As comforting as a bubbling hot pot of soup is, I simply can’t afford to splash $60 on Hai Di Lao (or the newly opened Little Sheep at One Fullerton), even if they do offer free manicures and ziplock bags for my phone… Which is why I began my hunt for restaurants with cheap steamboat in Singapore.

If you don’t have time to drool over the rest of this article, here’s a summary

Cheapest steamboat set meal: $9.90 all day at Shi Li Fang. If you’re not a big eater, it might be more worth it to go for a set meal instead of a buffet.

Cheapest steamboat buffet: $14.99 at Shabu Sai (all outlets except Orchard Central and Eastpoint).

Wherever you go, opting for a weekday lunch buffet will save you a lot of money. All-you-can-eat hotpot buffets are typically expensive on weekends.

For weekend hotpot buffets, even the more affordable chains will set you back $35 to $40 (after taxes)

Cheapest collagen steamboat: $15.90 for weekday lunch at Danro Collagen Hotpot by MOF

Other discounts: Don’t forget to check Fave, Eatigo, Chope and your credit card promotions site for discounts

Pay with a credit card: If the restaurant accepts them, a good dining credit card lets you earn up to 12 per cent in cash rebates or rewards points/air miles.

CHEAP STEAMBOAT & STEAMBOAT BUFFETS IN SINGAPORE (2020)

Here are some of my favourite cheap steamboat restaurants – while I’m sure you can find cheaper steamboat stores at hawker centers, this list focuses more on the cheapest deals at the more popular hotpot chains at shopping malls.

SHI LI FANG

Shi Li Fang used to be my favourite budget steamboat haunt… until they started charging for dipping sauces. It’s an additional $2 per pax, which although seemingly insignificant, is a cheap way to suck more money from customers.

That said, I still (grudgingly) admit and acknowledge that even with the additional $2 for dips, I’m quite a small eater, so Shi Li Fang’s $9.90 set meal is more than enough for me: It comes with a plate of your preferred meat, a bowl of rice or noodles, the soup base and a basket of assorted vegetables.

You can add $0.30 to upgrade your greens to a more premium selection and $0.60 for free flow of drinks.

For bigger eaters, you may need to top up with some ala carte meats. They’re always on discount, and are about $4 to $7 per plate. The ala carte portions are way more generous.

I like the non-spicy specialty chicken meat and prawn paste.

Popular soup bases include ma la and tomato, and you can top up a few dollars for the chicken collagen soup.

Address:

• Orchard Central – 181 Orchard Rd #07-10/11, Singapore 238896
• Icon Village – 12 Gopeng St #01-41&42/52&53, Singapore 078877
• Thomson Plaza – 301 Upper Thomson Rd #01-106, Singapore 574408
• Chinatown Point – 133 , New Bridge Road #B1-30, Singapore 059413
• City Square – 180 Kitchener Rd #02-53/54, Singapore 208539
• JCube – 2 Jurong East Central 1 #02-08A, Singapore 609731
• West Coast Plaza – 154 West Coast Road #02-24, Singapore 127371
• And more

SHABU SAI

Shabu Sai is chain with 6 outlets located in shopping malls all across Singapore.

They’re not the first brand that comes to mind when anyone thinks of cheap hotpot – their weekend dinner buffets are $29.99++!

But if you can head there during weekday lunches, the prices are really affordable ($14.99++, all outlets except Orchard Central and Eastpoint, which are $16.99++).

They have a decent selection of meat and vegetables, and aside from the usual sukiyaki and tonkotsu, often have seasonal soup flavours. Drinks are an additional $1.99++ per pax.

Address:

• Causeway Point – 1 Woodlands Square #05-14/15, Singapore 738099
• Orchard Central – 181 Orchard Road #08-09/10/11, Singapore 238896
• Changi City Point – 5 Changi Business Park Central 1 #B1-28/29, Singapore 486038
• Suntec City Mall – 3 Temasek Boulevard #B1-133, Singapore 038983
• Eastpoint Mall – 3 Simei Street 6 #03-06, Singapore 528833
• Westgate – 3 Gateway Drive #B1-12, Singapore 608532

DANRO COLLAGEN HOTPOT BY MOF

Danro Collagen Hotpot is the steamboat brand under the Ministry of Food (MOF) chain in Singapore.

They recently hopped on the collagen hotpot bandwagon – collagen soup is served as white puddings that melt when placed over heat.

It’s supposedly super nutritious and great for your skin, which is why they sometimes call it “beauty collagen soup”.

