Chilli Pan Mee (Dry) There really isn’t much of a need to introduce about Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) these days; being an establishment directly owned by the folks behind Restoran Super Kitchen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Restoran Super Kitchen had expanded its operations in Singapore since a number of years ago. Their only outlet in Singapore would be the one located at Far East Square along China Street just a short walk away from Telok Ayer MRT Station, a unit that is located just right opposite China Square Central being neighbours with the newest outlet of 88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist and Lai Huat Signatures. A popular dining destination with office folks around the Central Business District ever since its opening, Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) is decked rather simply; the interior consisting of a mix of wooden stools and booth seating in the dining hall alongside wooden tables – decorated in a way that is more functional than for form, though it would not be wrong to call the space claustrophobic when it is fully seated with patrons (which is also often the case during weekday lunch service). Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) serves up a menu that is largely similar to their counterparts (i.e. Restoran Super Kitchen) in Malaysia; the menu being segmented into sections dedicated to Noodles, Fried Rice and Side Orders — the Side Orders consisting of side dishes that would work best for sharing. The list of beverages available at Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) includes Barley Fu Chuk, Teh Tarik, Umbra, Sour Plum, Ice Lemon Tea, Chinese Tea and Traditional White Coffee, though those who might want to opt for something fuss-free could also go for the canned drinks that they have to offer as well.
A trip to Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) would not be complete if one does not have their Chilli Pan Mee (Dry). It does seem that Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) does allow quite a bit of flexibility for one to decide on how spicy they would like their Chilli Pan Mee to go — the Chilli does not come served together with the noodles here. Rather, the Chilli is available in a container that is placed at every table — the patron would be able to portion out exactly how much chilli that they want to go with their noodles by adding the chilli into their bowl of Chilli Pan Mee (Dry) by themselves. Otherwise, the Chilli Pan Mee (Dry) does come with elements such as that of U-Mian, fried egg, braised minced pork, pork lard, Ikan Bilis, spring onion and shallots for one to mix altogether with the amount of chilli that one desires to go for. Adding the chili and giving everything a good toss, we found the Chilli Pan Mee (Dry) to be pretty flavourful — the entire bowl was pretty savoury; going for one and a half spoonful of chilli with the spoon provided within the container of chili also gave it a spicy note that would tickle the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. The noodles does seem to lean towards being a bit on the softer side here; nothing too bothersome here though our preferences would be for the noodles to carry a bit more bite. Some of the savouriness of the dish can also be attributed to the braised minced pork added, which also adds a bit of meatiness to the Chilli Pan Mee (Dry) that make it feel a little bit more wholesome. While the chilli from other establishments serving up similar fare may have an element of crispiness to it, the variance of textures in the rendition served up at Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) seems to be limited to the fried shallots, Ikan Billis and pork lard — the Ikan Billis being savoury — fresh and crunchy while the pork lard is crisp without being overly greasy. The egg comes with a molten yolk; the yolk coming all runny and and giving the entire bowl a silkier consistency once mixed with other elements within.
One thing is pretty certain about Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Rd) ; the popularity of its Singapore outlet is something that one cannot deny. The establishment is always seen with a long queue during weekday lunch service; the queue mainly comprising of office workers whose offices are in the Central Business District. Given their popularity, it is needless to say that some waiting time would be required if one decides to dine here — be it to wait for seats or to wait for the orders to arrive the table. Crowd management can be quite messy at lunch hours — it seems that the queueing management has been made a little more complex now with 88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist having moved into a neighbouring shop unit beside theirs, and especially considering how there is yet another queue that stretches beyond the shop unit that is meant for those who are intending to dine at 88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist; this also means that a lot more patience is required while the staff sorts out with their best efforts the way that they are going to sort out the queue situation and the dining situation here. Food quality-wise, we found that the Chilli Pan Mee (Dry) to be pretty decent — we wouldn’t mind queueing for a while with a group of colleagues to have a taste of the Chilli Pan Mee (Dry) here, though we would reckon that there are stalls at hawker centres serving up versions that we feel are more well put together and without the queue as well. We would say that Chilli Pan Mee (Batu Road) is a great place to start for those whom want to have a taste of what dry KL-style Chilli Pan Mee is like; their Deep Fried Pork Meat which is essentially their version of Fermented Beancurd Fried Pork (or Nan Ru Fried Pork) also being a dish we would order again — though we would highly recommend hitting the spot with a group of four (4) pax so that it makes the waiting time a little more bearable and helps manage the expectations just a little.