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Steamboat is a Chinese style hot-pot commonly eaten before and during Chinese New Year, which falls on 28 Jan this year. (Photo: 123RF)

If there’s one thing we’re looking forward to this Chinese New Year, it’s the steamboat gatherings that are about to take place.

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But this year, instead of jostling with the crowds at the markets and fighting for a table at restaurants, why not opt for a home delivery service that brings your steamboat dinner to your doorstep?

1. It’s Incredibly Convenient

Steamboat home delivery services is a trend that’s, well, gaining steam this year. At least five businesses, including restaurants Hai Di Lao and The Soup Spoon, are offering home delivery of soup stock and prepared ingredients such as fresh vegetables, meat and seafood. Most companies also provide a pot and stove for a fee.

This also means a hassle-free reunion dinner with much less prep and clean-up to do!

2. There’s Less Food Wastage

Convenience is not the only perk. Being able to order a specific portion means customers do not have to worry about buying too much food, said a spokesman for Reunion Steamboat.

“For example, scallops are usually sold in 1kg packs, so you will have to buy a whole pack whether you can finish it or not.”

Housewife Rena Tan, 47, ordered a $168 set for 10 people from The Steamboat Specialist late December. It included two packs of scallops and two boxes of prawns. She plans to order another set for the second day of Chinese New Year.

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Housewife Rena Tan checking her steamboat order with delivery man Huang Yun Hai. (Photo: Ng Sor Luan)

“I found the prices quite reasonable,” said Madam Tan, who would otherwise spend about three days to prepare food for her family’s reunion steamboat meal.

“Usually I can’t estimate how much food is needed and I end up with a lot of wastage, so this is good for me,” she says.

3. It Can Be Healthier

“We want to offer customers clean eating options even during festivities,” said The Soup Spoon founder Anna Lim, adding that its soup stocks do not contain artificial flavouring or preservatives.

See the next page for five places to get steamboat delivery and the prices they charge:

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(Photo: Pixabay)

1. Hai Di Lao

The minimum order amount for delivery is $98, equivalent to a tw-person set meal. They also have sets for up to 8 pax, or you can order a la carte.

Order here or call 6509 4111 (313 Somerset)/6509 4222 (IMM)

Note: They are not making deliveries on the eve or the first day of Chinese New Year, as its outlets will be closed.

2. The Soup Spoon

They are offering two steamboat sets, priced at $98 and $188. Both feed about 12 people each and includes collagen and kimchi soup stocks, homemade dishes and condiments.

Launches 10 Jan, website TBC.

3. Mr Steamboat

Packages start at $208 for six pax,  and there’s an early bird special of no CNY surcharge ($30) if you order by the 20th of January.

Order here.

4. The Steamboat Specialist

Packages start at $88 for five pax including two choices of soup (chicken or tom yam), yong tau foo, scallops, prawns and more.

Order here or call 9824 9948.

5. Reunion Steamboat

Packages start at $288 for five to six pax, and you can also rent equipment including the stove, pot, sieves, ladle and order extra gas canisters.

Order here or call 6243 7243.

Items can also be ordered a la carte. A 300 g packet of pork belly at The Steamboat Specialist costs $6.50, while a 250 g packet of US Kurobuta pork belly costs $20 at Reunion Steamboat.

At FairPrice’s online store, 500 g of frozen pork belly sells for $5.10. The Steamboat Specialist sells 200 g of crab sticks at $4, while FairPrice sells a 250 g packet of its house brand crab sticks at $1.85.

Well, what are you waiting for?

READ MORE:
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Text: Melissa Lin, The Straits Times / Additional Reporting: Elizabeth Liew