I’ve tried Danro and while it isn’t good as the OG collagen hotpots like Tsukado Nojo and Beauty in a Pot, it is tasty enough for the price.

It’s especially worth it during weekday lunches, when it’s only $15.90++ for the hotpot buffet.

Address:

• Bugis – 200 Victoria Street, #02-45 Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021
• Waterway Point – 83 Punggol Central, #01-32 Water Way Point, Singapore 828761
• NEX – #02-04/06 NEX, 23 Serangoon Central, Singapore 556083
• Bukit Panjang – 17 Petir Road, #01-13/14 Hillion Mall, Singapore 678278

GOROGORO STEABOAT & KOREAN BUFFET

First of all, GoroGoro Steamboat & Korean Buffet has square hotpots, so you can trick your Instagram followers into think you’re living it up at Hai Di Lao. Here, you can choose from 7 soup bases, which include the popular collagen, tom yum and even bakuteh.

There are also cooked dishes like salted egg popcorn chicken, fried mochi and Korean wings.

The weekday lunch buffet ($16.90++) is super worth it for the selection (over 50 dishes for lunch and over 70 for dinner).

Address:

• Tampines 1 – 10 Tampines Central 1 #03-16A, Singapore 529536
• The Centerpoint – 176 Orchard Rd #03-43, Singapore 238843

HAO LAI WU STEAMBOAT & BBQ

Hao Lai Wu is the closest to a hawker centre, but even though it is not in a mall, it is a restaurant.

At $18.80++ (weekday lunch), Hao Lai Wu Steamboat has both a grill and hotpot for cooking the buffet meats and vegetables.

Judging from the many online videos and photos of the impressive seafood selection, it seems like a really good deal.

There are fresh prawns, clams and even mud crabs! There’s also an appetiser selection of fried buns, French fries and more.

The pots are see-through, and because of the red light from the heating stove, it looks like it’s being lit up.

Address:

• Chinatown – 8 Sago Street, Singapore 059012
• Rochor – 175 Bencoolen Street, #01-57 Burlington Square, Singapore 189649

SUKI-YA

Although the general food selection is not the best, Suki-ya is another one of my favourite cheap steamboat restaurants. I particularly like the sukiyaki soup and chicken meat.

The usual price of $18.90++ to $24.90++ is by no means the cheapest, but with as many promotions as Suki-ya, you very rarely have to pay full price.

The current promotion is exclusive to I12 Katong and SAFRA Toa Payoh outlets, where you get to enjoy 30 per cent for dinner buffets from 6pm to 7.30pm, Mon to Thu.

After 6.30pm, you get to enjoy one diner free when you come in groups of four. Suki-ya is also currently on Eatigo, which offers discounts during off-peak hours.

If you are a Safra member, the I12 Katong and Marina Square outlets are offering up to 20 per cent off for group diners (valid till 30 Dec 2019). Terms and conditions apply.

Address:

• Bugis+ – #04-14/15 201 Victoria Street, Singapore 188067
• Bukit Panjang – 1 Jelebu Road #02-16 Bukit Panjang Plaza, Singapore 677743
• Kovan – Blk 205 Hougang Street 21 Level 2, Singapore 530205
• Katong – 112 East Coast Road #02-07 Katong Mall, Singapore 428802
• Kallang – 1 Stadium Place #01-35 Kallang Wave Mall, Singapore 397628
• Marina Square – 6 Raffles Boulevard #02-183B/C Marina Square, Singapore 039594
• Orchard – 68 Orchard Road #04-62 Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839

SEOUL GARDEN (HALAL)

Seoul Garden is yet another big chain, and while it’s known for its Korean-style grill, each table also comes with a pot of soup for cooking.

Since Seoul Garden is a casual Korean restaurant, it makes sense that the soup bases include the spicy Kimchi Jjigae and milky Saengseon Tang (fish soup).

Address:

• Bugis Junction – 200 Victoria Street #02-52, Singapore 188021
• Harbourfront Centre – 1 Maritime Square, #01-65/66 HarbourFront Centre, Singapore 099253
• Jurong Point – 63 Jurong West Central 3 #B1 – 45/46, Singapore 648331
• Marina Square – 6 Raffles Boulevard #03-210, Singapore 039594
• NEX – 23 Serangoon Central, #B1-34/35 NEX, Singapore 556083
• Northpoint City – 930 Yishun Avenue 2 #03-05, Singapore 769098
• Tampines Mall – 4 Tampines Central 5 #04-01, Singapore 529510

This article was first published in MoneySmart .