We Visited A Supermarket-Inspired Hotpot Restaurant Where You “Shop” For Ingredients

Steamov is a supermarket-themed hotpot restaurant in Chinatown

Hotpot is indispensable to most Singaporeans, and the craze never really stops all year round. As a fan of steamboat, my ears perked up when I heard about Steamov, a supermarket-themed hotpot restaurant in Outram Park. You pick the ingredients you want from the cooler shelves, toss them all in a basket, and “check out”. That’s not all—the restaurant is open till 6am daily, which makes for a great supper spot!

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Food at Steamov

Unlike most hotpot restaurants, where you order via an iPad or form, selecting your steamboat ingredients at Steamov is similar to grocery shopping.

All you have to do is get a basket, then fill it with whatever you want—veggies, proteins, noodles and more.

At Steamov, a soup base is priced at just $5+ with 10 different flavours to choose from. And here’s the best part: you get a personal hotpot to add whatever ingredients you like, so there’s no need to fuss about your dining companion’s preferences. Popular soup choices include Spicy Pot, Tom Yum Pot, Mushroom & Black Chicken Pot, and Sour Vegetable Fish Pot.

I like my broth clear and rich, so I opted for the Mushroom Pot, while my colleague got the spicy-tangy Tom Yum Pot. Upon trying both, I recommend the latter, as the former barely had any flavour. The Tom Yum is on the spicier side, though, so only get it if you can handle spice.

Like many hotpot restaurants, Steamov has a free-flow sauce station featuring over 10 sauces and condiments. You are spoilt for choice here; DIY your concoction with sesame sauce, oyster sauce, spicy fermented bean paste, mashed garlic, chopped spring onions and more.

Our basket was full; we picked watercress ($0.88+), choy sum ($0.32+), black fungus ($1.30+), and instant noodles ($1+). 

We then headed to the freezer section, where we chose some pork belly slices ($4.80+) and Japanese beef slices ($23.80+).

There’s also a corner for seafood lovers, featuring items such as salmon ($4.30+), scallops ($2.70+ for two), and abalone ($12.80+ for two).

Starting with the meat, the first thing that caught my attention was how thin each slice of pork and beef was. In terms of texture, they were tender, but colour-wise, they were less vibrant than those from other hotpot restaurants I’d eaten at—a telltale sign of the lacklustre quality. I also wished there was a more balanced meat-to-fat ratio, as the beef rolls were a tad too fatty for my liking.

Don’t count on the seafood being any better, as the selection on display seemed somewhat stale to me. Still, the prawns and scallops managed to enrich the otherwise plain mushroom broth after simmering for a good 10 to 15 minutes.

Ambience at Steamov

At first glance, the restaurant looked different from other hotpot places, with a fun vibe thanks to the new supermarket theme. But in terms of the quality of its offerings, there’s not much to shout about—apart from the affordable prices and wide variety of ingredients. I wasn’t a fan of the overall atmosphere, too, as the restaurant seemed unassuming and dingy to me.

The restaurant is relatively spacious, seating more than 50 diners at once. It’s located right next to Outram Park MRT Station, and within walking distance of Chinatown and Maxwell MRT Stations. 

Steamov – Eatbook review

Steamov is a typical Chinese hotpot restaurant conveniently located in Outram Park. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to visit them, given that there are plenty of affordable, late-night hotpot alternative restaurants out there. 

In related content, read our Hi Hot Pot review, an affordable alternative to Haidilao with over 20 broths to choose from. Otherwise, check out the best hotpot buffets in Singapore from $18.80.

Address: 325 New Bridge Road, #01-00, Singapore 088760
Opening hours: Daily 12pm to 6am
Website
Steamov is not a halal-certified eatery.

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Photos taken by Marcus Neo and Jordan Ong.
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg