It’s been raining a lot lately – and what better way to warm up than with a nice. bubbling hotpot dinner? Braving the downpour, we drove to Ho Kee Seafood Steamboat Restaurant in Bandar Puchong Jaya, on the recommendation of a friend of Moo’s. The place is pretty popular, judging from the Saturday night crowd. The ground level is air conditioned, but we didn’t want to wait so we opted for a table upstairs.

Pretty stuffy, but at least the windows were open.

Unlike many modern hotpot restos which use portable gas stoves / canisters, Ho Kee has old school stoves hooked up to gas cylinders; one at each table. The resto seemed quite understaffed during our visit, with only one or two staff attending to the entire floor. It took awhile (and several attempts calling the waiters over) before they brought the menu.

We ordered a set for three pax, which was more than enough for the four of us. It had the usual suspects: tofu pok, bean curd sheets,  sui gao (pork dumplings), pork balls, fish balls and fish slices on a bed of vegetables. There was also yee mee, bihun and eggs.

Waiting for the soup to boil. You can choose to get the clear soup base, or the tomyum one at an additional cost.

Some extras that weren’t included in the set: squid and seafood cheese tofu. You can order other items ala carte.

PS: I do not recommend getting the squid. It costs RM13 per plate and they shrivel up after cooking. Was literally combing the bottom of the pot trying to look for the tiny pieces. 

The ingredients were fresh. The seafood cheese tofu was my favourite, and the fish items like the fishballs were good too; had a nice bouncy bite to them. Soup base was decent – I think they taste pretty standard at most hotpot places.

A nice add-on to get is the fried chicken wings (RM2.90 per piece). Marinated well with a robust flavour, crispy skin and tender juicy insides.

I like century egg with porridge, so I ordered a plate. It was quite pricey at RM8 (you can get one for about RM2 at the market). They were served cold so it felt a little geli, but tasted way better after dunking them in the soup.

For those of you who have never tried century egg, they’re basically duck eggs that have been preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quick lime and rice hulls for several weeks to months, until the egg develops a jelly-like consistency with a creamy black center. It has a strong flavour of ammonia, which those unused to it might find unpleasant. Been eating this since I was a kid though, and I love it – I guess it’s one of those love or hate things, like durian. lol

Our total bill with drinks (2 glasses of carrot milk, one pot of Chinese tea and a 100 Plus) came up to about RM120++.

The set is pretty value for money at RM20++ per pax, but it can rack up when you order side dishes. Service is slow; our drinks were sitting on the counter for the longest time – in the end we got up and got it ourselves. If you’re coming on a weekend, expect a wait.

HO KEE SEAFOOD STEAMBOAT RESTAURANT 

 01-01, Jalan Kenari 18b, Bandar Puchong Jaya, 47100 Puchong, Selangor

Business hours: 5PM – 12AM (Daily)