Shi Li Fang (食立方), Tiong Bahru Plaza

I'm generally not so big on hot pots. Not that I don't like them but the weather is usually hot enough as it is and I prefer if possible to eat in comfort rather than induced perspiration. There has only been a single experience when I've had these and never broke sweat and it is till this day a little surreal. I was curious enough about Shi Li Fang (#02-112 Tiong Bahru Plaza, 302 Tiong Bahru Road, tel : +65 6870 8898) a Taiwanese hot pot chain after having seen various of their outlets numerous times though.

One of the fun things about these hot pot places are the condiments available which one can concoct their own sauces/dips. Each time is a unique flavour even though the ingredients may not vary much. There's always something that you could decide to add on a whim, forget or even get wrong the proportions. Look at what I made for myself this time round.

Tried the Australian beef. Not so good. There was barely any beefy flavour so I'll skip these the next time or get the wagyu.

Pork was pretty decent. Because of the nature of its light flavour, works well as a platform for the sauces.

There's some prawn paste thingy with ebiko I believe. This was surprisingly good. The paste had quite a lot of prawn in it.

Luncheon meat was the unhealthy but usually welcomed option.

These were rolls of fried tofu skin which one could dip in the broth to soak up. The lighter tasting broths are usually better because the flavour of these tofu skins still get through.

The pictures on the menu showed scallops with corals. The actual serving didn't have them. Were frozen. But after we cooked them, they were delicious. Sweet even. Pleasantly surprised.

A couple more of tofu items. The ones on the left I believe are the frozen tofu (冻豆腐) and the ones on the right which were called mock chicken were actually 百页. The frozen tofu wasn't as good as those I've had before. These were a little thin and it ended up tasting a bit like tau pok.

O-b-l-i-g-a-t-o-r-y. But those nai bai were nice and even the Chinese spinach were surprisingly good after being cooked in the chicken collagen broth.

There was lamb so we had gotta get some. These thin sliced ones were good with its natural flavour from the meat. The better (or best) option to get compared to the next.

This lamb was marinated. Salted. Tenderised but fortunately not so much that it had become an unidentifiable protein matter. Didn't have much flavour of lamb though. Anything that didn't taste good on their own makes a good vehicle for the DIY sauces. Will skip these in the future.