Where to find the best steamboat in Singapore and what to order there

From reunion dinners to weekday meals, hotpot makes for a comforting meal, and these places in Singapore do it superbly.

While the terms hotpot and steamboat are used interchangeably in Singapore today, they can delineate the subtle differences in how diners cook raw ingredients in a simmering pot of stock. Hotpot can be used to characterise the Mainland Chinese style of dining, which involves a broth heavily inflected with Sichuan peppercorn and chilli oil, and red meat as the primary accompaniment. Steamboat tends to prioritise chicken and seafood both in the soup and the ingredients. To diversify it further, there is fish head steamboat, which has ginger and sour plum in addition to the main star.

With the proliferation of Chinese-style hotpot in Singapore, this guide turns its attention to steamboat restaurants with a local touch, or Nanyang hotpot, if you will. They include Empire Hotpot and Imperial Treasure, which offer a peanut-flavoured broth similar to the satay dipping sauce. San Laksa stakes its reputation on serving laksa steamboat, and City Hot Pot turns to bak kut teh and Teochew fish soup for inspiration.

Steamboat has also gone upscale in Singapore. Beauty in the Pot’s signature is a luxurious, collagen-rich broth. Still, diners craving the original can look to Ah Pang and Golden Mile Thien Kee, which have been serving some of the best steamboat in Singapore for over 50 years. Discover them below.

(Hero and featured images credits: Kriangkrai Thitimakorn / Moment / Getty Images / Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat / Facebook)

The best places for steamboat in Singapore

1 /15

Acclaimed chef André Chiang’s hotpot restaurant Bon Broth features hearty Chinese double-boiled soups made with French techniques. Here, soups begin with a mirepoix base, comprising vegetables cooked over low heat until tender and sweet. It’s combined with Chiang’s signature spice paste and deglazed with French-style bouillon before being simmered up to 16 hours until aromatic and flavourful. Eight soup bases are available, ranging from the lighter Sauerkraut to the rich Laksa. The menu is extensive, with slivers ranging from pork collar to rock lobster.

(Image credit: Bon Broth Singapore / Facebook)

2 /15

If lamb is your preferred choice of protein, head to Happy Lamb Hotpot for a decadent meal. The menu leans heavily into lamb-focused broths and cuts, from milky white bone-based soups to spicier options that carry just enough kick to keep you going back for more. The rest of the spread covers the usual suspects, including vegetables, tofu and seafood.

(Image credit: Happy Lamb Hotpot Singapore / Facebook)

3 /15

CouCou Hotpot brings a refreshing twist to the classic steamboat. Here, find inventive soup bases that go beyond the usual suspects. The signature laksa broth is a standout, featuring a fragrant base made with coconut milk and spices. For something lighter, the herbal chicken or collagen broth simmer gently without overpowering flavours of your meat slivers.

(Image credit: Coucou Hotpot Singapore / Facebook)

4 /15

If you enjoy hotpot with a side of heartburn (in the best way possible), this spot is for you. Known for its Chongqing-style broths, Uncle Fong doesn’t shy away from bringing you the full mala experience. Each pot comes brimming with fragrant, chilli-laced stock, designed to make you sweat. The menu is complete with an extensive selection of meats, offal and vegetables. If you prefer your broth less tongue numbing, milder and non-spicy bases are available too.

(Image credit: Uncle Fong Hotpot Restaurant / Facebook)

5 /15

A longstanding name in Singapore’s hotpot scene, this Thai-Chinese hotpot restaurant puts the spotlight on a menu filled with classic comforts. Expect clean-tasting broths, including chicken, herbal and tom yum. The menu also features a line-up of fresh seafood, handmade meatballs and tender meat. You’ll also want to try the restaurant’s house specialities, including handmade dumplings, shrimp paste and fish glue. The latter features fish paste moulded into bite-sized portions. Pair your favourite meats with the brand’s signature dipping sauce, which add heat and depth to the meal.

(Image credit: Coca Restaurants Singapore / Facebook)

6 /15

This hotpot buffet serves up a spread filled with meats, seafood, veggies and barbecue skewers. Pick your favourite ingredients and dunk them in the restaurant’s rich and comforting chicken broth. Or, for something punchy, go for the Sichuan spicy broth for a fiery kick to each bite.

