The Ultimate Guide to Best Steamboat in Singapore

Singapore, despite its fiery weather, is home to many steamboat restaurants and eateries. Though it may leave us sweaty and heaty after the meal, we Singaporeans do love our steamboats, don't we? 
We have chosen the best steamboat places from the different cuisines- Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai - and put together a list of the best places to have steamboat in Singapore.

Chinese Steamboat

Hai Di Lao Hotpot (海底捞火锅）

☁☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Must try: Mala soup, mushroom soup, seafood soup, marinated chicken slices, pork slices, handmade noodles, handmade dumplings

Bonus: Free snacks and fruits, free manicure, absolutely stunning service

#02-04 3D River Valley Road Clarke Quay Singapore

1030am- 3am daily

6337 8626

Korean Steamboat

Manbok Korean BBQ & Steamboat Buffet

☁☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Must try: Clam soup, clams, mussels, marinated chicken breast, marinated beef, bacon streaks

Bonus: Fountain drinks and ice cream are included in the buffet

277 New Bridge Road Chinatown Singapore

11am- 11pm daily

6557 0939

Japanese Steamboat

Mara Shabu

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Must try: Kelp soup, organic vegetables, ponzu sauce

Bonus: You can buy and bring in the other wonderful items in Pasarbella!

#02-K16/17/18/19, PasarBella @ The Grandstand, 200 Turf Club Road Singapore

1130am-3pm; 6pm-10pm daily

6465 1639

Thai Steamboat

Tomyum Kungfu Mookata

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Must try: Garlic chicken, marinated pork, bacon streaks, thai milk tea

Bonus: Thai cooked food are available too

16 Circular Road Singapore
1130am- 3pm; 6pm-1030pm (Mon to Fri); 6pm-1030pm (Sat-Sun)
6536 1614

There you go - our ultimate guide to the best steamboat in Singapore! Go on and sweat it all out, because they are definitely worth every once of it. Let us know if you would like to add a special steamboat to our list!

Manbok Korean BBQ & Steamboat Buffet at Chinatown

Korean BBQ? Steamboat buffet? Put them together and you get a winning formula for throngs of Singaporean foodies. Galen and I were contemplating if we should give Manbok, a newcomer at Chinatown a try, or just to go for the tried-and-tested neighbour a few doors down along New Bridge Road. The coin flip was in favour of Manbok, and we couldn't thank lady luck enough for this incredible find.

The interior of Manbok is modern, clean and sleek. The seats are comfortable; the table is at an appropriate height; the airvent is silent but powerful; the air-conditioning cooling. This was very unlike the experience at 2D1N at Tanjong Pagar where you get grease-coated tables and chairs, and at the end of the meal, a grease-coated you. Manbok was pleasant, very pleasant.

Manbok made Galen and I very happy with its selection of meat for the BBQ. The meat was thawed, no icings or huge chunks still frozen together. There was a wide variety of meat in various marinate. And most importantly, Manbok serves chicken breast- our absolute favourite. To top it off, the chicken breast is marinated with spices that include rosemary and dill. Such fine delight!

Everything sizzled delectably on the grill, that is heated by fire and charcoal. Now, how many Korean BBQ restaurants these days has not taken the shortcut or the cost-cut? The charcoal heated BBQ grill at Manbok greatly enhanced the taste of the meat. The chicken breast was juicy and tender, and not a hint of dryness or hardness. The bacon was bursting with flavour, with a tinge of smokiness. Now, this is exactly the way BBQ should be!

Manbok also serves ingredients for its clam soup steamboat. The clams were an absolute love- sweet and juicy and there are tons more of clams at the buffet table for us to add to the soup. There were also authentic Korean dumplings (mandu) and rice cakes (ddeokbok). Manbok is not certainly not compromising on the variety of its offerings, and the quality of them.

We loved the clam soup so much - it was literally bursting with flavour and freshness. These were just two pots of the many many pots of soup that we had that night. Absolutely heavenly.

There is also a selection of fruits and salads to lighten things up; and also a soda fountain and small tubs of ice-cream to satisfy your sweet tooth after the meal. Everything is well taken care of at Manbok, and everything is done at top-notch quality.

