Win Win Western Food @ Pandan Indah

Win Win Western Food @ Pandan Indah, which occupies two floors, opened in November last year to full crowds and long queues (something that only happens to one other restaurant here...Sushi Mentai).  From their Facebook, it would seem that they started out as a stall inside a coffee shop (Restoran Chong Wah Win Keong) in Taman Sri Gombak (and still operating) before embarking on opening their own restaurant here in Pandan Indah.

In the evenings, you'll see long queues (especially on weekends) but (fortunately) you don't have to wait that long as the queue moves pretty fast (a testament to how fast the staff and their kitchen work).  We've been here for lunch too and they still run a full house.

Seeing that they got their start from a stall set-up, you can pretty well expect what kind of western food is served here...localised western food and I started my taste test with the Combo Grilled Chicken & Pork @ RM28.80 coz I was greedy wanted to try both proteins in one go.  With the combo, you get one chicken chop and one pork chop + a sausage and fried egg served with a toasted/buttered bun, coleslaw and fries with a choice of black pepper or mushroom sauce.

I didn't know what to expect portion wise since this was my first time eating but was taken back by just how hearty the portion was.  Obviously I couldn't finish the whole lot and had to pack part of it home.  Due to its large portion size, I didn't hesitate to order that for my spouse when he dined here the first time (even my husband found the serving very filling).

On a subsequent visit, I cut down on my greediness and had the Grilled Chicken Chop @ RM16.80 with black pepper sauce which is my favourite sauce when it comes to eating steaks and chops.  I can see why they've such a huge following coz their black pepper sauce is very well made with just the right amount of savouriness and pepperiness.

Next, I tried the Grilled Chicken Chop @ RM16.80 but with mushroom sauce instead (that tasted a little garlicky).  No, I would stick to the black pepper sauce as it's clearly the winning sauce here.  In fact, it's among some of the better black pepper sauces I've had.

There's also the Sizzling Chicken Chop @ RM19.80 which is served on a hot plate instead.  The difference between this and the normal grilled chicken chop is that it's served with an extra fried egg, broccoli (instead of coleslaw) and onions.  I like how the black pepper sauce would sizzle underneath the hot plate thus caramelising and sweetening the onions.

They actually have many other styles of cooking the chicken chop (which I've not gotten round to nor would I want to as I still prefer my basic black pepper) like Marmalade Chicken Chop, Chicken Maryland, Thai Style Fried Chicken, Creamy Butter Grilled Chicken Chop, Creamy Butter Fried Chicken Chop, Mexican Chicken Chop and Special Pineapple Chicken with Cheese.

Moving on from the chicken chop, I tried their Sizzling Special Pork Chop @ RM25.80 with the ingredients being pretty similar to the sizzling chicken chop except this came with (1 1/2 pcs of) pork chop, an extra slice of ham (and cheese which I asked to be omitted).  I had this with my choice of black pepper sauce.

Both my husband and son prefer the Grilled Pork Chop @ RM18.80.  I've to say they butterfly (maybe even pound) their pork chop to a fairly thin slice so that it's more tender this way but, of course, it's still a little bit chewier than chicken chop (which is usually the case).

After having the chicken and pork chop so many times already, I decided to give the Grilled Salmon Steak @ RM26.80 a go.  It's ideal if you're a light eater though the salmon was a little on the dry side and a steak cut (not fillet) means you'll also have to deal with some bones + it's served with the same mushroom sauce which I thought didn't go together as well as if I've gotten a different sauce made for fish.  These reasons made the salmon less enjoyable and the fact that it costs more wasn't in its favour either. >_<

All their main dishes come with a standard piece of buttered and toasted bun, coleslaw (of which the mayo was surprisingly light, not gluggy like many can be) and crinkle-cut fries (nothing special but frozen, commercially bought fries).

 

If you like to have your protein with more carbs, you can order the Grilled Pork Chop with Tomato Spaghetti @ RM18.80 which my son did (there was an additional RM7 chargeable to change it to Aglio Olio Spaghetti).  The spaghetti here is just ordinary.

My son's sampling of the Fish & Chips @ RM18.80 also came in a very big portion.  We were stunned at how humongous the piece of fried fish was which occupied almost two-thirds of the plate...lol!  The younger generation will like this...it's those typical breaded frozen fish but this one is quite pleasant, not fishy at all.

For an equally fulfilling dish, you can have Fried Fish with Tomato Spaghetti too (with a notably smaller piece of fish) @ RM17.80 (changed to Aglio Olio for an additional RM7).  What I don't understand is this extra charge of RM7 to change from tomato to aglio olio...RM7 for just some additional garlic and chilli flakes? O_o Very strange.

For a side order to go along with your chops, Win Win's Mushroom Soup @ RM7.80 is a great choice! ;P  Not only was it tasty, I was surprised at just how thick and creamy the soup was although this was not the dark brownish type (from mushrooms) like other mushroom soups I've had but more whitish in colour (from the cream).  Even so, it was not cloying at all and was nicely seasoned.

