Upin Hot Pot, Clarke Quay Central

My bro told me about Upin Hot Pot before he left for his exchange in Seoul and mentioned that the concept was very similar to Hai Di Lao but at a fraction of the price and without the queue! Love Hai Di Lao (especially the fresh ingredients and the yummy tomato soup base) but always felt it was a little too expensive and the queue was just too long, so I was really looking forward to trying Upin.

Made a reservation for Friday dinner with Zg, Tx and Ben and the place was full. No long queue at the door but there was a healthy crowd in the steamboat restaurant. We ordered the tomato soup base, the seafood soup base and the pork bone soup base. My all-time favourite was definitely still the tomato soup base, although I was also very fond of the seafood soup base. The pork bone soup base had a slight herbal taste so you either hate it or love it. We ordered a lot of ingredients (black pork, chicken, vegetables, mushrooms and assorted balls) and all of them were so fresh. The bill was approximately $35 per pax.

Service was great. The staff was attentive, helpful, and provided very good information when we asked about the various soup bases. They may not be hovering around all the time, and when it gets busy, it might take a while to call for a waiter or waitress, but generally I have no complaints. There was also a 变脸 performance halfway through the night!

Returned for lunch with friends from the office. Upin was extremely empty during lunchtime. In fact, I think we were one of two tables during that lunch. Great place for a quiet, peaceful chat over lunch. We tried the mala soup base, tomato soup base and seafood soup base. My friends enjoyed the mala but I am afraid of the spiciness so I did not take too much of it. 

Returned a third time with my aunts for lunch on a Sunday and, similarly, it was so empty! We ordered the tomato soup base, pork bone soup base, and mushroom soup base this time. The mushroom soup base was clear and fragrant, quite a good choice! 

I am so happy with Upin Hot Pot. Finally a place with great steamboat (quality ingredients, thick delicious soup base), good service, and reasonable pricing. Also helps a lot that we did not have to brave the crowd to enjoy such good steamboat!

#03-87 Clarke Quay Central

62215550

Beauty in the Pot, OneKM mall

My family and I went to OneKM mall for our Chinese New Year eve dinner at Beauty in the Pot, a steamboat with collagen-rich soup base boiled from shark's cartilage. If you have not checked out OneKM mall (likely because you do not live in the east and coming to a neighbourhood mall in Paya Lebar is not exactly the most exciting activity), you did not miss much in terms of shopping. But you should definitely make a trip to OneKM mall for Beauty in the Pot.

My parents made a reservation for Chinese New Year eve way in advance after having a meal there together. Incredibly thoughtful of them to rope my brother and I in for a delicious steamboat meal since we were too busy to join them the first time.

My parents picked one of the sets for 4 people and the spread was incredible. I was frankly astonished when the waitress rolled a cart to our table and started to transfer a million and one food items onto the table. After everything was set out nicely, the waitress started putting food items into the steamboat carefully. 

The creamy collagen-rich soup base was my favourite! Actually, all of us preferred that as compared to its spicy counterpart. The collagen-rich soup base was boiled from shark's cartilage which is supposed to be nourishing for our health and our complexion. I'm not sure whether it is nourishing but it certainly is delicious!

The seafood was very fresh and the cuts of meat were good. The pork was also incredibly fresh so there was no lingering porky taste. The set also came with a basket of vegetables and mushrooms (my one true love!) so you do not have to fear that the large amount of meat is going to be unhealthy for your digestive tract. 

There is a counter at the front where you can mix your own condiments and sauces or help yourself to rice. But seriously, why do you need rice when there is such a large amount of food available? The set came with noodles as well so rest assured that your carb craving will be fully satisfied. 

This restaurant feels like a cross between Tsukada Nojo (collagen-rich soup from chicken) and Hai Di Lao (perfect attentive service). The service at Beauty in the Pot is seriously top notch. It has been long since I felt that pampered at any dining establishment and Beauty in the Pot definitely nailed it. The waitress made it a point to drop by our table regularly to adjust the heat of the steamboat, refill our soup base, drop various food items into the steamboat, and ask if we are doing ok.

