Review: Pun Chun Noodle House, Ara Damansara

Uncertain of what to eat, I ended up here over the weekend. Initial plan was just to have something light before heading to Tesco. But this would do since it was already close to noon. For those not familiar with Pun Chun, it originated from Bidor, Perak. Famous for their herbal duck soup and wantan noodles, this branch is good news for those who wants to try it without the hassle of driving up north just for it. If you are on the way to up north e.g. Ipoh or Penang, exit at Bidor and take a nice drive through the town that's thriving with local produce, mainly petai and guava. 

For the rest of us, head over to Ara Damansara instead.

My quality time is usually by myself doing whatever the moment strikes me. Eating, window shopping, grocery shopping. Some people find that's sad. I think it is sadder when you can't do the things that you want because your partner wants to do something else, you have to feed the dogs/cats/babies/people, you need to help the family to go here/there. Of course, you have something to return home to while I get my four walls.

I felt slightly offended that they put there Pax:0. Eating alone doesn't mean I don't exists hence the slightly slow service. I am a paying customer too, OK? Somehow, it was just my paranoia at work because all the order chits at the cashier had the same thing written though I was the only single/lone diner there.

Their call to fame: wantan mee and herbal duck soup. If it's your first time here, you must order these. The noodles come in either the dry or soup version. My preference is for the former to fully enjoy the soup.

There aren't that many wantan mee that I like but this happens to be one of them. At first bite, it strikes you as being sweet. Almost a bit too sweet for a savory dish. Some of you might find this off-putting. As for me, the springy texture makes up for that. Every bite was wonderful and I forgot that it was just too sweet.

The pickled green chilli and soy sauce combo certainly helped too. Wonder if they could with my broken heart.

One of the things that I look forward to when going back to my hometown: herbal duck soup.
We don't always make a detour so in a way, it was a rare treat then. Plus it was quite pricey at RM7++ (you are getting an entire drumstick). Perhaps it's just my love of soups that this is a childhood favorite. It does hold plenty of memories.

Thankfully, this was as good as my memory recalls it to be. The soup was slightly sweet but very flavorful, chock-full of herbs while the duck had been cooked until tender. There were ginger, wolfberry and some others I couldn't identify. One thing though, the soup is rather oily, no thanks to the skin that they left on the duck. Of course, you could scoop the oil away like the girl at the table opposite mine or just forget about it and drink it up. Just go for exercise and cut out on the fried chicken and fries and colas instead. This one is worth it.

Hot coffee to end the meal. The coffee wasn't fairly exciting even though it was quite rich and definitely tonnes better than the one I get from my office.

Deep fried yam puff. The last time I had these in Bidor last year, it was fresh out of the oven and superbly good. Thinking this would be the same was a grave error. While the filling was similar, that's where the similarity ends. The yam was a bit soggy. The outer crust was crunchy but lacked the airiness and fluffiness that made me yearn for it.