A popular late-night hangout in Singapore with outlets opened till as late as 2am, many of us – including me – have grown up patronising the Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, sometimes dining there for supper when the midnight hunger cravings strike.

An amazing selection of free-flow meat and seafood

Now, 13 years after arriving on our sunny island, Xin Wang has introduced its first Hot Pot Buffet concept that is advertised as boasting an amazing selection of free-flow meat and seafood including Smoked Duck, Shabu Shabu Beef, Konjac, Home-Made Teochew Pork Ball and many more items, as well as an exclusive Premium Set served to buffet guests too.

Set up with the purpose of bringing people together over a hearty pot, the firstChill Gen outlet in Singapore is at one of Xin Wang’s most prominent spaces, at Level 2, Cineleisure Orchard.

Features a Sauce Bar

In addition, the Hot Pot Buffet also features a sauce bar with more than 15 types of condiments – so that you can create your own unique dip.

Savoury items available too

Moreover, for those who want other savoury food to eat with their hot pot, Chill Gen also offers a myriad of cooked dishes such as Cheesy Mayo Nacho Fries with Bacon Bits, Chicken Curry with Crispy Pancakes or the Pork Chop & Egg Papaya Soup Bee Hoon.

And those who have a sweet tooth can also opt for desserts such as the Mango Pomelo Cream to end off their meal.

Invited for a tasting session

Together with a companion, I had recently been invited to Chill Gen at Cineleisure Orchard, for a food tasting session of their new Unlimited Hot Pot Buffet.

Stepping inside the brightly-lit cafe, my initial impression had been that it is a cosy enough place that would be great for gatherings amongst friends or family members. The ambience and atmosphere feels quite similar to the the Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe too.

Food Items

When I had been first presented with the menu, I admit that I did not really know what to order, because the list of foods available had certainly looked quite exhaustive. But I eventually settled on the following items:

• Marinated Chicken Thigh Meat
• Home-Made Teochew Pork Ball
• Pork Ball with Minced Meat
• Sausage
• Luncheon Meat
• Prawn
• Dory Fish
• Abalone Slices
• Bean Curd Prawn Roll
• Seafood Cheese Tofu
• Enoki Mushroom
• Spinach
• Dried Bean Curd Roll
• Bean Curd Skin

Half-Shell Scallop, Ebiko Fish Paste and the Iberico Pork Belly Slices

In addition, we were also presented with a set of the three premium items – the Half-Shell Scallop, Ebiko Fish Paste and the Iberico Pork Belly Slices.

From the Sauce Bar, we picked the Light Soya Sauce and a Chicken Rice Chilli Sauce. This was because we had felt that instead of playing around with the sauces and creating our own condiments, having standard sauces would help to bring out the flavours of the Hot Pot items better.  But you may prefer mixing up your own unique sauces though.

And after tasting the food items, I thought that the quality provided, had been quite good. The seafood, including the Dory Fish and the Prawn definitely tasted quite fresh. The fish meat was also quite moist and tender as well.

Prawn.

The Half-Shell Scallop also tasted fresh and moist and I had rather enjoyed it too. Fortunately we had left it inside the hotpot for exactly the right amount of time, so it was just nice and not overcooked too.

Unfortunately the Ebiko Fish Paste had got a bit mushy inside the hotpot after they had been cooked. 

Dory Fish

Taste-wise, this Ebiko Fish Paste had also strongly reminded me of the fish paste that is commonly used in the Yong Tou Foo items sold in most hawker centres across Singapore. 

In my opinion, it has a very mild fish flavour when eaten by itself, but this does not overpower the taste buds though. As well, it also gave the broth a slight fish taste, but at the same time without tasting overwhelmingly fishy at the same time.

Marinated Chicken Thigh Meat

And as for the meat items, the Marinated Chicken Thigh Meat had been quite yummy. It was soft and tender. And it had a slight hint of wine flavour which I had thought gave it an interesting note. Together with the Light Soya Sauce, I felt that this had really brought out the natural flavours from the chicken.

