Tastemaker Food Guide: Comforting Hot Pots

Stone Hotpot (from $9.90)

The base of the broth is made of stir-fried dried cuttlefish and meat before they add in the pork bone broth and medley of vegetables you have chosen like Pig Skin, Cheese Tofu, Fish Roe Pockets, and TW Egg Dumplings.

The unique broth is pleasantly sweet and enlivened with shacha sauce, comes in Single Pot ($9.90), Medium Pot ($18.90) and Large Pot ($21.90).

Remember to order their Lu Rou Fan ($2.50) along with a bucket of refreshing Taiwan beer!

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Cassie Ong

Buffet ($14.90) - 90 Minutes

Choose from a variety (5 choices) of Korean-style soup base combinations (my recommendation is “90mins the Best”), and then add on ingredients into the pot to cook! The ingredients include fishcake skewers (love this!), 5 different types of tteokbokki, meats, seafood (clams, prawns), vegetables and noodles! I’d also recommend adding on the cheese ring for that extra oomph! Once you are done with your first meal, don’t forget to ask the staff to prepare the fried rice for you (using the leftover broth) to complete your experience!

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Jonathan Lim

Supreme Black Angus Beef Shabu Shabu Buffet ($32.90)

The Supreme Black Angus beef shabu shabu buffet runs for only $32.90++. That’s mad decent value, especially considering that the beef served ain’t no bargain bin bovine, nossir. It’s acceptably marbled with fat, and the Black Angus beef is free flow for 70 minutes, backed up by thin slices of pork belly & collar, and chicken. Yes, cow, chicken and pig are all free flow. Now that’s what I call massive bulking power!⠀

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Russell Leong

Hotpot Set ($49.90 + $3 Additional Soup Base)

This super-worth-it set comes with a nice variety of fresh ingredients, as well as a soup base of your choice. The soup bases I chose were Herbal Chicken and Tomato and both soups were really delish and flavourful, especially the tomato one! As for the ingredients, they include meat (wagyu beef, pork belly & pork slices), seafood (prawns, fish, clams & squid), and other assorted balls, mushrooms and vegetables. Portions were generous (can definitely feed at least 4 pax!) and of good fresh quality too! The set also comes with dipping sauces and drinks.

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Jonathan Lim

Bovine Bone with Tomato Soup Base ($28.90/twin), Coconut-Chicken Soup Base ($28.90/twin)

A tangy-sweet number, the Bovine Bone with Tomato Soup Base was a classic done right as the flavour was very well-balanced. It didn’t taste artificial at all, not thirst-inducing, and very drinkable as it wasn’t thick. The Coconut-Chicken Soup Base, on the other hand, had a sweeter profile though milder in taste. It felt like sweetened coconut water flavoured with some aromatics (a little Thai-inspired in my opinion). A little odd at first but it grew on me and I love that the base came with chunks of crunchy chestnuts, chicken, red dates, corn, and silky coconut flesh.

For the ingredients, we enjoyed the Berkshire Pork Collar Sliced ($26.80) which had a good ratio of fats. The Mashed Prawn Paste ($16.80) tasted fresh and cooked well as well.

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Vanessa Kou

Crab Bisque Soup Hotpot ($48)

The crab bisque soup was a perfect marriage of creaminess and umami flavour. The soup is seafood forward but not excessively so -- it went beautifully with the wagyu beef strips, which only need a quick dip in the boiling soup before the tender pieces can be popped into your mouth.

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Coleats 🍟

Choose from 8 soup bases, like Imperial Elixir Youth Soup, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Mala Soup and more! I’d highly recommend the first 2 soup bases; the Imperial Elixir Youth Soup is rich in collagen while the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup is brewed using the finest ingredients and herbs such as Ginseng! Both soups are really nourishing, and taste great too!

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Jonathan Lim

Lunch Buffet ($25.90)

Guo Fu Steamboat has been on my must try list for the longest time, and my gaaawwwddd it’s the perfect first post lockdown hotpot buffet. The lunch buffet is reasonable enough at $25.90++, and you get free flow EVERYTHING for two hours straight. Yes, even the xiao long baos. Of course, some things are far more worthy of your stomach’s real estate than others, and the special pork on the left & the premium beef on the right are undeniably worthy. Just look at the marbling, man. That’s decent quality right there.⠀

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Russell Leong

Fish Soup ($25)

Rich and tasty fish soup that has a nice blend of all the flavours of many different ingredients - cabbage, yam, salted fish, ginger & sour plum that added a nice touch of sourness. Served in the traditional charcoal steamboat pot, there are hints of charcoal flavour as well. 4/5 Stars

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Cafehoppingkids

The Sukiyaki Course ($158 with A5 Seasonal Wagyu Beef / $238 with A5 Hida-gyu / $328 with A5 Matsusaka)
This is the transcendent wagyu experience that you should totally go for. The wagyu slices are cooked tableside with a master sukiyaki stock that dates back a couple of years and each is served with a dip of beaten raw Japanese egg. To complement the meal, you can top up with a selection of seasonal vegetables and mushrooms that are cooked together with the meats and enjoy the different methods of eating it.

📸 & ✍🏻 by Tastemaker Julius Lim