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)

Zhou Porridge Restaurant, The Scott Garden

The deal: RM15 for RM30 cash voucher for food and drinks at Zhou Porridge Restaurant.

What we got:

Congee steamboat set for 2 (RM39.80)

The steamboat set comprised of prawn, broccoli, an egg, crab meat, crab sticks, fried fish fillets, Taiwan cocktail sausages, fish maw, fish balls, golden needle mushrooms, minced pork and fried beancurd skin (the last one served separately and not pictured here).

For our porridge base, we chose the prawn-flavoured one.

We let the porridge boil for a bit and then threw all the ingredients in, resulting in a concoction that looked like this:

We thought the porridge base and the ingredients went pretty well together. Despite the menu stating that it was a set for two, the portion was more than sufficient for two, and would feed three average eaters, or maybe even four small eaters. Being bigger-than-average eaters (only in terms of appetite and not size, we hope!), we could wipe the pot clean, although we were pretty stuffed at the end of it.

Besides the above, we also ordered deep fried loh bak (RM6.90). This turned out to be a disappointment. Servings were small, not particularly tasty and not worth the money. 

We also got two desserts (longan and red dates with lotus seeds in syrup and honey aloe vera with aiyu jelly, RM6 each) but they were nothing to shout about.

Tax: Service tax at 5%.

How much we paid: RM30