This Halal Chili Pan Mee Is Worth The Trip To Subang

Chili pan mee is traditionally made with minced pork, but now our Muslim friends will get to try this meaty, spicy noodle dish for themselves!

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Chili pan mee can (and should!) be considered one of Malaysia’s iconic noodle dishes, considering that it was invented right here in Chow Kit.

Chili pan mee is traditionally made with minced pork, which makes it non-halal. However, halal foodies can rejoice at this restaurant hidden away in USJ that serves really delicious halal chili pan mee!

Lapan Gourmet serves a wide variety of halal local dishes, ranging from chili pan mee to nyonya laksa to nasi lemak to roast chicken and even house specialties. If you don’t often get to eat local Chinese-influenced dishes, then why not give them a try here?

The Taste Test

Chili pan mee as a dish is pretty simple. It’s a bowl of springy hand-pulled noodles topped with poached egg, fried anchovies, minced meat, and fried onions. In Lapan Gourmet, they use minced chicken in place of minced pork.

A bowl of chili pan mee and soup.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

The soul of the dish lies in the accompanying dried chili, which needs to be perfectly balanced with enough flavour, salt, spice, and umami.

The chili is served on the side.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

This dried chili is served on the side: you add it in according to your personal taste. Usually one spoon (as pictured) is just right for flavourful noodles with a nice spicy kick.

Then, mix the noodles and ingredients together vigorously. The poached egg and chili acts like a kind of sauce to bring all the delicious flavours together!

Left: add chili. Right: mix thoroughly.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

If you don’t know your spice tolerance, add the chili in small amounts to be mixed first. You can taste as you mix and decide from there. You can always add more chili, but it’s definitely harder to reduce the spice after you’ve already mixed it. If it really is a bit much for you, the pucuk manis soup is there for you to cut through the spice.

The pan mee noodles are nicely chewy with a great mouthfeel, with a salty-spicy flavour that really hits the spot. Sometimes the regular-size just isn’t enough! (Just take note that this dish will likely send you into a food coma, though!)

If you feel like something soupier, they also have classics like the Nyonya Curry Spaghettini. This authentic nyonya-style curry laksa is thick and milky, with an added punch of flavour with a scoop of their dried chili too.

Nyonya Curry Spaghettini has a very generous amount of toppings.
(Credit: Anne Dorall)

The Verdict

This is a great place to visit with Muslim friends, so that they can try out the taste of chili pan mee in an enjoyable environment.

For curious halal diners, yes the dishes does taste on par with the usual non-halal versions!

Portions here are quite generous with affordable prices too. The restaurant is rather small with limited seating, but the service is quick so you don’t usually have to wait too long. It’s well worth the drive if you work nearby or if you just want really good halal chili pan mee.

The Cili8 Cili Panmee is priced at RM10.90 while the specialties are a little higher, such as the Nyonya Curry Spaghettini at RM16.90.

Lapan Gourmet
5, Jalan USJ 16/2f, UEP Subang Jaya, 47630 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Tuesday – Sunday 10am-10pm (Closed on Monday)

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