While most people believe high-quality meals and restaurants go hand in hand, a solid steamboat meal doesn’t always have to set you back >$40 per person.
We’ve compiled a list of super affordable hawker-centre steamboats with food so good, it’ll put some of your usual atas steamboat restaurant haunts to shame. So the next time you’re in the mood for a little comfort, these 10 stalls will float your boat:
Emperor Pot’s Triple Layer Grill with set for 3-4
Image credit: Eatbook
The triple-layer contraption of Emperor Pot cooks your dishes via steamboat, mini-grill and steamer. On top of that, you can pick your own method of cooking using either tomato, laksa, mala or chicken base for the broth – pick 2 broths to use out of their selection for your liking.
A set good for 3-4 goes for $29.90, with chunky portions of meat and seafood – but If you’re the saliva-conscious sort and prefer not to share, you can get an individual set for only $5.90, without their special triple-layer grill. Other ingredients would be a la carte as per charged.
Expect crayfish, bamboo clams, scallops, mussels and even abalone!
Image credit:@jessmiex
All soups at Emperor Pot are also homemade and brewed for long hours for maximum flavour.
Note: Be sure to head there early as this stall is popular and attracts long queues!
Emperor Pot
Average Estimated Spending: $10/pax
Address: 100 Tyrwhitt Road, Jalan Besar Stadium (Broadway Food Centre), Singapore 207542
Opening Hours: 12.30PM-3AM, daily
Image credit: Gavin Chan
Hai Chang Fishhead Steamboat boils its soup stock for a whopping 8 hours, using the freshest of fish bones, yam, chinese cabbage, and garlic. The steamboat is famous for allowing customers to cook their food over charcoal flames to ensure the authentic taste of the broth, which turns out to be thick and tasty.
They also offer zi char dishes from $12 – go for the sambal kang kong, claypot tofu and sweet and sour pork.
Prices here are very affordable as well, ranging from $15 to $30 for the steamboat, which is good for 3-4 people to share, and $12 onwards for their zi char dishes.
Located in the heartland of Tampines, this place is great for Easties who are craving a comforting late night supper. Be sure to head there earlier to avoid long waiting times!
Hai Chang Fishhead Steamboat
Average Estimated Spending : $15/pax
Address: 137A Tampines Street 11 #01-03 Singapore 522137
Opening Hours: 11AM-2PM, 5AM-10.45PM, Daily
Telephone: 9663 7994
Image credit: Victor Lee
The lok lok-style, Malaysian-rooted steamboat is one we don’t see very often anymore in Singapore. At Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, Hock Leng Satay Bee Hoon Lok Lok specialises in this cuisine, where skewers of fried meat and veg are boiled in soup. With the sticks holding your ingredients together, you won’t have to fish around for your food when you put them into the thick satay-based broth or clear soup.
This pot of goodness comes with a plate of their signature Satay Bee Hoon, which costs $3 if ordered a la carte. Our advice is to order the Satay Bee Hoon with the steamboat set, then order a bowl of white rice separately to share. That way, you get the best of both worlds.
Image credit: Victor Lee
Prices of the steamboat go at $15, $20 or $25 depending on the portion and type of food you are ordering – pretty affordable for sharing. You get to pick and choose your sticks – so go ahead and eat your favourites including cuttlefish, sotong balls, crab sticks and pork slices on top of the usual meat, seafood and veggies.
Image credit: Victor Lee
Hock Leng Satay Bee Hoon Lok Lok
Average Estimated Spending: $15/pax
Address: #01-141 Old Airport Road Food Centre, 51 Old Airport Road, Singapore 390051
Opening Hours: 2PM-9PM, Daily
Image credit: Open Rice Singapore
Get the real Hong Kong deal without actually boarding a plane at 136 Hong Kong Street Fish Head steamboat – our first fish head steamboat restaurant on the list. Featuring a very milky and rich broth filled with fresh ingredients, each steamboat set averages $15/pax. The fish slices are thick and chunky to the bite, and the soup is generous with different types of veggies, including the all-time favourite seaweed pieces to balance the meal out.
Be sure to try their zi char and claypot dishes as well – a popular choice is their claypot mee tai mak drenched in thick brown gravy and topped with a huge portion of meat! In fact, most people start going to this stall for its claypot dishes before even trying their steamboat sets.
Image credit: @iammeryl
136 Hong Kong Street Fish Head Steamboat
Average Estimated Spending: $15/pax
Address: 713 Clementi West Street 2, Singapore 120713
Opening Hours: 11AM-2PM, 5AM-10.45PM, Daily
Telephone: 9437 8260
Image credit: @springrolllim
Ah Pang Seafood dishes out quality, consistent and value-for-money steamboats, attracting a loyal, laojiao (old, steady) following of customers who have visited his stall for more than 20 years. Old patrons continue to flock here, and the relationship between the boss and them are somewhat like old friends.
What they are well-known for is their Homemade Hockchew Red Wine Chicken Broth. They offer restaurant-standard food at super reasonable prices ranging only from $11 to $20 – I guess there is no reason why people shouldn’t come back for a second, third or fourth time.
Insider Tip: Ah Pang Seafood serves up a good side of Hot Plate Orluak as a bonus dish to complement their steamboat meals.
