I’m always a fussy character when it comes to soups as I honestly can’t find a more savoury soup chef than my mum.
Tuesday was a choice day in the week for some decent soup indulgence as it was bucketing and the winds were quite cold. In my books, any day that calls for brollies and rain boots would be a good day for a hot meal.
My husband and I agreed that a steamboat meal was frantically calling out to us one evening.
In a crack to venture out to uncharted territories, we decided to give “King Pot” a shot. As all folklores portray, kings are predominantly only found in the highest castles of pastoral fields, where accessibility becomes a tad bit tricky.
“King Pot”, located in Big Splash at East Coast Parkway, occupies a nice nook that’s tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the sandy beach banks. Here, intimacy and unobtrusiveness surrounds (being indoors, you’ll also be spared from any bothersome and ravenous mosquitos).
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| Exterior is not too daunting. A place you'd walk in with bermudas and sneakers without socks (and not get stared at) |
Decked with a silver lacquered signage with floor-to-ceiling glass panels, you are sure not to miss this restaurant as it stands out from its mediocre neighbours – Old Town Coffee House, Starbucks and Mr. Teh Tarik.
As I stepped foot into “King Pot”, a lavish styled interior welcomed me. Ornate décor decked with hand-blown glass chandeliers and leathered chairs were in tow.
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| Chic interior |
I sat and observed the patrons around us – not too bad for a weekday crowd, granting the rain and how untimely it would be for patrons traveling by public transport.
We were served almost instantaneously with the Chef’s recommendations – 2 pots of boiling hot soups (Lobster Mala Bisque and Bak Kut Teh), a seafood platter festooned with scallops, lobster, clams, sea cucumbers, prawns, salmon and some white fish alongside a decent spread of finely-sliced beef, lamb and pork.
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| Seafood Platter (comes complete with Lobster peripherals) |
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| Close-up view |
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| Finely sliced premium meats (Lamb - furthest, Beef, Pork) |
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| How can you resist? |
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| Custom made "King Pot" hot pot |
The “King Pot” is evidently a fusion steamboat restaurant prided with twists of Asian/ Western handcrafted meats and broths which are so unique that I got quite startled to order.
Besides Lobster Mala Bisque and Bak Kut Teh broths, a few other unconventional varieties include Mushroom truffle and cheese broths. Queer, huh! Having said this, the Chef himself is endowed with avant-garde fusion creations that are sure to put a knit on your brows!
Anyway, whilst awaiting the soup to come to a perfect boil, we were presented with a dish of delightful Thai foretaste in the form of cold vermicelli, cucumbers, onions and parsley, all diced finely into an out of the world appetizer. I had 4 dishes of this, and was still thirsting for more.
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| Thai inspired salad appetizer (9.5 / 10) |
15 minutes into our prised dinner came along a hot pot of cheese fondue, watered into a concoction almost like cheese soup. This comes together with a bread bowl of bread sticks – am not sure what spread was in the bread stick but it was stock and there was nothing special about the bread sticks.
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| Unconventional Cheese "Fondue" |
In no time, we had 3 hot pots of soup between us.
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| Bak Kut Teh, Lobster Mala Bisque, Cheese Fondue |
My choice pick would be the Lobster Mala Bisque ($10 - $12 a pot, I can’t quite remember). This soup base is almost similar to a more “gao”, or “concentrated” version of a bowl of prawn noodles’ broth with a tinge of spice.
The Bak Kut Teh, to me, scored a 7/10 mainly because I’m a big fan of spice and the soup was mild. The saving grace to the soup was the large slab of melt-in-your-mouth umami spare rib – the softest I can ever find, owing to 8 hours of simmering.
Cheese fondue, however, was an acquired tasting option as compared to the other 2. I’m not the most adventurous diner when it comes to cheese but was stoked when I found myself digging in to the boiling pot of cheese soup. Well the trick is, the longer it boils over the hot pot, the thicker the concoction becomes.
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| Artisan bread sticks |
Generally, we were told that white meats go better with the Cheese fondue but, heck, I dumped the red ones in and they came out tasting just as good.
If you ask me, I would definitely head back for a few more rounds of quality steamboat and the next few tries hereafter will have to include King Pot’s handcrafted Wagyu beef balls, other kinds of premium meats and loads of vegetables!
Do check them out on festive occasions too – Christmas being around the corner!
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| A surprising non-steamboat feast on the Xmas Menu! |
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