Fatty Cat Steamboat, Dataran Mentari

The deal: All-you-can-eat steamboat buffet at Fatty Cat Steamboat for RM21 (adult)

What we got:

Steamboat is perfect for cold, rainy days--but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it in our current hot and dry weather. Fatty Cat Steamboat's air-conditioned interior provides a comfortable environment for those wishing to indulge in steamy affairs (of the food variety!).

Unfortunately for us, we were given unstrategic seats--right in front of/blocking their storeroom. We had to shift our chairs several times just so they could access the entrance of the room; pretty inconvenient,really.

Famous double boil soup and tom yam

On to the food. We chose to try two soup bases; their famous double boil soup (essentially pork bone broth) and tom yam. While the pork bone soup was good, the tom yam suffered from being too salty and rather lacking in spiciness but it was, weirdly, kind of addictive in its own way.

There were 5 types of sauces provided: belacan, red chilli, green chilli, satay peanut and one that which was rather reminiscent of taucu (fermented black beans).

They started us off with a set, comprising items such as cocktail sausages, seafood tofu, mussels, scallops, bamboo clams, fish noodle, fish fillet, and enoki mushrooms,amongst others. We could add on other items such as pork slices and beef slices with a limit of 2 plates per round (but no restrictions on the  number of rounds). Fatty Cat Steamboat also had fried items like fried squid and crispy pork (pictured above) but they were nothing to shout about.

Menu

We had a chat with (who we think is) the owner, an affable man, who informed us that the outlet had only been open for a month. His concept of having customers place orders with the employees, rather than to have all the buffet items laid out, was so everyone could enjoy their meals without having to get up from their seats to get the items or battle amongst themselves when an ingredient gets refilled. We like this concept too (as well as the conveyor belt format some hotpot outlets offer, though we've had experiences where items run out on the belt and the staff were unhelpful in filling them up again) for its convenience.

The buffet came with an option of ice lollies, which you'd have to walk to a nearby freezer to take, but without drinks. Towards the end of our meal, we observed that some tables had orders of cooked crab. After checking with the staff, we  were told that they offered items such as fried rice, fried noodles and fried crab as well--which we were not aware of as this wasn't stated in the menu. The fried crab was limited to half a crab per person, though there was no limit on the number of (raw) crabs you could order for your steamboat. Alas, we were too stuffed by then give it a try.

Was it good? Although we wouldn't quickly rank it our favourite place for days when cravings for hot, soupy meals hit, I'd say yes, we wouldn't mind visiting again. They've got variety, and we like that it's done buffet style (the price for a la carte steamboats can really add up especially if you've got a good appetite). 

Tax: None

How much we paid: RM42 (RM21 per adult)