For steamboat-idiots like me, the only place I could think of when it comes to having a good hot pot buffet, is Bugis (well, besides the recent Suki-Ya). Hence, it was an eye-opener, or rather, finding another hidden treasure, when girlfriend's mum, Amy suggested that we have an early re-union dinner at Le Le Pot 乐乐锅.
Located just a bus stop away, or a short walk from the bustling Tiong Bahru Plaza, Le Le Pot is an ideal choice for people looking for an affordable, yet homely and fuss-free steamboat buffet. The restaurant, opened by a part-time Mediacorp artiste, provides a wide variety of steamboat dishes, as well as home-made ones such as fried wanton, steamed dumplings and cheese fries. The deep fried buns (man tou) were a winner for all of us, as we found ourselves ordering plates and plates of that petite goodness. Other favourites include sotong balls and thin-cut beef, dipped into their various dipping sauce.
Diners can also opt to order salmon sashimi, prime beef and other exclusive "star dishes" on top of the included ones, for an additional fee, oh, desserts and drinks too. Well, of course, the best things in life are never free.
The thing I liked most about Le Le Pot is that unlike the usual buffet style restaurants, they do not display their dishes out-front, instead you order what you want on a piece of menu, and the service staff serves the dishes fresh from the kitchen. So you would not have to worry about pesky flies sticking their mouths on your meat or whatever, in fact, there was not a single fly in sight when I was there. That's how clean it was.
Overall, service was good, with the artiste himself helping out as well. It was weekend rush-hour at that time, but I could say that the service staff handled it well.
All in all, the buffet costs $21.80 nett (weekend), exclusive of desserts, drinks and any other additional priced items. Decent for my palate, while girlfriend thought that the Bugis's outlets are better as there were more varieties of seafood.
Le Le Pot
Tel: 6222 9442
Opening Hours
Lunch (11am – 3pm)
Dinner (5pm – 11pm)
Blk 58 Seng Poh Road
#01-23