It was among one of the better mushrooms soup (that's more cream-based) I've had.  Just a dash (more like many dashes) of black pepper to complete the enjoyment.  When I asked for black pepper during the first few visits, they gave me white pepper! O_o  This led me to think what western joint doesn't have black pepper...luckily they have since fixed that...lol.

Even when not having mushroom soup, I always add on a side order of Garlic Bread to share for only RM2 (which is a steal!).  The garlic bread here is very buttery and soft on the inside (the butter oozes out when you squeeze the bread) with the exterior well toasted making the sesame crusted bread fragrant and crisp. Absolutely delish.

I was here at lunch time once and decided to have something different and ordered the All Day Breakfast (Set B) @ RM18.50 instead.  It ended up to be a plate filled with processed food of sausage, ham and bacon (which was expected, what was I thinking! :D) together with scrambled eggs (which looked more like an omelette), coleslaw and bread.  Can't understand why they would want to present the bacon this way (rolled up like a flower?) when what was needed was to lay it flat so that it can get charred and crispy.  So, don't bother with this one.

My son have had many drinks here from Mango Tea to Peach Apricot Tea to Tropical Fruit Tea all @ RM6.50 to Three Musketeers @ RM7.90.  I stick to Apple Tea (Hot) @ RM4.50 which tastes like Chinese tea, unsweetened but nicer. ^_~

My Personal Opinion

I can see why the place is so popular and always packing in the crowds coz they did two key things right here and that is....1) they get a real good sear on their chops and 2) the black pepper sauce is good.  These, coupled with great portions and very reasonable prices, are the reasons why people keep coming back.

Since western food is agreeable with my restrictive diet as the main portion of the dish is meat-based (either chicken or pork), it's no surprise that this place has become a regular dinner venue for us.  Stick with either the chicken chop or pork chop (even better if it's served sizzling on a hot plate) and don't forget the mushroom soup and garlic bread too.  These are the best (and my favourite) things I've eaten here.  Be prepared to wait for a table though but the queue/crowd moves pretty fast, a testament that the kitchen and staff work at a fast pace.

My husband is a simple man and likes simple food like this, so this localised western food appeals to his palate.  We come here very often (as evidenced by the many photos..lol)....after all, my blood glucose readings after a meal here has always been good which makes this place test approved and very ideal for my current way of eating. ^_~

Win Win Western Food

45 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 014-365 8898

Restoran Wan Shoon @ Damansara Kim

This Mee Jawa from Restoran Wan Shoon @ Damansara Kim has had a steady following since an article in Malay Mail featured it in 2022 and I was subsequently reminded of it by my circle of blogger acquaintances/friends, kyspeaks, phonghongbakes and choiyen.com when they tried it.  How could I not try when all of them sang praises of it, right? ^_~

This coffee shop houses a number of other stalls selling chicken rice, char kway teow, curry mee, sam kan chong, Kampar fish ball mee, popiah, chee cheong fun + yong tau foo and others.

But if you google this restaurant for reviews of what to eat, it's all about this stall! ;)  You'll practically find nothing much mentioned about the other stalls here other than this sought-after mee jawa.

Since that's what I specifically came here for, let's start with that.  A standard bowl of Penang Mee Jawa is RM8.50 but mine has something lurking at the back...hehe.  The bowl was filled with small prawns, tofu slices, hard-boiled egg, beansprouts and very finely shredded lettuce, finished with a crispy topping (of crushed peanuts and possibly some kind of crispy bits of batter?).  There's also a piece of crispy keropok (cracker) which is a bit different from other mee jawa(s) that I've had served standing upright on the plate.  I liked that the cracker tasted savoury and was slightly thicker (than those regular, thin type usually used in other mee jawa) but still very crunchy.  I've to admit that the whole ensemble made it the most beautifully presented plate of mee jawa I've seen.

The first thing that hits your senses when the dish arrived at the table was the smell of the lime.  The notable difference here is that the lime juice is already squeezed into the dish by the stall owner (which I appreciate as I hate to dirty my hands and squeeze it myself).  The freshness and zestiness of the lime juice (and enough of it) balances out the sweetness in the gravy perfectly and that was what I thought was a key difference with this mee jawa.

I initially ordered just mee (coz usually only mee is offered by vendors of mee jawa) but I overheard someone ordering meehoon mee, so I asked for my order to be changed.  When it arrived, I noticed there was only mee, so I thought the lady forgot to change my order.  On digging further, I realised the noodles had two colours, yellow and white (similar to those thick meehoon).  Biting into the noodles, the texture of the yellow noodles seemed different from our usual yellow mee, this one is thicker like spaghetti noodles but with a softer texture.  Very nice.

As for the sauce, I'm not sure what it's made of but it had a sweetness to it, so I'm thinking it's probably from sweet potatoes (maybe with a combination of potatoes) and tomatoes as well.  It's not spicy at all (though I've seen some photos with a spoonful of sambal at the side...maybe only upon request) nor sour (from the lime which gives it a fresh lift).  It's not too thick either, nor overly sweet and tomato-ey (like some) but is adequately thick to coat the noodles nicely....and then you get this fragrant, crunchy texture from the toppings of finely crushed nuts.

