Hao Jie Seafood Steamboat Restaurant with Roe Crabs @ Kepong

I have this sudden interest in roe crab for steamboat after my last visit to Ho Ho. After researching for a bit I found that there is another good steamboat restaurant in Kepong called Hao Jie that features roe crabs prominently on their menu. The restaurant was full house during the weekend and we were surprised that we never really noticed its existence until only recently.

Usually steamboat restaurants would require a minimum order of two sets for their in-house set. But since we ordered a lot of side dishes including the expensive roe crabs, I think the boss gave us an exception by ordering one only. Nothing too fancy about the sets here, it costs RM14.50 for a person’s portion and comes with the usual raw ingredients like fish fillets, prawn, meat balls, etc – pretty standard stuff you would expect.

The Chinese words of ‘Pulau Ketam’ on Hao Jie’s signboard is not for display only, as they really get their supply of seafood from Pulau Ketam fresh on a daily basis. I can sense the pride in the boss’ voice when she was talking about the fresh ingredients she serves. Definitely assuring for us to know.

Even though the roe crabs are not big in size, they carried a whole lot of roe and tasted 100% fresh. As for the price, it is slightly more expensive (~RM61/kg) than what we paid for at Ho Ho but I felt it was justified because the amount of roe in Hao Jie’s crab is easily triple as much. Compare and see it for yourself. Anyway, we saved the crabs to savor last and you can imagine how sweet and tasty the soup was in the end.

Our side orders included a white pomfret (RM6/100g) and a plate of thinly sliced pork. The fish was OK and I felt it would have been more suitable to be steamed rather than boiled. The sliced pork on the other hand was tender and delicious and I recommend to try it.
But, just a word of warning – because the pork slices are so thin, you would think they will cook really fast and you will be tempted to cook them shabu shabu style by swishing them in the boiling soup. I am not against that but just make sure they are fully cooked (all white, nothing pink), or else you are risking your life.

Those aside, we also had a portion of scallops which the boss highly recommended us to try. As expected they don’t come cheap (RM12 for 4pcs) but at least they are large sized. And I have to agree with the boss that they were damn good, the flesh was delicate yet firm and tasted sweet.

In total the meal was exactly RM100 inclusive of a few herbal drinks and an imported Thai coconut. It might sound expensive for a steamboat meal but if I excluded the roe crabs which already cost half the bill, I think the price is still reasonable.
Anyway, in my quest to conquer the steamboat restaurants in Kepong, there are only three that I will truly recommend. They are Happy City, Ho Ho and Hao Jie. Overall they are equally good so it boils down to what you want in order to pick the right restaurant. If you are feeling splurgy then go straight for Happy City, no question needed. If you are looking for something more economical then I would suggest Ho Ho, as their soup and ingredients are great and the chili sauce really kicks ass! But if roe crab is your thing then look no further than Hao Jie. And I repeat, I am just speaking in terms of Kepong ok :)

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