I had thought that the Iberico Pork Belly Slices were quite delicious too. The pork meat was quite soft and moist and being quite thin, these had been very easy to cook inside the hotpot too. So we did not have to leave it to cook for very long.

Pork Ball With Minced Meat, Home-Made Teochew Meat Ball, Sausage.

As well, I also enjoyed the Pork Ball With Minced Meat. The Minced Meat had a distinctive shallot oil taste and I had thought that this helped to bring out the natural pork flavour a little bit more.

However, do be careful when eating the Pork Ball with Minced Meat, though, because there appears to be some juice inside that can be quite hot and may scald the tongue, if you are not careful. This almost happened to my dining companion.

However, the Home Made Teochew Pork Ball had been a bit mushy after being cooked inside the hotpot. It was also a little disappointing in terms of the taste, because the Home Made Teochew Pork Ball did not really have much flavours to it on its own, unlike most of the other items. 

So in order to bring out the flavours, you need to either cook this item inside a rich and tasty broth such as the Tomato one, or else dip it inside a sauce like the Chicken Rice Chill Sauce.

Bean Curd Skin, Bean Curd Roll.

The Bean Curd Skin and the Bean Curd Roll were quite nice though. The Bean Curd Skin got a little bit mushy inside the hotpot too. But the fermented bean flavour was quite nice though – as it had provided a good change in flavours after eating all of the rich meat and the seafood items. It also helped to complement the meal nicely.

Soup Broths

As for the soup bases, there are four types of broth available and these are as follows: 

• Signature Papaya Soup Stock – A comforting chicken broth infused with sweet Papayas that is nutritious and packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
• Home-Made Fragrant Spicy Soup Stock – Prepared with a secret blend of spices specially curated by the chef
• Korean Army Style Soup Stock – A modern twist to the Hong Kong Cha Chaan Teng and is among one of the most popular savoury dishes in Korea
• Tomato Soup Stock – A hearty combination of savoury yet tangy, this soup broth packs a punch for those who are looking for a zest to their meal.

My companion and I opted for the Signature Papaya broth and the Tomato one because we thought that these two soup broths would complement each other.

For the soup bases, I would say that I personally preferred the flavour of the Signature Papaya Soup Stock over the Tomato one.

Signature Papaya broth

At the beginning, when I tried this broth, I could detect a slight hint of papaya but towards the end of the meal, all of the flavours coming from the items inside had toned down the papaya flavour significantly. 

Instead, I was able to taste a combination of meat, seafood and tofu items all at once in the broth; as such, no single flavour came out too strongly. 

 This broth was relatively yummy and I rather enjoyed drinking it. I thought it was an interesting twist to the standard chicken broth that is traditionally seen as part of steamboat meals.

Tomato Soup Stock.

As for the Tomato Soup base, the tangy flavour from the tomato was immediately apparent when I took a mouthful of this. I also noted that the items that were cooked in the Tomato Soup Stock had a distinctive tangy flavour as compared to the plainer flavours of those cooked in the Signature Papaya Soup broth.

For some of the plainer items like the Home Made Teochew Pork Ball and the Dory Fish, the Tomato Broth had brought out the flavours and I felt that it had improved the overall taste experience of the items, as a result.

But other foods that already had their own rich flavours, like the Pork Ball With Minced Meat, this seemed to compete with the flavours coming from the items.

Buffet Prices

Priced at S$18.80++ per person all-day on Sundays to Thursdays as well as Fridays to Saturdays before 5pm, or at $24.80++ on Fridays and Saturdays after 5pm, I think that the quality of the food, together with the selection that diners are given, means that this hot pot buffet is value for your money. 

With a total time of 90 minutes to eat-all-you-can, this makes for quite a substantial meal, too.

But do note that any food wastage is chargeable at S$10 per 100g for the buffet though – so do remember to only order what you can eat.

If I am craving for a hotpot meal with my family members or friends, Chill Gen by Xin Wang is a place that I know that I would consider coming back to.