Image credit: @gnohznaij
Ah Pang Steamboat
Average Estimated Spending: $13/pax
Address: 159 Mei Chin Road, Singapore 140159
Opening Hours: 9AM-10AM, Daily (Closed every Tuesday and Wednesday)
Telephone: 6476 8158
Image credit: @hocklim80
Enjoy a steamboat brewed over traditional charcoal fire, complemented by freshly sliced fish , preserved dried vegetables (mui choy), braised pork trotters, braised duck wings and braised eggs – all only at about $20 per person from Xin Heng Feng Guo Tiao Tan. Everything is only prepared upon order, so you can be sure that your food will be fresh to the table!
Image credit: @sylvestertf
Pro-tip: Boil the fish chunks and veggies in the soup for a longer time over the charcoal so that the dried sole-fish taste of the soup becomes stronger and tastier.
Xin Heng Feng Guo Tiao Tan
Average Estimated Spending: $20/pax
Address: Blk 91 Whampoa Drive, #01-14/15, Singapore 320091
Opening Hours: 5AM-12PM, 5PM-9.30PM, Daily (Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)
Image credit: Burpple
Chicken Legend Coconut Steamboat is the only place in Singapore that serves fresh coconut water as their soup base. With large chunks of coconut pulp, a whole kampung chicken and red dates, the broth offers a refreshing alternative to the usual steamboat bases. If you are looking for a lighter and healthier version of steamboat, this one’s for you.
If you want the best of two worlds, go for their speciality steamboat combination – the Chong Qing Mala Hotpot and Classic Coconut Soup – endearingly known as Ice and Fire. The soup would evolve from sweet to savoury as your meal progresses – definitely something different from what other steamboat stores offer.
Accompanying your meal are home-made sauces that are made with more than 10 ingredients combined, including lime, garlic, and chilli, giving you the kick you desire.
Regular Sets include a whole kampung chicken on top of the base ingredients, and go only at $29 – good enough for 2-3 to share. Meat Sets feature different kinds of juicy meats including pork belly, normal pork slices and beef at $29, and Seafood Sets include prawns and sotong at $35.
Order side dishes such as Salted Egg Yolk Fish Skin only at $5 as a starter snack while you wait for your food to be boiled. For a complete experience, include their signature Fried Beancurd, Tiger Prawn, Wagyu Beef and Salted Egg Meatball in your meal.
Buffets are offered as well for those who have huge appetites – Basic Buffets go from $19.90 and Premium Buffets from $24.90 onwards.
Image Credit: Chicken Legend Coconut Steamboat
At the end of your meal, wash everything down with a coconut drink – you’ll have to order it separately, but it’s definitely worth it.
Chicken Legend Coconut Steamboat
Average Estimated Spending: $15/pax
Address: 15 Upper East Coast Rd, Singapore 455207
Opening Hours: 5.30PM-11PM, Daily (Closed on Mondays)
Telephone: 9295 0650
Image credit: Marina Bay BBQ Steamboat
Being the only halal-certified restaurant on our list, Marina Bay BBQ Steamboat is conveniently located at Satay by the Bay. It is also the second steamboat restaurant on our list that offers an all-you-can-eat buffet, so take your time to enjoy your meal while enjoying the beautiful backdrop of Marina Bay.
The glorious attraction of this BBQ steamboat is that they serve your favourite sinful food which are perfect for your cheat days. Cheese tofu, cheese sausage, seaweed chicken, fried beancurd skins – you name it, they probably have it.
Prices go for only $25 for adults from Mondays to Thursdays, $32 for adults on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Eve of PH and PH, $14 for children 7-12 years old, and FREE for children under 7 years old.
Image credit: Marina Bay BBQ Steamboat
The restaurant also offers free-flow soft drinks and complimentary ice cream for all diners.
Note: Payment is by cash only.
Marina Bay BBQ Steamboat
Average Estimated Spending: $30/pax
Address: 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Satay By The Bay, #12/13/14 Marina Bay, Singapore 018953
Opening Hours: 5PM-12AM, Daily (Last order at 11PM)
Telephone: 8459 3338/9131 1272
Image credit: Tian Tian Lai Famous Teochew Fish Head Steamboat
The dominant flavour of Tian Tian Lai Famous Teochew Fish Head Steamboat’s soup stock comes from more than 20 different ingredients, including fried – not the usual steamed – sole fish and fried yam – a classic Teochew way of cooking. Due to its slightly secluded location on the 6th floor of an industrial building, Tian Tian Lai is usually not very crowded – great news for those who prefer a slightly more intimate setting.
Image credit: Tian Tian Lai Famous Teochew Fish Head Steamboat
This second Fish Head steamboat stall on our list also serves up yummy zi char dishes as well, featuring local favourites like Salted Egg Yolk dishes, which are special due to its thick, grainy gravy.
Tian Tian Lai Famous Teochew Fish Head Steamboat
Average Estimated Spending: $20/pax
Address: 3018 Bedok North Street 5 Eastlink #06-10, Singapore 486132
Opening Hours: 11.30AM-9PM, Daily
Telephone: 6443 8588
Don’t worry about looking at a hefty bill at the end of your meal at these wallet-friendly steamboat hawker outlets that provide both steamboat and zi char delicacies at the quality of restaurant standards. Enjoy your meal without extra GST/service charge, and eat as much as you want without guilt.
Furthermore, enjoy the homely service that these old-school hawkers serve you, giving you a taste of home versus serving you in a huge restaurant setting – everything seems to be more intimate and comfortable. Go forward and feast away!
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