Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Paradize on Earth: I found Paradize...and it's a Steamboat!

With SCS Butter, Happi Mummi and ieatFamily


I never used to like Steamboats. To me, dunking pieces of raw meat into chicken broth was not as exciting as a good plate of fragrant Hokkien Mee. I mean, all the boiled pieces of meat tasted the same. It's not shiok like a good bowl of laksa, if you know what I mean. And the soup was like a hodgepodge of everything. I just could not understand what was the big deal with Steamboats.

But then along came the Buffet Steamboat with Hotplates which served beef bulgolgi and lots of side dishes like fried chicken wings and other stuff which I quite like. It was then that I suddenly began to appreciate the social aspects of having a Steamboat. It's like a bonding session where friends gather round a steaming bowl of soup to clear their sinuses.....

It was only when I ate my first Shabu Shabu that I began to appreciate how tasty a piece of boiled meat can be. After that, I was well and truly hooked.




So far, all the buffet Steamboats I have been to were pretty much the same deal, which is why I got excited when I found out about this one through Camemberu's blog. There are quite a few things that make this one stand out from the rest. First, they have a special satay soup base which reminds me a bit of the Lok Lok in Malacca. I was also very impressed with the size and quality of the prawns they dished out. For $17.50, they provide very good sized grey prawns rather than the usual small tiger prawns found in many other places. The thinly sliced pork belly is also very shiok when cooked in the satay sauce. Rather then helping yourself to all the ingredients, you order the stuff from the menu and they are brought to your table. As a result, all the ingredients are neat and fresh.

The only drawback to the place is the fact that they only provide one sauce. But the sauce they gave is quite unique and goes well with the meats. The only other grouse I have is that the ala carte sliced beef at $13 per portion really looked very very good. The next table had ordered it and the meat was well marbled and served on a block of ice to keep the fats firm until just before you cook it. But alas, it is not included in our buffet set. Darn, it felt like we were sitting in Economy watching what others in First Class were eating.



Of special mention is the Yang Chow Fried Rice which is free flow for the buffet. Each plate is freshly fried and has enough wok hei flavor. We felt it was a fried rice that we would gladly have ordered at a restaurant.

Conclusion

Overall, very good value for money. Though it is a few dollars more than other places, the quality of ingredients and service really makes up for the price difference. This is the first place I would think of going when I feel like having steamboat.

Paradize on Earth
200 Tanjung Katong Road
6345 9272
11am to 3pm,6pm to 11pm
$17.80 Dinner ,$15.80 Lunch
Sat and Sunday add $1
Kids above 3 half price

15 comments:

frayed said...

i see prices have gone up. vaguely recall them being cheaper. they also have a branch in some corner of tiong bahru estate, i believe...

Mr. Anonymous said...

Yes, the Tiong Bahru one is just next to the food center. However its closing by end of the month as the rental has went up.

Foodzilla said...

Hey you should go try the steamboat place at Pahang Street. Its called Foo Lum Seafood, they do alacarte steamboat, give you options of the soup base you'd like ranging from papaya to satay soup bases. The seafood options are all very fresh, the paste are made only when ordered and there is also a wide selection of quality beef and pork slices. You should also try their deep fried fish skins [appetizer] one of their signature starters and only fried when you order. Reminds me so much of HK!!!

Mark said...

Where s the Tiong bahru branch located at ?

Bee said...

oh my.. my favourite steamboat place!! it's shifted from tiong bahru to tanjung katong? sadness...so far!! (i'm a 'westerner') :(

Camemberu said...

LOL! Like Economy watching First Class eat!! Yeah, tell me about it...there were tables ordering the marbled premium beef on ice like it was free. I saw plate after plate ferried out, but kept telling myself "lean red meat is better for you!" and stuck to the buffet's regular beef slices (which are not too bad lah).

Well, glad you like this place. Now I just hope it doesn't get too crowded! :P

The Tiong Bahru one is probably at 71 Seng Poh Road #01-49. Tel: 63242337 - I found the details online. Not sure if still operational.

Mr. Anonymous said...

It will operate till the end of the month.

Holy Drummer said...

I brought my family there for supper (on the night I had crab bee hoon earlier for dinner at Sin Huat, mea culpa)

We din dare to try the satay base; stuck to the usual scallop soup and 'mala' (hot-n-spicy).

Ordered like crazy man! Tray after tray of ingredients stocked our table and we ate till we dropped.

Well you're right about the economy class VS first-class. Couldn't resist temptation of ordering some from the 'A' Menu because it's so shiok.

The Yangchow fried rice was lapped up within seconds (my family was super hungry then, and angry hur =x)

BUT, for the similar price - it's more value-for-money to head to Coca steamboat, my all-time favourite. They offer more premium ingredients for their buffet. =)

smart said...

we ordered the ala carte especially the beef. Not bad, got some bite but dont melt in your mouth.Last night all tables were taken up by 6.30pm.Like Holy Drummer said Coca is better. Another good one is Ting Heng Seafood Restaurant at Blk 82, Tiong Poh Road #01-03 Tel: 63236093

mama bok said...

Eeewwwkk..!! clear sinuses..??
hahha!

Icesiren said...

Maybe my tastebuds got problem or they weren't that good last nite. Anyway, didn't think it was that good like you guys said. It was just average. The Yang Zhou Fried Rice was good but other than that, nothing special enough for me to want to go back. The satay soup base was unique enough but not my cup of tea. The dried scallop soup base was pretty bland. Service is good though.

Anyhow, I still prefer the place at Roxy Square basement 1. Try the Japanese solo and the Fuzhou fishball. The deep fried pig testines are great too. The place is airconditioned.

justme said...

can anyone confirm if the location n price as stated here are still accurate? v interested in this place!

jems said...

tried this tonight and overall was a satisfying steamboat. Soup base was in good quality tagging back to the price. I had the mala and the dry scallop. It's good cuz all the food were very fresh. Service was brisk and overall quite good :)

The fried rice to me was below average though.

jems said...

oh ya, jemster was in love with da pork too. She ate many pcs of it. :)

ling ong said...

hello.. i have been there.. the soup base is not really good.. but the service was great as they chnaged it for us at no chrages 5o the tom yam and ma le soup base... the ingredients are very fresh indeed.. n i especially love the fried rice.. had the HK burnt smell to it.

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