Kin Kin Restaurant in the grungy, working-class neighborhood of Chow Kit gained city-wide attention 40 years ago for its incendiary-hot “pan mee” (al dente hand-made noodles) tossed in an ultra-spicy chilli-lardon dressing. Tongue-numbing, sweat-inducing, and incredibly addictive.
Founded back in 1985 by an enterprising noodle hawker, Tan Kok Hong, 82, Kin Kin first offered only the typical hand-made pan mee noodles in a clear pork broth dish. However, in a stroke of inventiveness, Kok Hong concocted a “dry” version of the noodle dish: drain and shake off excess water after poaching the noodles, then toss them in a bowl, garnish it with crisp-fried anchovies (ikan bilis), stir-fried minced pork in a soy-dressing, poached egg, golden-fried shallots and finely-cut green scallions.
A jar of the restaurant’s trademark sauteed chilli-garlic oil-shallot oil dressing are provided on each table, so each diner can add as much (or as little) as one desire to one’s bowl of noodles. I’m not a chili-head, so I normally add no more than one teaspoon to mine.
The molten yolk of the poached egg will bind everything together: the noodles, the sauteed chili oil, the crisp ikan bilis, the savory minced pork - each mouthful plays like a symphony of flavors and contrasting textures.
Besides the indispensable sauteed chili oil dressing, another standard accompaniment is a bowl of clear soup with boiled green sweet-leaf vegetable, known locally as “mani chye” (Chinese: 马尼菜, Malay: cekur manis, botanical term: Sauropus androgynus), streaked through with ribbons of egg-white.
We ordered an additional side of Hakka yong tau fu morsels: fish-balls, pork-balls, and yuba skin-wrapped fishpaste. Complements the noodles perfectly.
These days, Kok Hong’s son, Tan Lih Shing, 48, also helps to manage the eatery, which also has a popular branch about 20 minutes’ drive awat at Pandan Indah: No. 6, Jalan Perubatan 4, Taman Pandan Indah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
There are numerous copycats for their dish, but none has been able to replicate the flavors and textures, using the secret recipe which Kin Kin’s Tan family jealously guards.
Address
Kin Kin Restaurant
40, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman 1, Chow Kit, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +6010-220 4322
Opening hours: 7am to 7pm daily.
