The RM2 fast food meal...

Sorry for this long outdated post as I’m still all soaked with Chinese New Year mood. Happy Chinese New Year & Happy Chap Goh Meh (a.k.a. Valentine's Day) to everyone out there!

So, ever wonder why most of my post I hunt for food with discounts? If you would have notice, I mentioned in my previous post that I keep a watchful of my wallet when it comes to food, so that’s why.

Cut the story short, thanks to IAmTheWitch.com in her post about Groupsmore.com. The moment I joined, there was this true-good-to-be-true offer, Darabif at the price of RM 2! Can you believe it?! I bought 6 vouchers immediately after I inform my makan kaki, Fiona about this.

Groupsmore voucher: Buy, Pay & Print and you're good to go!

Off we went to the nearest Darabif outlet, our official hometown, IOI Mall Puchong. The deal offers 1 type of selected Darabif burger, 1 fries and 1-year membership. Basically, we can only choose burgers with 1 meat patty in it, why? Because, Darabif also offers 2 patties in a burger, whoa!

Fiona & “H” went for the Lamb Burger while KC & I ordered the Spicy Chicken without any drinks. I’ll let you know why later. KC took his first bite & says the patty is a lil’ bit dry while Fiona & “H” enjoyed their Lamb Burger, they both comment it was very juicy.

Arrggh, I should have taken the Lamb Burger as I was a little bit disappointed with Darabif’s Spicy Chicken. You see, I thought it would be as good as the McD’s Spicy Chicken, but instead the meat patty was the normal version of any chicken patty and it was drench with a little orangey-sauce that tasted a bit spicy.

Darabif Lamb Burger

Spicy Chicken Burger

The VIP Card that entitles us to 10% discount for 1 year

The interior of Darabif fared better than their first outlet at Damansara, with their decorations being a little bit funky, the chairs, wall colours and the cold air-cond makes it very comfortable as the outlet is located at the IOI Mall new wing.

Darabif's Mean Hot Chick

Now, back to the meal without drinks. I just came back from Singapore not long ago, the whole Sour Sally yogurt ice-cream that Megan got me hooked with, I was saving some space for my tummy to try “Tutti Frutti”, this outlet that shared half of the shop with Darabif. I tried searching for more information about Darabif thinking that they may have some connection, but instead it just list “Tutti Frutti” under the Naza Group. I was like in disbelief, hmmm….

 

The guys gave us the privilege to choose all the assorted flavours at Tutti Frutti. There was much more choice than Sour Sally and I was little shy to take pictures, too many pairs of eyes were watching. Assorted types of toppings too!

I choose 2 flavours, Blueberry and obviously, the Original with peanuts, Oreo’s & strawberry for toppings. I had this system in my mind now, don’t ever under-estimate Yogurt or the Original’s, that was how they were born and were mixed around for more varieties. Fiona chose 3 flavours, Chocolate, Blueberry & Original with chocolate flakes & cotton candies.

My first bite, ooh-la-la, this is very much alike the Sour Sally except it wasn’t that sour. I wonder how the Pomegranate would taste, perhaps 100% much more sour than the original. I fell in love with yogurts now, thanks to Megan, now my wallet need to grow constantly to satisfy these cravings.

Tutti Frutti charges RM 0.53 per 10grams

Can't really remember the price but it was roughly at RM 10+

Fiona's costs slightly around RM 14+

Let's stay FIT and also Froyo at the same time!

KC suggested the makan session to continue with snacks, at the Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks. Fiona & KC each got the Oyster Mee Sua and out of the blue, “H” suggested we share the Fried Golden XXL Chicken. The freezing air-cond at IOI Mall complimented with these snacks, felt like it was winter in Taiwan while having these snacks, having some laughter and sharing food within us. I felt so warm….there would be more makan sessions in future.

Fried XXL Chicken

Oyster Mee Sua

Darabif & Tutti Frutti,

EG3A, Ground Floor,

IOI Mall, Batu 9,

Jalan Puchong, Bandar Puchong Jaya,

47170 Puchong.

Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks,

3rd Floor, IOI Mall.

John King Egg Tarts

On one of the occasion, the usual mummy & daddy stomach will go hungry faster than me. At this age? Oh Gosh! I’m IMPRESSED!

I suspect they grew hungry after looking at this John King’s menu, which is very appealing for a short tea-break. Who could resist such temptation when they are used to having tea-breaks?

So their quiet daughter tag as usual, became their official waitress. They told me what they want and I do the ordering over the counter.

I’ve heard a lot over John King’s egg tart, but till now I haven’t try any of them yet. One of it is their Durian Egg Tart, ewww!! I hate Durians! Based on survey, most of other blog mentioned John King’s Egg Tart originates from Hong Kong. We had our tea-break at Berjaya Times Square and if I guess correctly, this should be their first café-style outlet as most of other branch just sell egg tarts over the counter.

Other pastries sold at John King Egg Tarts

I was still full, so I ordered a set of John’s Special Chicken Set and an ala-carte Homeloaf Sandwich with egg.

We were served a glass of “Yin yong” that came with the set. It is much diluted & I would call it sugar drink rather than Yin Yong. It is overly sweet!

The first set came was the John’s Special Chicken Set. They used Polo Bun, and I find it a perfect combination with the chicken patty. I enjoyed this more than the Hong Kong “Kam Wah” Polo Bun. It comes with the usual mayonnaise dressing, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber.

John's Special Chicken Set at RM 7.90. Looking at this picture, I only realised there's no chips!

The second set came & it looks very pathetic. The bread they used is like those in the days where rotiman came with a bike. The portion was so small, very little eggs and I felt cheated over what was shown on the board. I was so glad I didn’t order this as a Set.

