Photo courtesy of JPOT
Where: Vivocity & Tampines 1
Best known for: Unique and interesting soup bases like Laksa, Bak Kut Teh and Silky Porridge
Expect to pay: $58 - $98++ for a 2 pax dinner set; $6 - $35 for live seafood; $3 - $38 for meats
Owned by JUMBO, this steamboat restaurant dons an a la carte style with the option of set meals. Refillable soup bases come carried in a variety aside from the usual suspects like tom yum and herbal – be sure to try the Superior soup broth! The DIY aspect doesn’t just stop at the steamboat itself. Add a personal touch to your meal by mixing up your very own sauce at the sauce station. If that’s too daunting for you, simply follow the given recipes placed at the sauce station.
2. Hai Di Lao
Photo courtesy of Hai Di Lao
Where: Clarke Quay, 3D River Valley Road #02-04
Best known for: Excellent service with a $3 noodle “performance”
Expect to pay: $40 to $80 per pax
Long queues may form outside Hai Di Lao, but this hot pot restaurant chain from Sichuan arrived on our shores with a well-thought out plan to please its guests-in-waiting. We’re talking unlimited free snacks, card games and even free manicure services. Aprons are provided to protect you against splashes from the spicy mala soup and zip lock bags are available for your phones too. Scan through their wide variety of ingredients and your dishes will arrive efficiently at your table looking as fresh as they did on the iPad menu. If you do order their signature handmade noodles, you’ll be in for fascinating performance right at your table, where the noodle master flaunts his skills with rhythmic movements.
3. The Rajah Inn
Photo courtesy of The Rajah Inn
Where: Tiong Bahru Plaza, 302 Tiong Bahru Road #02-13/14/15
Best known for: Individual steamboats and a buffet of varieties
Expect to pay: $19.80++/ $24.80++ for steamboat a la carte buffet per adult, $10.80++/$12.80++ per child
For those who prefer to enjoy steamboats in solitude, The Rajah Inn grants your wish with a personal hot pot. The a la carte buffet menu is laden with more than 50 steamboat items like beef slices, crab claws, silken tofu and staples like glass noodles or bee hoon. And on top of that, more than 50 cooked dishes including sambal pork, assam sotong and bacon prawn rolls. The heat doesn’t stop there and even their desserts come in hot pot fashion. Chocolate lovers, watch out for their bubbling hot fondue that comes with a fruit platter for 4.
4. Suki-Ya
Photo courtesy of Suki-Ya
Where: Marina Square, Bugis+, I12 Katong, Tampines Mall, Plaza Singapura, Bedok Point
Best known for: Affordability and freshness in every slice of beef
Expect to pay: $17.90++ for an 80-min lunch, $21.90++ for a 100-min dinner
High quality beef in unlimited quantities for a Japanese-styled steamboat is one of Suki-ya’s main draws. You’ll get to choose from 4 soup bases from the lighter broths like shabu-shabu to the sweet Sukiyaki and more flavourful Kimuchi, and Touyu Miso. And aside from thin slices of beef, other meat offerings include free flow of chicken and pork. If that’s not enough, there’s also a premium wagyu beef platter to add on. Balance the high traffic of meat out with your greens from their vegetable bar – a considerate feature for your healthy indulgence.
5. The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot
Photo courtesy of The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot
Where: Tanglin Shopping Centre, 19 Tanglin Road #04-06/07
Best known for: Being a hidden gem with an addictive mala soup base
Expect to pay: From $3 per plate for a la carte orders. For the buffet - $20.90++ for lunch and $32.90++ for dinner on weekends
Contrary to its less frequented location at Tanglin Shopping Centre, this hot pot restaurant is known to be the bustle of the mall with crowds flocking there for their steamboat fixes. Their pride and joy lies in two soup bases: Ma La Tang and Old Faithful Chicken Stock, which comes as a duo-flavoured hot pot just so you get the best of both worlds. The secret behind their flavourful broths? Hours and hours under the boil. To enjoy your hot pot experience entirely, don’t forget to dip your cooked food items into their specially prepared sauces, nibble on their sweet and savoury tidbits or drink their fragrant Eight Treasures tea.
6. Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant
Photo courtesy of thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg
Where: Triple One Somerset & ION Orchard
Best known for: Ultimate freshness in quality ingredients
Expect to pay: Approximately $50 per pax
Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant is undoubtedly one of the pricier steamboats around but that comes justified with the use of fresh ingredients at quality that will impress you. Nothing comes pre-cooked, including items like prawn and sotong balls, which are delicately handmade by the chef on a daily basis. Go nuts taking your pick from 10 different soup bases and you can even pick 2 for a mix at the table. Popular options include the traditional pork bone, drunken chicken and herbal chicken with ginseng broths. For added flavour, a stunning array of 12 condiments is available at $1.50 per person.
7. Coca
Where: International Building (Orchard) & Resorts World Sentosa,
Best known for: Tom yum soup and their signature fish glue
Expect to pay: $26++ for buffet lunch and $42++ for buffet dinner
The household name for steamboat may have left its prominent premises in Takashimaya but you’ll find another outlet not too far away at the International building on the 2nd floor. And there’s even one at Resort World Sentosa. Unlike many other steamboat restauants, Coca sticks to the traditional steamboat with just one soup base. Here, 3 simple soup bases – clear chicken, tom yum and herbal chicken – are prepared daily with fresh herbs and spices to accompany a wide variety of a la carte dishes. Their signatures include fish glue and dumplings and we won’t judge you for piling up on those delights.
8. Tianfu Hong Kong Style Steamboat
Photo courtesy of Sgfoodonfoot.com
Where: 214 Tanjong Katong Road
Best known for: Satay soup base (house special)
Expect to pay: Approximately $20 per pax
Unique to Tianfu Hong Kong Style Steamboat is its house special satay soup base. Unlike your usual sweet peanut dip, the soup carries saltier notes and accompanies their range of meat selections – like the Tianfu US Beef – stunningly well without stealing too much of the limelight. While you enjoy their homemade shrimp dumplings, have a hand at making you very own noodles with their fish paste noodles that comes in a piping bag. And like most Hong Kong steamboat eateries, you’ll need to try their signature geo-duck sashimi.
9. Xian Pin Guo
Photo courtesy of Xian Pin Guo
Where: 304 Joo Chiat Road
Best known for: Great value + cooked dishes available
Expect to pay: For the a la carte buffet, $18.80 per adult and $8.80 per child
This humble steamboat restaurant resides in the east of Joo Chiat with a much-raved herbal soup base. Aside from a selection of steamboat dishes in their a la carte steamboat buffet, you’re free to indulge in their cooked specialties like their house special prawns, sambal squid and aromatic garlic fried rice for your necessary staple. To those looking for a late night steamboat location, great news – they’re open all the way till midnight on Fridays and Saturdays!
10. Cuisine Master Hot Pot
Photo courtesy of Cuisine Master Hot Pot
Where: 68 Boat Quay
Best known for: Fine-dining quality steamboat
Expect to pay: $78++ to $198++ per pax for a nine course set menu
Cuisine Master Hot Pot hails from China and brings steamboats up to the premium level – close to a fine dining concept. Expect to feel like absolute royalty with table-side service, nourishing soups and up –top ingredients that come served beautifully plated. Look out for the intricately carved hot pot that rises out of nowhere to hold a pair of soup bases that includes their signature creamy Golden soup, as well as a clear Mushroom soup with a variety of imported exotic mushrooms. Be sure to try their premium kangaroo meat and the chef’s special, shrimp and pork balls.
11. Crystal Jade Steamboat Restaurant
Photo courtesy of Crystal Jade
Where: Zhong Shan Mall, 20 Ah Hood Road, #01-18
Best known for: Quality and comfort in food and atmosphere
Expect to pay: $32.80 for assorted meat steamboat (2 pax)
Crystal Jade needs no introduction. This established name now has its own all-day steamboat restaurant at Zhongshan Park and is opened all the way till 2am. What you get there are a multitude of items to choose from – 7 soup bases, 14 meat varieties, 28 fresh greens, 20 sauces to choose from and much more. The pork bone soup comes highly recommended and spicy lovers ought to try the tom yum soup base of course. Other than a la carte dishes, certain steamboat sets like the assorted meat steamboat and drunken chicken steamboat are available as well.
Written by Peh Yi Wen
See Also:
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