The Steamboat with a Long Name at Balestier

Whampoa Food Street Keng Fish Head Steamboat Eating House
5th June 2010. Written by Xin Li.

My family decided to have dinner here as my sister and brother-in-law recommended eating here. The speciality of this restaurant is obviously steamboat and I remember reading somewhere that this group of restaurants with a long name in a Makansutra outing before.

We had our dinner tze-char style. Ordered a few dishes and a small size steamboat to go with our bowl of rice, something I enjoy in a Chinese meal is the joy of putting pieces of food on my bowl of rice and eating them together with chopsticks, reminds me of family meals I had at home long time ago. Nowadays, it is difficult to get the whole family together.

We the Red Garoupa Steamboat for 40 SGD meant for 3-4 people. I like the soup which was quite flavourful but rather oily. The waiters and waitresses will come and top up the soup (not before asking) once in a while. There is nothing to wow about for this item, just good old steamboat with a decent soup base with vegetables and a few fillets of red garoupa.

Along with the steamboat, we had a plate of Baby Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce (8 SGD). Up till now, my favourite vegetable dish is still the Baby Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce whenever I had a Chinese meal. Crunchy greens with tasty oyster sauce which goes very well with rice. The baby kai lan is nicely cooked, not too hard or limpy but the sauce while having the right flavour did not go well with me with its starchy and slightly thick texture. I prefer something more fluid.

Chicken with Ginger and Seasame Oil (12 SGD) is okay.

Pai Gu Wang, I forgot the price. I am not a fan of pai gu wang and this version tasted pretty normal.

I enjoyed the vegetables and the soup the most as well as the joy of eating from a rice bowl with chopsticks, gives me a homey feeling. The other items tasted rather average to me.

You would like to have steamboat here because the place is air conditioned and while noisy, it will not be as crowded and cramped like one I had in Bugis few months ago (but that was a steamboat buffet). Service was quick once you got their attention and food was served swiftly.

Address
556 Balestier Road

Tel: +65 9769 4451

Opening hours
Mon–Fri
11am–3pm, 5pm–11pm
Sat–Sun & PH
11am–11pm