to offer various types of noodles or various variations of the same type of noodles, there are bound to be some good and some not so good.  As I've always said, not everything on the menu is good in one place but this one really bucked the trend as I can't fault any of the noodles I had, so it's difficult to say which one I liked best (I like them all!).  Their secondary offering of chicken rice and beansprouts are probably there just for those who want rice.  These two (which aren't their speciality), I won't be having again.  So, with that, I've practically tried every item on their menu except for their Fresh Fish Head Noodles (that's because I only like fried fish head version) and Seafood Noodles (which is just a combination of all the seafood which I've already tasted individually).

There'll be those who wish for a more robust tasting soup or even more wine taste but I believe the subtlety in the taste of the soup base further highlights the freshness of the seafood even more...though I do feel that there's still room for improvement in their broth.  But that does not stop me from coming here to enjoy their seafood noodles.  I'm pretty sure I'll be a regular here (actualy, I already am)! ^o^

Tasty La La Noodles

39G Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6A

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 018-353 1101