What’s for Lunch? – The Battle of Pan Mee

Pan Mee stalls have been blossoming in Penang and are now becoming franchise restaurants. So what is Pan Mee? Well, it’s a type of flat flour noodle which does wonders on your carbohydrate intakes which hinders your low-carb diet plan! However, the temptation is just too great for us to resist thus today’s topic of Battle of Pan Mee.

Let's the Battle Begins!!!

There are 2 main Pan Mee franchise restaurants in Penang – iMumMum & FacetoFace. Both have branches located in town as well as factory areas and I must say both are equally popular. They are so popular until you have to queue to get into the restaurant during lunchtime! So go early if you wish to enjoy your Pan Mee during lunchtime. =)

I Mum Mum

I Mum Mum’s menu consists of 3 main sections – Pan Mee, Side Dish & Drinks. There are around 8 types of Pan Mee and the price ranges from RM4 to RM5 - Fairly reasonable & competitive pricing for a restaurant.

Pan Mee Choices in I Mum Mum

We had the Original Dry Pan Mee (RM4) and Spicy Pan Mee (RM4.50) and they looked exactly the same except for the extra chili flakes on Spicy Pan Mee. I was fairly disappointed with the hand-kneaded Pan Mee as it was in really big pieces which made it difficult to absorb the sauces – it ended up just tasted like flour so we had to put in a lot of extra chilies. The chili provided on table was not spicy but you could get ‘sambal’ from them if you wish. Lesson of the day: order thin noodle! There was no half-boiled egg in the noodle thus it kind of made the noodle quite dry too.

Nutmeg Drink & Chili at I Mum Mum - not spicy enough but not bad

Original Dry Pan Mee

Spicy Pan Mee

We also ordered their Meat Ball Soup (RM2), Egg and Sweet Leaves Soup (RM2.50) & Crispy Pork (RM4). The meat ball was just the common meat ball that you could buy from supermarket but we didn’t expect much since it was only RM2. We liked the Egg & Sweet Leaves Soup and LOVED the Crispy Pork! The Pork was really YUMMY!!!

Egg & Sweet Leaves Soup

Crispy Pork - YUMMY!!!!

Face to Face Noodle House

One thing that attracted us to step into FacetoFace Pan Mee restaurant was the amount and the varieties of chilies that were provided on each of their table. We simply couldn’t resist all the chilies as we were chili freaks. The menu offered extensive choices of Pan Mee, Sarawak noodle as well as rice set. It was obvious that their menu choices (in term of noodle, side dishes, desserts & drinks) dwarfed I Mum Mum.

Look at this!!! How could you resist?!! UNLIMITED at Face to Face!!!!

Along with 4 other different Chili Choices!

However, their price was also significantly higher than I Mum Mum – almost double it to be exactly - one bowl of Pan Mee cost around RM7.30. The price difference also contributed to their portion being bigger with larger portion of crispy anchovies, minced meat and half-boiled egg. It was really a treat to eat the bowl pan mee with an extravaganza portion of their free flow fried chili flakes! Definitely thumbs up! However, the excessive anchovies given might actually made the dish a tad too salty at the end if it was not mixed correctly at the beginning.

Dry Pan Mee!!!

Honey Lemon & Mango Smoothies

We also discovered that their Sarawak Noodle (RM7.30) was really scrumptious as well! The noodle was super-thin and chewy. Imagine flooding the bowl with their lip-smacking chili flakes!!!! HEAVEN!!! The roasted pork (Char Siew) was really nice too. However, we did notice the quality of this dish varied between different branches – the quality of the Sarawak Noodle was significantly better in Ideal the one in Bayan Lepas if compared to the Times Squares Counterpart.

Sarawak Noodle! New Favourite!!!

Soup Version of Sarawak Noodle

We seldom ordered their side dishes though as the main course was so big until our stomachs were too full. We did manage to try their Spicy Pork Meat Ball Soup once and the Meat Ball literally spit soup/juice! Not sure whether it was just an isolated incident but be super careful when you bite down the meatball as I guess some of the soup/meat juice was made to be trapped inside the meatball thus the “water-gun” effects!

Spicy Pork Meat Ball Soup

The Verdict

If you just want a simple pan mee with lower price – go for I Mum Mum! You might want to order their crispy pork pan mee at just RM5 which I think is totally value for money. However, you might not feel full enough if you are a big eater.

If you are a chili flakes freak like me – go for Face to Face! UNLIMITED CHILI FLAKES!!! Nuff’ Said!!! But seriously, if you are a big eater who love everything BIG and more varieties – Face to Face is definitely the place for you. The only downside is you have to pay more. =)

I Mum Mum: One Precinct at Bayan Lepas, All Seasons Place at Farlim & Lebuh McCallum.

Face to Face: Ideal the One at Bayan Lepas & Times Square at Dato Keramat Road.