As I mentioned earlier, mine had something lurking sneakily at the back...and it was a piece of vegetable fritter @ RM3 (so my plate of mee jawa cost RM11.50 in total).  The fritter, probably made up of vegetables such as jicama, chives, onions and carrot, was excellent.  The fritter was incredibly fragrant (and they don't stinge on the chives) with a hint of sweetness (I'm guessing that there could be some sweet potato shreds in the mix).  You must get this add-on fritter...so, so good, one of the better vegetable fritters I've had in a long time!

My empty bowl that has been licked spooned clean speaks for itself...a testament to just how good it was with its gravy slurped down to the last drop!  If I had my way, I would want more gravy coz both the cracker and fritter is best eaten dunked into the sauce.

The same stall also sells Penang Prawn Noodle which I came back to try on my second visit.  The bowl is filled with the usual ingredients of prawns, pork, hard-boiled egg slices, kangkung, beansprouts and fried onions you'd find in a typical bowl of prawn mee.

But the differences in the standard ingredients were that the prawns were tiny (too tiny for a proper bowl of prawn mee), the pork weren't in thin slices but in tiny cubes (which resulted in a different mouth feel) and the fried onions were the store-bought kind, not own-made.  The broth tasted light with a bit of prawn flavour coming through.  This prawn mee reminded me of the one in Restoran Yong Len in TTDI (which have its followers).  If you prefer a lighter broth, this might suit you but, in the end, it was just a very average bowl of prawn mee for me that's not worth my while to travel so far for...should have just stuck with the mee jawa! ;D

Like any coffee shop, it's not only home to the jawa mee stall but a number of other food stalls.  Since my family isn't a fan of jawa mee, my husband ordered the Curry Mee with poached chicken, tofu puffs, long beans and beansprouts (he omitted the cockles).

Seeing that my husband ate it silently, I knew it was no where near some of the good ones we had.  On tasting, the poached chicken was edible but the curry broth was just too thin and light.

My son tried the Siu Yuk/Char Siew Rice which, from the looks, you can pretty much guess it's nothing remarkable and wantan mee (on our second visit) which was even less inspiring (to even take a photo) that came with pinkish char siew and (he said) the filling of the wantans tasted sourish. >.<

On the way out, I saw that the roasted meat stall was called Fatt Kee Soy Sauce Chicken Rice (I was wondering why the name sounded familiar...only when I was writing this I realised that phonghongbakes has eaten this before).  Well, you don't need to ask what's the best seller here (judging from the number of soy sauce chicken hanging at their stall compared to the scarce slabs of siu yuk and char siew...and also their name, obviously).  Even I am not into soy sauce chicken (which looked like chicken poached/braised in soy sauce), I'd rather have either roasted or poached chicken (not something in between...lol).

I decided to tapau the Char Kway Teow (with duck egg) for my lunch later as I heard a lot of wok-ing noise while I was there.  On opening the packet, I was greeted with a disappointing sight (and smell) of light coloured noodles lacking the necessary char and fragrance (even with lap cheong).  Yes, of course I lowered my standard since I was eating it cold but the taste was still meh.

After coming all the way here (for a second time), I wasn't about to miss out eating the best thing here again, so I decided to tapau one for my lunch later.  Back home, I reheated the gravy and poured it over the noodles, the result of which isn't as presentable but taste good just the same.

Seeing that I was given the thicker meehoon the first time, I asked if they had the regular thin meehoon, the outcome of which is.....forget about the thin meehoon!  Eat it with just mee (or if you absolutely must have meehoon, have it with the thick meehoon which has the same mouthfeel as the mee).  It's called mee (not meehoon) jawa for a reason....lol!

The cracker and vegetable fritter was packed separately and both managed to retain their crispiness and crunchiness even when consumed later.  The lady owner who was packing my order gave me broken pieces of cracker as she was reaching the bottom of her tong of crackers (which she later replenished with new ones). There were a lot of small shattered pieces at the bottom of the plate which I discarded (I thought it wasn't very nice of her to unload the shattered pieces on me especially when I saw her worker had ready pre-packed big ones).  Obviously, the bite is very different if you're not chomping down on a complete big piece.

My Personal Opinion

I've not eaten enough mee jawa to be an authority on it but I've not eaten a mee jawa as good as this so far. Sadly, it's also the only thing worth eating here as the other offerings failed to ignite any interest in us having it again.  So it's no suprise that when you google this restaurant, you only find reviews of the mee jawa and nothing else.

Since the rest of the stalls we tried were run-of-the-mill food and my family isn't that into mee jawa (my husband actually had mee jawa on our second visit as there were no other alternatives that he fancied), it's highly unlikely that we'll be back to this kopitiam (why travel so far just for mundane food).  That means my only chance of having this splendid mee jawa again is if my husband happens to be in the vicinity to tapau for me. :(

For the rest of you who are from this area (or its surrounding areas), count your lucky stars that you have a smashing mee jawa near you.

Wan Shoon Restaurant

47 Jalan SS20/11

Who is Damansara?

47400 Petaling Jaya

Selangor