Looking to reward yourself with a sumptuous feast for getting through the year (so far) but don’t feel like braving the crowds at popular all-you-can-eat restaurants?
This is your sign to venture to the east for Imperial Taste, a steamboat buffet that I’d consider a real hidden gem — it’s a 12-minute bus ride from Tanah Merah MRT station, situated along the stretch of eateries at Jalan Pari Burong near Simpang Bedok.
Sure, it may not be the most convenient to get to, but you’ll get to enjoy an incredibly value-for-money steamboat buffet priced from just S$19.90, inclusive of meats, seafood, desserts, snacks, and more.
The lunch buffet is priced at an affordable S$19.90++ from Monday to Thursday, and S$26.90++ from Friday to Sunday (including eve of PH and PH)
If you’d rather drop by at dinnertime, the buffet is priced at S$28.90++ from Monday to Thursday, and S$37.90++ from Friday to Sunday (including eve of PH and PH). Regardless of whether you drop by for lunch and dinner, all diners will have a dine-in time of 1.5 hours.
The restaurant’s signature soup bases are the Creamy Pork Broth and Milky Bak Kut Teh. We opted for the latter, along with the Butter Mala, which was rich and fiery — the equivalent of zhong la (moderately spicy) — though my mala-loving dining partner wanted it to be a tad more numbing.
Despite being someone that typically goes for tomato soup, I couldn’t stop slurping up the bak kut teh broth. Think of it as a comforting, less intense version of regular bak kut teh, with both peppery and herbal notes.
You’ll get to choose from a servicable selection of meats like beef shabu, pork belly, and pork collar. However, in a surprising twist, it was the seafood that truly stole the show.
I enjoyed the thick, chunky slices of dory fish, which remained tender even after being simmered in the broth for a good 10 minutes. We are also impressed by the homemade koi fish-shaped shrimp paste, which was fresh and chewy.
Before that, you’ll get to help yourself to an array of ingredients like enoki mushrooms, cabbage, cheese tofu, Fuzhou fish balls, quail eggs, fried beancurd sheets, sweet potato vermicelli, and more.
Pretty much everything is self-service, save for the meats and seafood, which will be sent to your table.
Take your pick from the display before hitting up the DIY sauce station, where you’ll find the usual suspects like fresh shallots, beef sauce, chopped garlic, light soya sauce, peanut sesame paste, garlic chilli, and of course, rice.
If you’ve got the hots for all things spicy, go for unique options like the cincalok chilli and Teochew dipping sauce; they even make a wicked belachan that those who enjoy (or even grew up with) Peranakan cuisine will take a liking to.
Fun fact: the owners behind Imperial Taste also run a Peranakan restaurant, Nyonya Taste by Brew & Bar, located just a few units away!
Hotpot not enough for you? If you visit for the dinner buffet from Friday to Sunday, you’ll even get to enjoy free-flow lok lok.
Simply choose from the ingredients marked with a pink sticker and let the staff know you’d like them to be prepared lok lok-style. Sure enough, we thoroughly enjoyed these deep-fried skewers that were served drizzled with an addictive sweet sauce reminiscent of kecap manis.
So, yes, if you’re an Eastie who’s way too lazy to travel to JB for your lok lok fix, you know where to go.
After your savoury steamboat feast, end your meal on an indulgent note with old-school popsicles and a rotating selection of ice cream in flavours like Double Chocolate, Thai Milk Tea, Bubblegum, and Lemon Sorbet.
There are also retro snacks to munch on — but we can’t promise whether you’ll have any room left after all that food!
All things considered, if you want to get the most bang for your buck without compromising on quality, Imperial Taste is definitely worth trekking down to the (far) east for.
Reservations can be made by contacting +65 9048 9164.
Imperial Taste Steamboat Buffet
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📍 16 Jln Pari Burong, Singapore 488682
🕐 11.30am–3pm, 5pm–10pm (Wed to Mon), Closed on Tue
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Photos by Christabel Tan
I'm always feelin' either boozy or boujee ✨