Go!!

Edit 21 Dec 17: While I highly recommend the branch at City Square Mall, my friends who visited the Orchard Central branch didn’t have a good experience. Firstly, the staff insisted on selling them the Christmas set, saying that set menus are not available for dinner. I know this to be not true, because I visited Shi Li Fang City Square Mall again recently and could totally purchase the non Christmas set menu. Secondly, the staff didn’t allow them to top up $1.60 for free flow drinks, citing that it’s only for people who purchased the Christmas set. Now again I know this to be not true, because free flow drinks from the set menu costs $0.60. Ala carte free flow drinks costs $1.60. So rightfully my friends should have been able to top up $1.60 for free flow drinks. Instead, the staff kept trying to sell them canned drinks. Shi Li Fang if you don’t get your act right you are going to lose a lot of customers.

Original post below:

It took me a lot of courage to walk into this restaurant. The outlook totally looks like it’s meant for kids and that everything within would be a gimmick. Even the staff puts on a Pikachu cap. Gosh, super hard to take this place seriously.

I finally decided to try Shi Li Fang at City Square because I figured that if they could not only survive for that long but also open branches in places like Orchard and Tanjong Pagar, it shouldn’t be that bad right? Also, I googled and found out that they’re a Taiwanese steamboat chain. That explains the cutesy outlook of this place.

They seem to have a perpetual 50% off all ala carte dishes.

They have set meals which I thought made my life so much easier. One thing about having steamboat is that you’ll want to have a basket full of vegetables or a platter of assorted meat so having to pick out your dishes one by one is a no go for me.

You’re allowed to choose two soup bases. I picked the tonic chicken soup as well as the tomato soup. The pot came with a “pocket” where you can cook your meat without losing them into the big pot of soup. Awesome!

Boutique Set Meal for 2, $46.80 + $1.20 for free flow drinks. 

The set meal consist of Japanese Kurobuta, Japanese Wagyu, fresh pork tenderloin, Australian beef and vegetable platter. I was pleasantly surprised that the meat was fresh (I.e., not frozen) and the quality was really good. My only qualm is that the meat was too thinly sliced.

Little Boutique Set Meal for 2, $35.80 + $1.20 for free flow drinks.

The little boutique set meal consist of chicken, pork and seafood. The prawns were really fresh and the scallops were of satisfactory size. The meat however, wasn’t quite to our liking. The chicken is seasoned with some spicy marinate, and the pork slices were not as delicious as those in the Boutique Set Meal.

Vegetable platter with assortment of vegetables and an egg.

拉面! Which they will pull in front of you sometime halfway through your meal (see below).

Don’t expect it to be pulled into fine strands of noodles. It’s more like a long strand of Mee Hoon Kuey.

Shi Li Fang has a pretty decent sauce counter with the usual condiments.

 Free flow of drinks. Shi Li Fang takes this whole cartoon thing very seriously. Even their drinking cups are kiddish. Mine was minions I think.

Overall, I think Shi Li Fang is worth the money. Granted, it’s not as atas or high standards as Hai Di Lao or Beauty in the Pot, but  it serves as a quick fix for your steamboat crave. The price is very reasonable for the quality you get. The staff aren’t really the most friendly ones around like you see in Taiwan, but that’s a small issue.

And oh, every $38 spent at Shi Li Fang gets you one stamp. The stamps can be accumulated and exchanged for stuffed toys. A giant stuffed toy requires about 10 stamps.

180 Kitchener Road, #02-53/54, City Square Mall, S(208539)

+65 6636 7899

Daily 10am to 10pm

Facebook here.

Follow me on Instagram here!