N.A Chinese Muslim Cuisine: Stall selling stellar chee cheong fun, but bland chilli pan mee
When I arrived at N.A Chinese Muslim Cuisine (NACMC) at 9.30am on a Tuesday, there were a number of people already feasting on their noodles, yong tau fu, and chee cheong fun in front of the stall.
Operations started at 8am, but they had already run out of 4 items on their menu: tau fu fa, pau, dim sum, and loh mai kai. I couldn’t even imagine the situation by lunchtime or on the weekends. Instead, I took this as a sign that this humble stall in the middle of Medan Selera Seksyen 2, Shah Alam was the best of the best.
What I tried at N.A Chinese Muslim Cuisine
Visually, the Dry Chilli Pan Mee (RM7) checked all the boxes: a mound of noodles topped with chilli oil, minced chicken, mushrooms, fried anchovies, and green onions. It’s extremely hard to find halal dry chilli pan mee. The only other one I’ve tried tasted like nothing but soy sauce, so I was excited to try one that seemed more authentic.
After mixing all the individual components together with the sauce hidden underneath, the noodles looked very glossy and appetising.
I excitedly took my first bite (or slurp) only to be met with disappointment. The noodles were extremely bland, as if the chef had forgotten to add salt to the dish. The chilli oil had the perfect amount of kick to it, and the portion of the toppings were just right. While I got to have a little bit of everything in one forkful, I couldn’t taste anything but the spiciness of the chilli oil.
At least the anchovies were crunchy and the noodles well-cooked.
Funny enough, the vegetable soup it came with was more flavourful than I had thought. The clear soup was a great palette cleanser in between those oily bites.
Moving on to the Chee Cheong Fun (RM3.50) which, spoiler alert, was the star of the show. After being let down by the dry chilli pan mee, this dish instantly lifted my mood and all hope was not lost.
This chee cheong fun was covered in an ideal amount of sauce, which was equal parts sweet and salty. The steamed rice rolls were also cooked well, making them easy to pick up without falling apart. Other than that, they were cut into perfect bite-sized pieces.
This dish was served in a way that I had never seen before. Instead of using the usual deep red chilli sauce that most eateries opt for, N.A Chinese Muslim Cuisine drizzled some chilli oil on top to add a hint of spice.
This chilli oil complemented the chee cheong fun by adding a different dimension of flavour and texture as the chilli crisps provided some crunch. Sinking my teeth into the soft rolled noodles was such a treat.
Final thoughts
It could have just been a mistake or a bad day, but I say skip the dry chilli pan mee and go for the chee cheong fun. NACMC could be worth the visit if you’re interested in trying the other menu items like Wantan Mee Kicap and Yong Tau Fu. All in all, I felt like the chee cheong fun compensated for what the dry chilli pan mee lacked.
I had read online that the waiting time could be up to an hour, but that wasn’t my experience, probably because I had visited the stall on a weekday. I recommend going as early as possible to ensure that you have a wide variety to choose from, otherwise you’d only be left with a couple of options by lunchtime. Ideally, drop by for breakfast if you work nearby.
Expected damage: RM3.50 – RM14 per pax
Other articles you might like:
The post N.A Chinese Muslim Cuisine: Stall selling stellar chee cheong fun, but bland chilli pan mee appeared first on SETHLUI.com.
