Wednesday mid-week dinner with BB — fish steamboat. Chinese fish-based hot pot for the mid-week comfort meal.

We ordered:

Fish steamboat (hot pot)

Fish steamboat (鱼锅 / yu guo) is the Chinese hot pot variant focused on fish + seafood as the primary protein. Different from the standard mixed steamboat (which includes beef + pork + chicken + seafood) or the spicy mala hot pot (which leans the Sichuan-style heat), the fish steamboat runs the cleaner seafood-focused format.

The fish steamboat format:

Clear or lightly-flavoured broth as the base (fish stock, chicken stock, or herbal broth)
Whole fish slices or fish balls as the primary protein
Additional seafood: prawns, squid, scallops, sometimes mussels or clams
Vegetables: napa cabbage, kang kong, tang oh (chrysanthemum greens), mushrooms
Tofu and beancurd skin for the proper umami extension
Carbs: noodles (usually mee sua, kway teow, or yam noodles) added at the end

The proper fish steamboat preparation:

Broth heated in the central pot
Diners cook the raw fish + seafood + vegetables at the table
The progressive cooking allows the broth to develop deeper flavour
Carbs added at the end to absorb the final concentrated broth

The fish-focused approach has multiple advantages over mixed steamboat:

Lighter eating — less heavy than meat-heavy steamboat
Cleaner flavour profile — the broth stays bright without the heavy meat fat
Easier digestion — fish + vegetables + clear broth is the proper lighter dining
Health-positioning — perceived as the healthier hot pot variant
Aroma without grease — fish steamboat doesn’t have the heavy meat-grease atmosphere

Common Singapore fish steamboat operators:

Various coffee shop steamboat operators (the casual heartland format)
Spring Court (River Valley — long-established Chinese restaurant with steamboat option)
Hot pot specialty restaurants with fish steamboat menus
Mall food court hot pot stalls

The Wednesday mid-week fish steamboat format is the proper comfort dining choice. Different from the destination dining or the casual quick eating, the steamboat dinner provides:

Substantial sharing meal — the cooking + eating ritual stretches across 1-2 hours
Customisable spice/flavour — each diner adjusts their dipping sauce + cooking time
Social bonding — the shared cooking pot creates the proper communal eating experience
Variety in one meal — multiple ingredients sampled across the meal
Warm comfort — the hot pot is particularly comforting in air-conditioned restaurants

The dipping sauce ritual is part of the proper steamboat experience. Standard accompaniments: