Food review: Cuisine Master Hot Pot – Celine Chiam | Singapore Lifestyle, Beauty and Travel Blogger

[Invited tasting by HGW]

The best thing one could ever ask for on a cold and rainy day is to enjoy a pot of hot sizzling steamboat. And when I speak about steamboat, it’s often associated with a free and easy style where diners throw in all kinds of ingredients into the hotpot. 

But do you know that hotpot can be a very delicate dining procedure, involving a systematic way of preparing and cooking? 

The Cuisine Master Hot Pot has certainly brought the hotpot/steam boat concept up to a great new level. The restaurant’s predecessors are opened in China, helmed by Master Chef Zhong Li Wen. CuisineMaster would like to bring over the luscious concept of hot pot into Singapore, with course set menus instead of ala carte and buffet styles. 

The impression of the outlet gives a nightlife vibe, but the second floor is where all the sizzling hot pot actions take place. 

While many diners are wondering when the steamboat pot will be served, the service staff easily surprised all of us by simply activating the automated hot pot (which they called ‘ding’ 鼎）to reveal it. 

To start off and prep the stomach, we were given a small platter of fruits that refreshed our tastebuds. Do you know that it is usually advised to consume the fruits before your meal, instead of the other way round? 

Diners that night were also given a delightful treat of Shao Xing Wine (绍兴花雕酒）poured into an wine cup (jue) that mimics the cup used back then in the dynasties era. 

Another revitalizing sides platter includes Black Fungus, Green Peas with Preserved Olive Leaves and De-skined Cherry Tomatoes. Not exactly my favourite but I like how the tomatoes are dipped in orange juice to give a tangy sensation before we start off with the main course. 

Qi You Zhi (something like sambal chili) and Seafood Sauce.

A friendly service staff will be stationed at the side and help you with all the cooking. He or she will also be happy to explain to you the steps and procedure in all the set menu courses, ranging from SGD78++ to 198++ per pax. If you would prefer enjoying the hotpot yourself, you can kindly request the staff to excuse himself. 

At Cuisine Master Hot Pot, the two commonly used soup broth are the Golden Soup and the Mushroom Soup. 

The Mushroom Soup (菌，fungus) was first served before all other ingredients are cooked in it. The broth is specially prepared with several premium fungus and herbs to give a nourishing indulgence. The soup is clear, palatable and most importantly, nutritious. 

Satiate your palate with the premium platter of sea cucumber, fish maw, scallop and dried baby abalone. I’m guessing you would have by now understand that such premium ingredients are best left for the staff to handle because we do not know which ingredients to cook first and the time required. 

The seafood platter was cooked in the Golden Soup (Jin 金）, the broth that was simmered for a good 10 hours, reaching a delectable creamy texture which taste extremely nourishing. 

The photo is self-explantory. The succulent and luscious baby abalone and sea cucumber, along with the springy fish maw were impressively savory.  

I was really dazzled by the presentation of the next dish – Chef’s special prepared Shrimps and Pork Balls. It’s hard to choose between the Shrimps and Pork balls as both were chewy and juicy, leaving me craving for more. 

Mixed vegetables with Chinese Yam platter

The next highlight of the course meal was the Prawn with turbot combination. Their presentation never fails to delight the diners.

Prawn with turbot combination

And of course, what makes a steamboat if there’s no vegetables or mushrooms involved? 

After the Prawn with turbot combination, we were served fresh Beef slices and Kurobuta Pork. I personally thought the Kurobuta Pork was a little tough but it was still bitable. The beef slices one the other hand was a chewy pleasure to the tastebuds.

By now, I was very much anticipating the presentation of the next dish rather than anticipating the food itself. Without disappointing, the special homemade noodles from Cuisine Master was yet another aesthetically pleasing piece of art… oh I mean plate of food.  

From top: Egg white (White), Spinach (Green), Carrot (Yellow) and Purple Cabbage (Purple).

I won’t be lying when I say that the handmade noodles was delicious, especially when I specifically requested for another bowl despite my carbo diet. It’s true! For some reason, the noodles tasted especially delectable (and very bouncy) in the bowl of Golden Soup. Perhaps the soup has became more flavourful after having all the ingredients cooking in it. 

To fight off the post food slump. we enjoyed the White Fungus with Longan and Red Dates that came just at the right time.  

The cold dessert certainly refreshed our tastebuds from savoring the nourishing soup and premium ingredients. The whole dining experience at Cuisine Master was definitely luxurious with its high-end ingredients and meticulous service from the staff. I strongly believe in the valuation the menu course brings, justifying the higher than average price that is worth every of your penny. 

Cuisine Master Hot Pot 

(食神锅奉行)

68 Boat Quay, Singapore 049856
Tel: 6438 9979

Celine