I have been keen to try the original Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee in KL since I tried their franchise outlet in Singapore back in 2014 when it's opening caused quite a stir in the food crazed island.
Kin Kin now have several branches in KL - I am always curious about the original founder stall of successful brands. Moreover, it was Mr. Tan Kok Hong of Kin Kin who created this dish in 1985. I finally made it to Kin Kin today while exploring the area between Pasar Seni and Bukit Bintang for street food.
Though I walked here from Pasar Seni, eating as I went, the easier way to get here is by KL Monorail - Kin Kin is about 3 minutes walk from Medan Tuanku monorail station.
Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee is at Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman in Kampung Baru (Chow Kit). It's in one of the humble shop lots at the ground floor of a long, four storey building. (There are at least 3 chili pan mee shops on this street but Kin Kin has most of the customers.)
Inside Kin Kin, furnishing is bare bones, and decor is non-existent which is typical of such Malaysian eateries. Cleanliness level is just passable. But, Kin Kin is air conditioned so it is comfortable inside.
Lots of locals here, which is always a good sign for local food. There were steady streams of tourists with guide books and cameras too.
Kin Kin now runs like a fast food outlet. The manager handles the cash and the platoon of workers took care of everything else from order taking, cooking, serving to cleaning.
My bowl of pan mee arrived in the blink of an eye even though the restaurant was rather busy.
At first sight, the dish does not seem very appetising. Yellow noodles blanketed by fried minced pork, shallot, ikan bilis (anchovies), some chopped spring onion and an over done tiny poached egg.
The bowl of pan mee costed RM8 (2017 price), which is quite typical of the smallest serving of noodles in KL kopitiams nowadays.
Despite my initial fears, the small poached egg was runny. But, it was more or less flavourless, which seemed to be the norm for farmed eggs nowadays.
On each table was a tub of fried sambal chili, the signature of KL style chili pan mee. Customers can add these to their noodles to their heart's content.
The idea is to heap in a small pile of fried sambal chili 😄
The noodles, egg, fried minced pork, shallots, anchovies and sambal chili were given a rigorous toss, so that all the flavours are well blended and fully enveloped the thick pan mee noodles.
Whereas the only thing I remembered about the chili pan mee in Kin Kin's Singapore franchise outlet was the sambal chili, here in KL, it was the pan mee noodles itself that left the deepest impression.
I love the tender chewy mouthfeel of Kin Kin's pan mee. I also like the porky aroma and savoury sweetness of Kin Kin's Hakka style fried minced pork. The fried sambal chili was needless to say excellent too - toasty, savoury sweet and spicy though the sting doesn't burn 😂 (I didn't count how many spoonfuls of sambal chili I added - just as much as needed to make sure that all the noodles were well coated with chili 😄 )
The anchovies and fried shallots add their distinctive flavours and crispy crunch. The egg added creamy smoothness and held the blend of flavours together, though by itself, the egg had little flavour.
I enjoyed these noodles with the robust add on flavours (though the noodles themselves have no flavour).
The dough is pre-made but the pan mee noodles are rolled out only on order, so they are fresh.
This plain looking little bowl of egg drop soup was good 😄 I like the flavour of the anchovies and sayur manis in the simple soup. Somehow, to me the only vegetable that works with pan mee (known as ban mian in Singapore), is sayur manis. Choy sum just don't cut it.
👉 If you are a fan of chili pan mee, do check out this humble shop in Chow Kit, KL where Kin Kin 建記, the most famous chili pan mee brand first started. Indeed, chili pan mee was invented here by Kin Kin.
In 2014, Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee opened an outlet in Singapore to huge social media hype. Business was good initially but interest soon petered out and the shop closed a couple of years later 👈 click
Interview with Mr. Tan Kok Hong, creator of chili pan mee and founder of Kin Kin.
Restaurant name: Restoran Kin Kin 建記辣椒板麵
Address: 40, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3°09'38.9"N 101°41'53.6"E | 3.160817, 101.698219
Tel: +60 16-372 8069
Hours: 6:30am to 6:30pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 5 August 2017
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Kin Kin now runs like a fast food outlet. The manager handles the cash and the platoon of workers took care of everything else from order taking, cooking, serving to cleaning.
My bowl of pan mee arrived in the blink of an eye even though the restaurant was rather busy.
At first sight, the dish does not seem very appetising. Yellow noodles blanketed by fried minced pork, shallot, ikan bilis (anchovies), some chopped spring onion and an over done tiny poached egg.
The bowl of pan mee costed RM8 (2017 price), which is quite typical of the smallest serving of noodles in KL kopitiams nowadays.
Despite my initial fears, the small poached egg was runny. But, it was more or less flavourless, which seemed to be the norm for farmed eggs nowadays.
On each table was a tub of fried sambal chili, the signature of KL style chili pan mee. Customers can add these to their noodles to their heart's content.
The idea is to heap in a small pile of fried sambal chili 😄
The noodles, egg, fried minced pork, shallots, anchovies and sambal chili were given a rigorous toss, so that all the flavours are well blended and fully enveloped the thick pan mee noodles.
Whereas the only thing I remembered about the chili pan mee in Kin Kin's Singapore franchise outlet was the sambal chili, here in KL, it was the pan mee noodles itself that left the deepest impression.
I love the tender chewy mouthfeel of Kin Kin's pan mee. I also like the porky aroma and savoury sweetness of Kin Kin's Hakka style fried minced pork. The fried sambal chili was needless to say excellent too - toasty, savoury sweet and spicy though the sting doesn't burn 😂 (I didn't count how many spoonfuls of sambal chili I added - just as much as needed to make sure that all the noodles were well coated with chili 😄 )
The anchovies and fried shallots add their distinctive flavours and crispy crunch. The egg added creamy smoothness and held the blend of flavours together, though by itself, the egg had little flavour.
I enjoyed these noodles with the robust add on flavours (though the noodles themselves have no flavour).
The dough is pre-made but the pan mee noodles are rolled out only on order, so they are fresh.
This plain looking little bowl of egg drop soup was good 😄 I like the flavour of the anchovies and sayur manis in the simple soup. Somehow, to me the only vegetable that works with pan mee (known as ban mian in Singapore), is sayur manis. Choy sum just don't cut it.
👉 If you are a fan of chili pan mee, do check out this humble shop in Chow Kit, KL where Kin Kin 建記, the most famous chili pan mee brand first started. Indeed, chili pan mee was invented here by Kin Kin.
In 2014, Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee opened an outlet in Singapore to huge social media hype. Business was good initially but interest soon petered out and the shop closed a couple of years later 👈 click
Interview with Mr. Tan Kok Hong, creator of chili pan mee and founder of Kin Kin.
Restaurant name: Restoran Kin Kin 建記辣椒板麵
Address: 40, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3°09'38.9"N 101°41'53.6"E | 3.160817, 101.698219
Tel: +60 16-372 8069
Hours: 6:30am to 6:30pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 5 August 2017
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Careful with your finger! I didn’t get to try this stall the last time I was in KL. But yes, shallots are debatable on the freshness, the fragrance and the crispiness, and perhaps even if there is the rancid taste.
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