Shan Pin Steamboat Review: $19.80 Hai Di Lao-Style Buffet With DIY Sauce Bar At Toa Payoh

At countless outposts across Asia, hordes of steamboat fans queue up every day for hours on end to get a taste of their famous hot pot. If you need any more indication of the chain’s mind-blowing popularity, consider this – Haidilao owner Zhang Yong and his wife expanded a staggering $7.58 billion richer in the first quarter of 2019 .

Hai Di Lao isn’t exactly affordable though, so diners are always on the lookout for hot pot joints that serve up similarly good steamboat at wallet-friendly quotations. It’s understandable that our eyes lit up when we discovered Shan Pin Steamboat offering a $19.80 all-you-can-eat hot pot buffet.

Food at Shan Pin Steamboat That $19.80 nets you two refillable soup bases and a decent variety of meat, veg, carbs and meatballs. That impression was backed up when we scooped the bottom of the pot, uncovering enough Sichuan peppers to strike fear in our hearts.

Given its assertive nature, it’s best to cook your red meat in this stock. That film and slow lingering burn of chilli heat as well means you won’t be downing this broth by the bowl.

In contrast, we were happy to slurp up ladles of the tomato broth. We were stunned by the amount of fat in each slice of beef. However, we didn’t quite expect the red meat to be dwarfed by a sea of marble-white fat.

On the bright side, the fat content and thinness of each slice meant it was super tender after a momentary swim in the bubbling cauldron of stock. The strong gamey aroma of lamb means that it’s best suited to broths with powerful flavours such as ma la . It was eerily similar to salted egg yolk in terms of colour, flavour and consistency, with the fish roe providing a slight briny edge.

Unfortunately, this seemed to be a trend, as both our fish and beef balls had an unmistakably artificial look and lack of flavour to match. Aside from what we’ve touched on, the usual cast of hot pot characters is available here, with generous selections of mushrooms, green veggies, noodles and bean curd-based items up for grabs.

Ambience at Shan Pin Steamboat A 5-minute walk from Toa Payoh MRT and bus interchange, this compact restaurant is semi-hidden in an alley of eateries behind Gong Cha. In contrast to Hai Di Lao’s sprawling spaces and cosy decor, the atmosphere is decidedly basic, with all focus on the food.

Some entries don’t have pictures and some English translations are odd, so check with a server if you want to be sure of what you’re getting. Half the attraction of heading to the steamboat giant is the service and atmosphere. Hot pot novices can level up their game by checking out our list of Hai Di Lao hacks , while experienced steamboaters can look for new options with our list of Hai Di Lao alternatives and our review of Steamov . 10 Hai Di Lao Alternatives With Equally Good Food And Service Sans Queue Let us know your favourite hot pot spots in the comments below!