No.

COCA is easily the creme de la creme of steamboat when I was a kid. I have held high regards for it since then as it was one of those places you go on a very special occasion. Disappointed to say this is no longer true.

I tried the buffet dinner (works out to be about $53 after taxes). The soup price is not inclusive, and if you don’t select either chicken or tom yam for one of the half, you have to pay $21 more. If you do select either one however, the price goes down to $6. What logic is this, I don’t know.

The items on the menu are super limited. For the full listing you can check it out here. They have live prawns and flower crabs and fish maw which sounds pretty premium but that’s about it. Meat wise, it was absolutely disappointing and disgusting.

Frozen sliced beef.

The beef was flaky and dry when cooked. It was honestly one of the worst beef slices I have eaten at any steamboat place. Considering how COCA prices itself on the higher end, this quality is a huge red flag for me. I ordered two portions of the above, and couldn’t bring myself to finish them.

I couldn’t have ordered other beef slices because the other one, US thinly sliced striploin, would set me back by another $23. In any case, I was not going to waste my money this way because I was seriously questioning the quality of meat at COCA.

Frozen sliced pork collar.

Like the frozen sliced beef above, the pork collar was unimpressive. Hand to heart, I feel like I was eating the cheapest sliced pork collar I can purchase from the supermarket.

This was the only sliced pork offered in the buffet menu. The other option, Kurobuta pork, was another $28 on top of the buffet price.

The legendary fish glue.

Assortment of shrimp and pork paste.

COCA is well know for their pastes. They have an impressive range of pastes which I must admit are fun and delicious to try.

Live prawns.

To me, this was the best dish in the buffet. The prawns were super fresh. I usually don’t take prawns but because I needed to make my money’s worth (considering how the meat section is an utter failure), I had two portions of this.

Sliced fish.

Shrimp wanton.

The sliced fish and shrimp wanton was not too bad. I am beginning to think that COCA is stronger in their seafood than meat department.

Fried beancurd roll, $6.

What’s a steamboat without the above right? Sad to say this wasn’t included in the $50 buffet.

Garlic rice.

You know something is wrong when you have to order garlic rice at a buffet. I ran out of items to eat but was still pretty hungry. Hah, I think this is the second best dish, just behind the live prawns.

I left the buffet feeling like I wasted my calories, time and money. All in all, I paid $120 for 2 pax. I have only paid this amount for steamboat at Beauty in the Pot, and it’s very much more worth it there.

What I really hated about the buffet besides the disgusting meat quality is how COCA gave me the vibe that they are super money minded. To quote you some examples, I had to pay $0.50 for a glass of cold water. Luncheon meat would set me back another $4.50, quail eggs another $3.50, king oyster mushrooms another $7. Mind you, I was paying $50 per pax for this!

5 Stadium Walk, #02-01, S(397693)

+65 6241 3833

Daily: 1115am to 1030pm

Website here

Follow me on Instagram here