Hot Pot (Steamboat & Barbecue) above the clouds @ Hotel First World [Genting Highlands]

The lower temperature at the highlands has commonly contributed to an increased popularity of hot pot (generally known as steamboat in this region) restaurants, as in the case of Cameron Highlands.

However, the same could not be said for the fun city above the clouds; Genting Highlands. From my understanding, the first and only full fledged steamboat eatery was operational merely a few years ago.

I am aware of its existence and had wanted to give it a try. In my honest opinion, nothing beats drinking and eating freshly cooked ingredients from a pot of boiling soup to warm the body! 

This hot pot restaurant went a step further by providing an external barbecue rim for BBQ lovers like me! To me, it is a perfect combination for the cool weather! 

For any all-you-can-eat buffet, the variety is of utmost importance. There is absolutely no point in paying over RM 30.00 a person and finding less than twenty types of ingredients for the hot pot. So before i touch on the quality, let's start with the variety. 

Buffet veterans would advise you to stay off the carbohydrates and concentrate on more expensive proteins like meat and seafood! Nonetheless, you have the choice of plain rice and various types of noodles. 

Vegetables are a no-no too although i agree they are an unfortunate necessity to having a healthier body and hopefully reducing hefty medical bills in the future. 

Take more bitter gourds which are antidiabetic; for your information, diabetics affect roughly 11% of the population in Singapore and is one of the top ten causes of deaths in Singapore.

Weirdly, you can choose to have more soup too from a selection of ABC, tom yum, curry fishball and chicken soup! I would have preferred to have them as part of my soup base selection in steamboat instead (on that day, i wasn't given an option and i assumed it was a standardised chicken soup across all customers). 

Wide miscellaneous assortment consisting of bite sized luncheon meat, sausages, fish balls, mushroom balls and other fishcake related products. What frustrated me were the missing labels that could have provided more insight on what they are! 

Ready-to-eat food were available for hungry souls who needed something to munch on in the midst of waiting. Nothing much; just deep fried chicken wings and fried rice (i didn't try any of them).

A number of basic sauces and condiments to dip your food. 

Eight types of free flow drinks (including plain water) to choose from! My favourite has to be the rose syrup drink that was nicely flavoured without being overly sweet. 

Now coming to the meat section! Meat lovers would be disappointed to find only four types of which three were chicken based (again, no label) and one was beef. No pork as the dining establishment served Muslim customers. I would talk about the meat later. 

There were more seafood compartments though with baby squids, cuttlefish, crabs, mussels, fish balls, prawns, fish meat, bamboo clams and other shellfishes. 

My review now. 

The prawns were not fresh and the cuttlefish together with the fishcake related food were rubbery and tasteless. Most importantly, the beef was not seasoned long enough resulting in a flavour that lacked essence. Chicken was marginally better although it was a chore to remove the bones.

There was a respite in the form of a teppanyaki station! You decide the proportion of eggs, greenies, mushrooms, bean sprouts and a staff member would whip up the dish for you!

It was definitely more savoury yet i am afraid it wasn't cream of the crop as well; my main aim was in fact the fried eggs. 

I didn't quite manage to eat across the varieties since Alex practically stopped eating after two bites and i had to finish all the ingredients myself! My tummy got so full; I could not stomach the fruits, the cooked food and the delicious display of creamy cakes. :(

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Speaking in my position as a meat lover, i am going to give this Restoran Hot Pot a miss in the future. To be fair, there was no attempt on my part to take on the veggies (doubt it would make much of a difference anyway)! 

Business operators from Cameron Highlands and Liang Seah area who wish to expand their operations, should seriously consider setting up shop in Genting Highlands! 

Location

Lot F/L 2.39, Floor T2, 

First World Plaza, Genting Highlands

Contact

+603 6436 0690

Price

Adult - RM 29.90

Child - RM 14.90

[Subject to Service Charge and Tax]