PappaRich, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Cheras

Modern kopitiams are sprouting like mushrooms everywhere, especially in shopping malls. Just to name a few - Pak Hailam, Old Town White Coffee and PappaRich. Before my first visit to PappaRich, the first question that crossed my mind was "Is it the same as the rest?"

PappaRich begs to differ, and their goal is to focus on quality on their food rather than cheap food which compromises the quality of ingredients used. They also aim to make their food so good that a visit to PappaRich is better than driving 300km to eat at your hometown.

The menu here is quite extensive, from the usual local specialties such as Curry Mee, Char Koay Teow, Assam Laksa and Ipoh Hor Fun to vegetarian dim sums, nasi lemak, fried rice and Western fare.

Although I am a big fan of Char Koay Teow, I am often skeptical about the ones you get from shopping malls as they often lack the "wok hei" (flavour, taste and essence imparted by a hot wok during stir frying) and less tasty due to the omission of chee yau char (lard fritters).

However, my first bite into the Char Koay Teow here converted my beliefs; it was aromatic and absolutely delicious with the right amount of spiciness. The flat rice noodles were stir fried with Chinese chives (koo chye), beansprouts, prawns, eggs, fish cakes, cockles, chilli and served on a plate laid with banana leaf. Apparently this makes the noodles taste better as it obtains an additional aroma from the leaf.

Char Koay Teow is often perceived as an unhealthy dish due to its high saturated fat content, however the version here is not too oily and certainly a much healthier option without the lard fritters. And they were very generous with the juicy and plump cockles! The most surprising thing for me was to see Hubby enjoying eating it as he usually does not like noodle dishes.

Hubby ordered a Fried Rice Special with Fried Egg and Chicken Wings. This was pretty average and there wasn't really anything special with it. The chicken wings were pretty tasty though, so next time we'll just give the fried rice a miss and order the chicken wings as a side dish.

We shared a Pappa Cendol topped with vanilla ice-cream. I prefer the one here than the one in Madam Kwan's as the proportion of gula melaka added is just right, giving it the right amount of sweetness.

Verdict: I really liked the Char Koay Teow here and the best thing is I don't have to sweat in a hawker centre to enjoy this!

Halal

Price: Affordable. RM25 for 2 persons.

Location: PappaRich, No 2, Jalan Suarasa 8/4, Town Park 1 Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, 43200 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. (row of shophouses beside Carrefour Bandar Tun Hussein Onn)

Tel: 03- 9076 8366

Website: http://www.papparich.com.my/