Ah Fa’s Chinese Restaurant 發記 @ Pudu, KL
It all began with a whatsapp message from my sister in law. She sent us tantalizing photos of something that look like a seafood hotpot, and according to her it was worth the 2 hours wait! *gasped*
So, we found ourselves at Ah Fa’s on a busy Sunday evening. It is located at Jalan Seladang, just off the main drag of Jalan Pasar at Pudu area. This Chinese restaurant/road side stall call Ah Fa’s Chinese Restaurant 發記 is located just behind RHB Bank.
We were there at about 7 pm, we queued for about 15 minutes and it took about an hour for our food to arrive. They are open from 5 pm to 12 am. It is best to come before 6 pm, or after 9 pm. The ideal group size is 4, as each hotpot is meant to be shared amongst 4-5 pax, and most of their tables can fit a maximum of 4 persons.
We ordered a signature “3 fresh” hot pot (prawns, squids, clams) with grilled song yu (bighead carp) fish head (RM 99). You can opt from 6 level of spiciness, starting from A (not spicy), B (slightly spicy) to F (very super spicy). We were warned that B & C is hot and fiery enough, so we cowardly went for B.
We sat patiently waiting for our food, while patrons just keep pouring in and everyone just queued by the road side.
Our seafood hotpot is finally here!
We were really impressed with the generous portion laden with seafood. There were 2 tiger prawns, 1 giant fresh water big head prawn with roes, 1 giant fish head, plenty of clams and squids. The soup base also consisted of dried chilis, hunan chilis, pickled vegetables, tomatoes, leeks, pickled radish with additional order of tofu (RM 3) and enokitake (RM 3).
The broth was delicious. It started out spicy, with a salty, sour burn at the back of my throat as I swallow a mouthful. The flavour was intense. It was really quite spicy for my standard, but it was addictive enough that I kept wanting for more.
It tasted something like a very intense and spicy teochew steam broth. I think it is a perfect marriage of Hunan-ese style spices with Malaysian style broth. The lady boss is a Hunan-ese, yes we asked her.
Look at the amount of dried chilies and hunan chilies. Fiery!
For only RM 99, it is great value for money! We polished everything off and gave out a big burp towards the end of the meal. We paid a total bill of RM 118 with rice and drinks.
If roadside dining is not your kind of thing, please do not come here.
Ah Fa’s Seafood Restaurant
Add: Jalan Seladang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 016-9163999
Hours: 5 pm to 12 am daily
GPS: N 3 08.133 E 101.43 929
