Dai Ban Noodles – And suddenly, a burger

No. 87G, Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

I don’t interact often with the service personnel at government agencies or government-related corporations, and I’m ashamed to say that I still expect slow, surly, somewhat incompetent service from them.

This, of course, is no longer true. And I am reminded of this fact yet again when we had to visit TMPoint at Uptown to settle some broadband-related stuff. The staff were friendly, efficient and knowledgeable. The fact that I’m still surprised to receive good service here is a flaw I have to work hard to correct.

Once we were done at TMPoint (in record time, I might add) we found another pleasant surprise just a few doors away.

From outside, Dai Ban Noodles looked like yet another Chinese pan mee shop serving up pan mee that, at best, is a poor substitute for the legendary Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee. But then I noticed a banner that says they also serve the ‘Best Pork Burger in Town’. Really? At a pan mee shop? Well, I just had to take a closer look.

If not for the banner, we probably wouldn’t have given this place a second glance.

Once inside, my perception of the place started to change. First off, the drawings on the wall were really cool. Certainly not something you’d expect to find at a typical Cina-fied shop.

I am convinced the person who painted this had some serious art training.

  

I also like their reusable order sheet.

Saves cost, eco-friendly and did you notice? They have a ‘less ice’ option for their drinks. More places should do this.

So I’ve gotten some pretty good vibes up till this point. But is the food actually any good?

The crunchy prawn rolls arrived first. They were chock-full of big pieces of fresh, firm, springy prawn meat. A very good start to the meal indeed. Interestingly, it had a slightly porky taste – I’m guessing they added some pork meat paste for a little surf and turf. I also really liked the dipping sauce that came with it because it packed some serious heat.

If you have low heat tolerance, the mayo on the rolls may help a little.

The pan mee with pork chop came next. The thin noodles were nice and firm and didn’t have that typical pan mee doughyness that I don’t much care for. The pork chop was tender and juicy, with a good mixture of lean meat and fat. The fat did not melt in the mouth but rather reminded me of the fat you get on grilled steak; you chew and it squirts flavourful oil all around your mouth. Not very healthy but certainly delicious.

One of the best pan mee I’ve had. Lady Fartsalot may accuse me of blasphemy, but I’d choose this over Kin Kin.

Finally, the pork burger arrives with the name of the shop written in chilli sauce. Good penmanship; perhaps the person who painted the walls also makes the burgers. Anyway, the burger had nice and soft charcoal buns that have good flavour on their own. The pork patty was thick and juicy and well-seasoned. There was some crunch from the cucumbers, a little extra kick from raw onions and a nice bite from the mustard. Overall, very nice textures and flavours. I don’t know if it’s the best pork burger in town, but it’s certainly pretty damn good. And it’s served at a pan mee shop!

Side note: This wasn’t very easy to eat as it had huge amounts of sauce which made everything slip and slide around a lot.

And by the way, the potato wedges that came with the burger deserve special mention. I loved them: crunchy exterior and soft, creamy interior – probably the best wedges I’ve had. And it’s worth noting that they remained crunchy even though we took a long time to photograph them due to lighting difficulties.

We never expected it when we looked at the shop exterior, but Dai Ban Noodles has been a very good find. Everything we ordered had been good. If you put a gun to my head and demanded negative feedback, I guess I would say that the (very hot) chilli for the pan mee could use an extra touch of lime juice.

And maybe that our ais kosong tasted a little ‘watery’.

But all in all, we were very happy with this place and are excited to go back and try other items on their menu. Especially the pumpkin pork rib porridge which was not available at the time.

Do give this new place (we surmised this from the red cloth still hanging over their main entrance) a try. Maybe we’ll see you there!

Snack-sized review

Pan mee shop that serves pan mee, and a surprisingly excellent pork burger. We also tried the prawn rolls, which were great. A great addition to the many good restaurants in Uptown area.

Stats

Hours: Didn’t ask, but should be 10 to 10.

Price: Depends what you order. As a gauge, pork chop pan mee is RM9.90. Pork burger costs a little more at RM15.90.