Mee Ketam KL @ Seksyen 7, Shah Alam

Mee Ketam KL is one of the most popular crab noodle places in town. The original outlet is located in Seksyen 7, Shah Alam but they have one in Jalan Dato Keramat, KL too. I had a phase where I was really into crab noodles – I had crab noodles in Sibu, Maggi Ketam and crab beehoon in Sunway Giza and crab kueh teow in Wangsa Maju. It was beautiful. I got my better half and drove down to Mee Ketam KL to check it out.

Unfortunately, this place doesn’t open until quite late. I believe they start at 11 pm or 12 pm which is quite unusual, but on the other hand, they stay open until midnight too. There were heaps of university students around since the campus is right beside. Mee Ketam KL is quite popular with the student crowd due to their very affordable prices for flower crabs.

The signature Mee Ketam KL is served with flower crabs for RM 9.50. You can swap in mud crabs for a base price of RM 5 (for the noodles) and RM 6.50/100 gram (for the mud crabs). Udang galah (big head prawn) is priced at RM 9/100 g. They also serve cooked crabs with rice for the same price. You can choose from various methods of cooking including curry, buttermilk, red sauce etc.

My dear wanted to try their ketam nipah masak cili (mud crabs cooked with chilli) which was recommended. The owner came out with a selection of fresh mud crabs on ice cubes and you’re supposed to select the one you like to be weighed on the spot with a portable machine. I got the second largest one for 600 grams, which cost RM 39. I saw a lot of people eating this same dish with rice, even though they’re known for noodles.

Mee Kari Ketam (RM 9.50)

This is their flagship dish. It’s a whole flower crab on top of their curry noodles. Mee Ketam KL uses thick yellow egg noodles and it goes quite well with the crab. The curry broth is very mild and more like a soup. I could detect lots of roe and random crab bits inside the curry though which is a huge plus point – it made the noodles all the more awesome. It was decent but not very strong flavored, to my disappointment.

Ketam Nipah Masak Cili (RM 39)

My dear had this one and it comes with rice. OMG! If my dish was bland, this would be the polar opposite. The chilli sauce is fiery! The thick, starchy sauce is translucent, which makes you think it’s mild, but it’s filled with Thai bird eye chillis. It was salty, spicy and sweet at the same time. I couldn’t stop eating my better half’s sauce. It was the best crab I’ve had in my entire life!

We had brought along our own crab pick for this visit. I first saw them when I was eating King crab and snow crab in Busan, Korea. It was really good for picking at the flesh and when we saw them in Hokkaido during our Japan trip earlier this year, we got a whole bunch of them to use. I gave a set to her parents too and this was the first time we had the chance to use these magnificent crab picks. Haha.

Mee Ketam KL serves decent curry noodles but I feel that the true standout dish is their ketam masak cili. If you like spicy and flavorful food, you’ll love this dish. It may be somewhat too spicy for people who can’t take peppers though, my dear had a bit of trouble with the dish. The stall is actually quite small, but they have an outdoors seating area of wooden tables. The entire meal, including drinks, was just slightly over RM 50 but if you don’t order mud crabs, this place is actually very affordable.