Homeloaf Sandwich with Egg at RM 4.90

Mummy & Daddy enjoying their tea-breaks

I would probably return for the John’s Special Chicken Set only. Else, I would just rather hop into any Subway shop!

Address:

John King Egg Tarts,

K-01-03C, 1^st Floor,

Berjaya Times Square,

1 Jalan Imbi,

55100 Kuala Lumpur.

TianYaKe Ban Mian or the oh-so-famous "Lorong Haji Taib Pan Mee"

I still remember very deeply, every weekend during my childhood, it means holiday for mum and her still single sisters. My dad will send me & my mum to my grandfather’s house at Bangsar in the early morning and my dad will come and pick us up when he finishes work in the evening, yes, he even works on weekends and till today, nothing change.

With a bunch of sisters, it means shopping trips to Chow Kit for the ladies. I hate to follow I must admit, why? Well, being the only kid around the ladies is horror, you watch them pick, try and buy. Secondly, nobody plays or talks to me and my best treat is probably just some snacks. My mum would scold if I’m one step away from her, so yea, you can imagine trailing the bunch of ladies covering Hankyu Jaya & Batu Road Shopping Mall with my stomach growling!

One of the highlights though, we always eat at this Pan Mee stall without fail. Not even a single chance in the history did the sisters want to eat anywhere else! So this little girl just follows cuz she can’t voice out or else, get scolded! Muahahaha!!

I’m still very fond of this Pan Mee till today and we try to visit as often as possible compared to last time. By chance, “H” and I would visit the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show’2010 at PWTC today and I pestered him to bring me to this Pan Mee stall so I can blog about my very much loved childhood food.

The girl that grew up together with this Pan Mee is “TianYaKe Ban Mian”. It has been operating since 1975. Although it is located smack in the middle of the city, Pan Mee here is still very affordable! “H” and I ordered one Pan Mee each with extra egg in it and one Herbal tea to share.

Signature Lorong Haji Taib Pan Mee

"H" with his Herbal Tea

Ingredients for the Pan Mee have been the same all this while, one of the original of original. Their hand made Pan Mee comes with plenty of thinly sliced mushrooms, few slices of pork, lots of chopped “Choy Sum” vegetable and fragrant fried shallots. There is one reason why they gave you the lime, the trick is to add plenty of lime juice in it and add more few dollops of chilli sauce and chilli padi for that extra kick! I still remember how we requested for more limes way back then!

Look at the thickness of the soup!

Be prepared to sweat it all out as the area is quite warm, you know, all that polluted Malaysia weather doesn’t help either. There’s no fan nor air-cond, just the available big umbrellas to shed off the sunshine or you may choose to sit at those tables at the hallways. Parking is definitely a mess, you need lots of luck to get a parking right in front of the stall but double parking is allowed as long as you are sitting near to your car. Beware as DBKL officers would come with an advance X’mas gift so do not park your car if it is not within your watchful vicinity!

I had my first ever long conversation with the founder, Mr Yong when he walked by to ask why I didn’t order my drink. Hehe! I’ve always love my plain water, Mr Yong. I’ve told him I grew up with his Pan Mee and he has been very chatty! I asked if he has any other branch and sadly, there is none at the moment. He said his children are not interested to continue his business and hope to find somebody who sincerely wants to learn his noodle making art. If anyone of you out there is interested, hurry and grab this opportunity to learn from this “Sifu”. He did mention there is a company who is interested to make his business into a Franchise but the deal doesn’t fall into his expectation. To cut the story short, he will expand but with the right conditions and one of his main factors is to be able to have quality control over the soup and the noodle. His shop has been interviewed by Ho Chiak, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Japanese food channel! Mr Yong even joked that too bad, he didn’t know how to speak Japanese but luckily there was an interpreter.

At the end of the conversation, Mr Yong gave me his name card! I guess this post can be considered my first ever successful post and I hope there is more opportunity to come for me to do it more professionally. BTW, I asked Mr Yong if I can shoot around and he’s more than happy to allow me to. The fierce and unfriendly look of the “Lady Boss” who cooks the Pan Mee even smiled and posed for me, blame it to my slow reflex I didn’t manage to capture it. All this while, I’m glad I knew them better today.

The actually playful and friendly "See Tau Poh"

Look at the price on the banner! Our entire meal came up to just RM 9.80!

To those who is confused to get to this place, simply follow the route towards KL Sogo on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. As you enter Chow Kit area from the T-Junction traffic light, just keep to your right. As soon as you spot this Hotel de First Inn, turn to your RIGHT! In less than 100m, you'll be able to spot the stall with colourful umbrellas all over.

Hotel de First Inn. Turn RIGHT immediately!

Address:

TianYaKe Ban Mian,

(or famously known as “Lorong Haji Taib Pan Mee”),

Lorong Haji Taib 4 & 5,

50350 Kuala Lumpur.

Mobile: 012-235 6666 (Mr Yong Chin Seng, Founder)


They have a Corporate Office:


TainYaKe Ban Mian Franchise System,
Lot 3.2, 3rd Floor, Plaza Sg Besi,
No. 831, Batu 5 1/2 Jalan Sg Besi,
57100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 013-398 1044 or 03-7983 2137
E-mail: tianyake75@gmail.com

Business Hours:

7am – 5pm (Daily except Tuesdays)

If Public Holiday falls on Tuesdays, they’re open for business

P/S: Be prepared to feast your eyes with some Ah Kua’s if you happen to drop by at 7am. Haha! They usually finish work at this hour and have their breakfast.