Lady luck led us to this hidden gem off the stretch of shophouses along New Bridge Road at Chinatown and we have never been lucky enough. Manbok Korean BBQ and Steamboat Buffet is our new found fave, and we would prefer this over the numerous Korean BBQ nestled among the shophouses at Tanjong Pagar, anytime. Manbok at Chinatown is indeed like a million blessings for us.

Singapore Food Blog Review by Kumory

☁☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

만복 Manbok Korean BBQ & Steamboat Buffet

277 New Bridge Road Chinatown Singapore

11am- 11pm daily

6557 0939

Mara Shabu at Pasarbella Grandstand

Pasarbella is a quaint farmer’s market at Grandstand, the former Turf City. Pasarbella is nothing like the typical wet market that ‘pasar’ reminds you of; but is all the things beautiful just like a ‘bella’. The place could be a little inaccessible if you do not drive, but there are shuttle buses from Clementi MRT, Toa Payoh MRT and Bukit Timah Centre.

We ran and ran to take the MRT after work one day, and then ran and ran to the pick-up point at Clementi MRT because we did not want to miss the shuttle bus which comes only hourly. We were like mad men running through the peak hour crowd, and if anyone were to stop and ask us what we are running for, we would be really embarassed to say “Steamboat buffet”. But steamboat buffet is probably like the only thing that would make us run in our working attire- court shoes and all.

The shuttlebus dropped us off at the Westpoint entrance. Mara shabu is at the left corner of the far end if you enter Pasarbella here. It is a cosy setting at Mara Shabu, especially at the booth seats which are good for a party of two to four. For large groups, there is the long table at the centre of the restaurant. Mara Shabu has this cute mascot which is everywhere in the restaurant- points for brand image and consistency.

Mara Shabu offers 3 types of soup: Mara, Suki Yaki and Shabu Shabu. I like my steamboat soup spicy, and Galen likes it seafoody, so we settled for Mara and Shabu Shabu.

The Mara soup came with tons of spices in the red, fiery broth. It was like a fireworks celebration in that half of the pot. In contrast, the Shabu Shabu soup had only a piece of dark green kelp inside the clear soup. It was like a zen monastery. This pot is perhaps the most telling difference between the Chinese and Japanese culture, if you were to zoom it down to the soup broth each uses.

The vegetables at Mara Shabu are organic- there were many holes in the leafy vegetables especially, and Galen took that as strong cues that the vegetables were indeed pesticide-free. There was a huge variety of greens, and they were crisp and fresh. There was also a huge selection of seafood and meat- there’s something for everyone! The best dish at Mara Shabu has got to be its beef slices- the thinness and the proportion of meat to fat is perfect!

Galen and I usually don’t go for the sauces at steamboat restaurants- we prefer to retain the original taste of the food. However, the sauces at Mara Shabu were so awesome that we went for second servings of it! There were recommended concoctions at the sauce bar, and recipe for each. The recommended sauce for the Shabu Shabu soup was the ponzu sauce, and boy, they were right! The sour soy vinegar-based sauce went really well with the light and clear soup. Another recommendation is the homemade Mara Shabu sauce that was a perfect complement to the Mara soup, and especially good for the thin beef slices. A must-try!

These was the first of the many rounds we had that evening, outlasting every table at the steamboat buffet restaurant (as usual). Mara Shabu is a great place for a couple or family dinner for its cosy booth seats and wide variety of fresh ingredients; and also a good place for a friends or colleagues gathering for its spacious centre table and its vicinity to good wines and craft beers at Pasarbella. It is definitely a good alternative to the numerous steamboat restaurants at Liang Seah St in Bugis. Remember that the last shuttle bus service to Clementi MRT or Ang Mo Kio MRT leaves the Grandstand at 11pm.

Singapore Food Blog Review by Kumory

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Mara Shabu

 #02-K16/17/18/19, PasarBella @ The Grandstand, 200 Turf Club Road Singapore

64651639

1130am-3pm; 6pm-10pm daily

https://www.facebook.com/MaraShabu