(Image credit: Hip Pot Singapore / Facebook)

7 /15

Ah Pang has been doing steamboat in Singapore the old-school way since 1965. While their Mei Ling Food Centre location is a world away from its street hawker origins, the stall continues to make the seafood soup base from fresh ingredients, giving the broth a clean, natural sweetness. The selection of dishes is limited, but the homemade chilli sauce and affordable price (starting from around S$40 for two diners) more than make up for it.

(Image credit: @wchujiak / Instagram)

8 /15

You could go for aesthetic treatments, or you could get your dream look at Beauty in the Pot. The upscale restaurant touts its signature Beauty Collagen Broth as having “the richness of beauty contained in every sip,” while the Slimming Spicy Beef Tallow Broth “nourishes and promotes younger-looking skin.” When paired with their silky fish tofu, it’s hard to argue against this over botox injections.

(Image credit: Beauty in The Pot)

9 /15

Like the many denizens of a metropolis, City Hot Pot’s soup bases come in 14 different flavours, including bak kut teh, Teochew fish soup, prawn soup, and laksa. Set meals designed for one to six diners are available, as well as an a la carte menu featuring US Black Angus short rib, red wine sausage, lobster, cockles, and minced pork paste.

(Image credit: 旺爐 City Hot Pot – Steamboat Home Delivery / Facebook)

10 /15

Golden Mile Thien Kee’s steamboat started as a staff meal the owners would make with chicken stock and leftover ingredients. However, customers who saw it began requesting the dish, and it eventually became the signature. The eatery, which was founded in 1952, makes the soup base from old hen chicken, which they say gives the broth a delicate and sweet flavour, and recommends enhancing it with egg and fermented tofu. Don’t forget the Hainanese-style chilli sauce, which hasn’t changed for over 70 years.

(Image credit: Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat / Facebook)

11 /15

Feel like eating steamboat with xiao long bao? Guo Fu makes it possible. The restaurant offers 15 different soup bases including the curiously-named Male Vitality Soup, which are served in individual pots. Besides an extensive selection of sides and house-made dipping sauces, Guo Fu offers limited servings of xiao long bao in their a la carte buffet.

(Image credit: Guo Fu Steamboat 国府珍锅 / Facebook)

12 /15

Imperial Treasure takes steamboat from its rough-and-tumble origins into luxurious settings. Boasting upscale locations in ION Orchard, Great World City, and Tripleone Somerset, the restaurant has a diverse selection of soup bases including a satay-flavoured stock and the Imperial Drunken Chicken soup, which is prepared with Shaoxing rice wine, ginseng, and wolfberry. Dishes range from live seafood to Japanese Wagyu beef, and the attentive waitstaff tops up the pot without being prompted.

(Image credit: Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant)

13 /15

Paradise Hotpot is a contemporary take on Hong Kong-style steamboat, and they offer it as a buffet. Diners get to pick one of eight soup bases including tom yum, and the premium set throws in fresh scallops, US short plate beef, and ebiko paste. For those on a budget, the value set starts at S$19.90++ and includes ingredients such as roe-stuffed fishball and pork belly.

(Image credit: Paradise Hotpot)

14 /15

San Laksa takes the beloved laksa one step further by turning it into steamboat. With the creamy and spicy broth as the base – there’s an option to make it more fiery – diners can cook traditional accompaniments like prawns, cockles, and thick bee hoon, as well as handmade meatballs, lamb, beef, and an assortment of vegetables. If you miss the classic, San Laksa also offers it with chicken and seafood.

(Image credit: San Laksa Steamboat / Facebook)

15 /15

Teochew Traditional Seafood Steamboat traces its origins to the owner’s heritage. He is fiercely particular about using high-quality ingredients: the signature broth is made with a combination of shark and chicken bones, then boiled for over five hours until delicately sweet. Eat it with the handmade squid paste and meatballs, and fish maw sourced from Indonesia.

(Image credit: Teochew Traditional Seafood Steamboat)