Pondok Ketam — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

Despite the mix reviews about this place we decided to come experience it ourselves. Unfortunately some of the negative reviews are indeed true. We ordered RM98 crab set (3 crabs - supposedly told by the server, each would approx 350g) and the sotong bakar terasi RM55. The pineapple and star fruit drink was refreshing and good. 2.5 crab portion were small size while only 1 half portion crab was about 350g size. The signature chili sauce was good. The freshness of the crab is truly not there. Some pincers are dry while the rest berderai and soft. Not firm and succulent. And anyone that has eaten fresh crab will know this are not signs of freshness in seafood. But to each its own. I have posted picture to show that they even serve us crab with missing “legs”. The sotong was a let down. It was rubbery. But again sauce was well balance and good. Really like the little salad bed served under the sotong. It was good. Even the sos kicap was good. But it’s kinda a shame that the sauce was the highlight of the dish instead of the seafood. That’s the only reason why we gave 2 stars. When we were asked how was the food. I first mention the sotong was rubbery and the immediate reply from the what I think was the manager said “tapi sotong tu bakar kan”. He replied politely but I think they shouldn’t comment that way like their customer have never had good seafood before. No matter what way it’s cook, sotong SHOULD NOT be rubbery and chewy. Then I feedback on the crab, about how they are uneven size (really small not like coming from an 350g crab) and is it coz they don’t serve the same 1 whole crab. His answer is crabs are like that, both pincers are 1 big and 1 small. My thoughts are even the body of the crab??? I rest my case. Will I return ? A...

We arrived at the place at around 5.30pm, having booked a table for 5 adults and 1 kid. The decor feels rugged yet homely and stylish, very classy and is to my liking. The premise is also scented with a lemon grass, minty air freshener, which makes it feel very light and fresh.

We inquired as to whether they have the Gedabak and or Gergasi sizes of crab available, alas they informed that there was unfortunately no stock from the supplier on the day of our visit.

We then decided to order the Besar (Medium) sized crabs which are approximately 500g each. We had 2 pcs of Besar crab cooked Kam Heong style and 2 pcs of Besar crab cooked with Buttermilk. The Kam Heong crab was really savoury and delicious, crab is big enough to our preference and was really enjoyable to chow down. The spiciness is just right for our level of tolerance and we kept on going back for more of the sauce (Their Kam Heong style is the wetter version) The buttermilk crab was also delicious to have, although my dad did mention that it was a tad too sweet for his tastebuds, regardless, it was still enjoyable overall.

We also ordered the Sotong Rapuh (crispy fried calamari) and Ikan Siakap Bakar Sambal (Grilled fish with sambal). The sotong was great, crispy and not overcooked. The Ikan bakar was alright as well. The notable thing from the Ikan Bakar dish was the spicy kicap manis (spicy sweetened dark thick soy sauce) and it pairs really well with the sambal and the fish.

We paired of all the dishes above with white rice as well as 2 sets of Fried Mantou (Fried Golden Buns), it was really perfect to pair the mantou together with the sauces from the crab dishes.

All in all, it was a really enjoyable experience, will definitely...

Food: We ordered Chili crab, Kam Heong crab and Salted Egg crab. Its Salted Egg Crab is to die for! Their home made fried mantou was fluffy and slightly bigger than the normal mantou size but worth having it. Chili crab was a bit of a let down. The sauce/gravy was not thick.

Ambience: Love the space in between tables. However, music was rather too loud. Not sure if its meant to serve diners with loud music so much so we had to scream our lungs out when ordering food. We have asked a few times to tone down the volume, which they tried but the music played was still not within the 'normal' or acceptable volume like most restaurants.

Service: Overall was good but lack of communications between the servers. For example: one of my friend came in later and ordered a drink. Half way to eating the crabs the drink was nowhere to be found. When enquired, the earlier server that took our food order, said the server that took the drink order did not indicate which table requested for the drink and did not communicate to her per se. The drink was prepared but gave away to other diners 'free of charge' because they could not identify who ordered the drink. The server were then quick to rectify and serve the drink ordered and gave us free of...