Damansara KL Ban Mee (Century Square)

Ban Mee – 板面 which is literally hand-made noodles are nothing new to us.  It is the bowl of hot piping noodle soup that always makes us break into a sweat eating at the coffeeshop in Singapore crazy weather. 

Today, we are going to try out the KL Ban Mee version instead at a stall in Century Square Foodcourt. 

Unlike the usual soupy Ban Mee that are readily available at our neighborhood coffeeshops and foodcourts, the KL Ban Mee are typically served dry, with the star ingredients being dried chilli flakes sprinkled over the noodles to season it.

We ordered the Signature Chilli Ban Mee and it costs $5.90.  There are also more lavish options like the Mini Combo Chilli Ban Mee at $7.90 (more meat/fish balls), Scallop Ban Mee at $8.90, and even Lobster Abalone Ban Mee at $20.

The Signature Chilli Ban Mee comes with 2-meat/fish balls, a small wobbly soft-boiled egg, a dollop of minced meat in black bean sauce and a sprinkle of fried anchovies. 

Unlike the usual dry fishball noodle that we eat, it does not come with condiments such as chilli sauce or ketchup.  Instead, you customize the noodle by adding in the star ingredient that is the dried chilli flakes that are available at the counter. 

The chilli flakes are hygienically stored in metal containers and labeled from level 1 to 5, level 1 being the least spicy.  You are free to scoop as much as you like to add to the noodles based on your spiciness tolerance.

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We tried a combination of level 2 and 3.  The chilli flakes indeed added a punch to the noodles and the spiciness level was manageable. 

Together with the fried anchovies, it added some bite and crunch to the noodle, which was other wise rather on the soggy side, particularly when the soft-boiled egg was stirred into the noodle.  We have to agree that the chilli flakes indeed was the signature ingredient to the noodle and was quite shiok.

Level 5 (Most Spicy!)

Having tried other version of KL Ban Mee at more famous eateries, we find that the version at Century Square foodcourt pales in comparison though.  While the chilli flakes indeed provided the shiokness to the noodle, it just does not taste authentic or traditional enough. 

If not for the chilli flakes, the noodles were too soggy for our liking.  Furthermore, the small dollop of noodles and 2 meat/fish balls was a tad too expensive for the price of $5.90. 

The quantity of the noodles would certainly not be able to satisfy the hunger of an average guy.

While it was something that we do not typically get at the foodcourt, I would not be coming back for this.  In fact, I would rather opt for the usual bowl of local fishball noodles with added chilli and vinegar.

For those interested to give it a try, this is the location of the stall:
Food Junction @ Century Square
2 Tampines Central 5
Level 3

Source: Google Map

SG TASTE RATINGS:
| Score: ( 1.5 / 5 ) Stars |