PETALING JAYA, Aug. 14 -- My unceasing, all-consuming love affair with curry mee is well documented: I eat it, and write about it with the same undiminished joy.

And if the many bowls I've slurped down have taught me anything - some good, some great, some a crime against curry mee - it's that good curry mee can come from anywhere.

Sometimes it's from a place you least expect. When I visited Tian MiMi Secret in Ara Damansara earlier this year, I drove past Asia Curry Noodle Cafe on my way out.

The prospect of curry mee piqued my interest, but my reverse-snobbery bias kicked in at the shop's decor and modern setting.

I tend to grow suspicious when hawker food gets repackaged into a zhuzhed-up environment; it's not fair, and I've had ple...