I will definitely be back! But before I do so, I must remember to make a reservation because the last time I came by spontaneously, the host informed me that there was a one hour thirty minutes wait on a weekday night!

#02-21 OneKM Mall

11 Tanjong Katong Road

Mon to Thurs, Sun: 11:00 to 1 am 

Fri to Sat, Eve of PH : 11:00 to 3 am

67022542

Tsukada Nojo, Chinatown

I was always curious about the long lines at Tsukada Nojo in Plaza Singapura so when a friend suggested the outlet at Chinatown Point for dinner one evening, I was thrilled! We joined the queue close to 7 pm and waited approximately 20 to 30 minutes for our table. Tsukada Nojo is famous for their Bijin Nabe ($25 per pax) so we were definitely going for that. We also ordered the Bacon Rice Rolls and Chicken Nanban.

Bijin Nabe is basically a hotpot with a combination of meat, vegetables, seafood, and mushrooms in chicken soup. The chicken soup is boiled for a long time and cooled to form puddings. These puddings are served in the hotpot to the customer and allowed to "melt" into a thick tasty broth. 

The soup base is definitely the highlight in this meal. Thick, creamy, chicken broth which was just so smooth and delicious. I hear it is also high in collagen, though I am not certain how far consuming collagen helps in fighting wrinkles. The ingredients were fresh and so delicious after they absorbed the wonderful soup base. 

The Chicken Nanban (Fried Chicken with tar tar sauce) was decent, with chunks of juicy fried chicken. 

The Bacon Rice Rolls were very interesting with thick slices of bacon wrapped around rice and grilled.

Jelly for each of us as desserts!

The soup base in Tsukada Nojo is truly unforgettable. I will not return for the side dishes, but I would definitely find some way (and some patience) to come back and join the queue again for the Bijin Nabe because I am such a sucker for good soup base!

#02-37 Chinatown Point

Bijin Nabe is served during dinner

Thien Kee Steamboat Restaurant, Golden Mile Tower

It was pouring the day I was going to meet Tx and even though our original plan was to have a feast at Old Airport Food Centre, we realised that the rain meant that the seats outside would be wet and the limited seats inside would be crowded. So I proposed having steamboat instead since rainy weather is just perfect for having steamboat. Tx suggested Thien Kee at Golden Mile which I have heard about so we headed to Golden Mile after work.

I ended up at Golden Mile COMPLEX instead. Golden Mile Complex is the building with the awesome Thai supermarket, loads of thai restaurants, and mookata. I ventured into the basement and found nothing but Thai discos so I figured that I must be in the wrong place. Thien Kee is located in the basement of Golden Mile TOWER which is the building beside Golden Mile Complex. Just leave it to me to get lost at any possible moment.

Tx and Ben were familar with the menu so I left it in their good hands to order the food. We had Hainanese Chicken Rice as well as the Steamboat set.

The white chicken was tender and juicy. It went very well with the sour chicken rice chili.

My thanks to Ben for taking care of the cooking and serving while I chatted away with Tx. The steamboat food items were very fresh and the soup base was sweet and clear. I loved dipping all the food items into the sour chicken rice chili and throwing them into my mouth with a spoonful of fragrant chicken rice. Perfect!

This was the first time I had a meal with Tx and Ben since their wedding. There is something incredibly heartwarming about having a nice meal, a comfortable chat, and lots of good laughter with a good old friend and her soulmate. I am looking forward to visiting their new puppy!

It was a great night out with Tx and Ben, pigging out on hot soup, delicious good food, and sweet shaved ice for desserts. Looking forward to our next yummy meal and catch up session!

#B1-20 Golden Mile Tower
62935910
Daily 11:00 to 22:00