Somewhere in the middle of the clubbing scene in Changkat Bukit Bintang lies Radius International Hotel, a 3-star hotel currently undergoing renovations to add another star to its credentials. Getting to the hotel at anytime during the day (and night, for that matter) is a headache because of its location but Gopal and I braved the rush-hour traffic to make it to the Steamboat Restaurant in time for dinner.
Ms Tang, the group’s Business Development Manager who met us at the lobby, accompanied us to our table, specially reserved as the restaurant was expecting a large crowd that evening. We walked around taking pictures before settling ourselves at our table and speaking to our host, as well as the restaurant’s manager, Mr Parameswaran, who was on leave for Deepavali but came in to ensure we were comfortable and not lacking in any way.
Radius’ Steamboat Restaurant, open for a year now, is located towards the left corner of the hotel as we entered, with steps descending towards the dining area.
Steamboat dining, popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and China, refers to a style of dining where ingredients are cooked in a simmering pot of soup at the table, with typical dishes being seafood, noodles and vegetables, while other buffet spreads include strips of chicken, fish and eggs.
The steamboat buffet offered by this restaurant is a lovely spread, and at RM19.90++ per head, is quite a steal. The buffet includes drinks (orange juice, Chinese tea, water) and mouth-watering desserts.
To cater for patrons who need rice as a staple with every meal, the buffet also offers fried rice, fried noodles and fried chicken.
As soon as we sat down, our waitress served us Chinese tea and orange juice, and set a huge aluminium pot on the stove in front of us. The pot had two compartments, one filled with tomyam soup, the other with chicken soup. We had to wait for the soups to boil before we could put our meat and vegetables of choice into the soup.
The spread was good and we started with some crab, fishballs, sausages, processed crabmeat, prawns and mussels.
While waiting for the ingredients to boil, we spoke to Mr Param and Head Chef Noris, who has been with Radius for about a year, but came in armed with 20 years’ experience. Chef Noris is also responsible for the hotel’s Kopitiam.
“I love my job. We interact with customers sometimes, and that’s where we get our new ideas. Sometimes we experiment with different ingredients in different dishes at the suggestion of a customer and it turns out wonderfully,” he enthuses. “We also try to change our menu every six months so our patrons get something different now and then.”
Mr Param is also very enthusiastic about his job, having been with the hotel for nine years.
“We receive many foreign tourists here, especially people from India and Indonesia, and we try to cater to their tastes,” he says. “For example, some Indonesian patrons who tried our steamboat told us to include pucuk paku as one of the ingredients, and true enough, it went very well with the soup. We also cater for functions, with a menu that is personalised while working within your budget.”
Ms Tang then invited us to try our food, which was already cooked, and she ladled all the ingredients into our plates, while I helped myself to the different sauces—chilli sauce, sweet sauce and belacan. There were also pieces of cut lime for those who prefer a slightly sour tang to their food.
I tried the processed crabmeat first, which was soft and succulent. The chilli dip was spicy in typical Malaysian style, but it went well with the crabmeat, as did the belacan dip. I personally found the sweet sauce lacking as it was too salty and didn’t complement the ingredients.
Gopal tried the crab and absolutely loved it. I wasn’t a big fan of seafood, but the strips of fish earned my respect—they tasted extremely fresh. The prawns weren’t your typical udang galah buffet fare; this medium sized invertebrate wasn’t too pleasing to my palate, but I saw Gopal peeling it with gusto!
Unfortunately the sausages were overcooked so we didn’t enjoy them, but the rest of the fare was great. The mussels and clams were fresh, with the fishballs and seafood-balls going well with the soups and dips.The tomyam soup was spicy and flavourful, a definite winner when pitted against the chicken soup, which is more suitable for children or tongues not accustomed to Malaysian spiciness.
Almost towards the end of the meal, Ms Tang suggested we put some yee mee into the soup. I tried protesting, as I was almost too stuffed to eat another morsel, but she insisted, saying it was going to be worth it, as this was her favourite ingredient despite all the seafood around! She only allowed the noodles to boil for about 3–5 minutes, before telling us it was ready, ladling some onto our plates.
One taste of the noodles and I knew she was right. They were cooked to perfection, and went well with the tomyam soup. I even had seconds!After we finished with our steamboat, Ms Tang insisted that we try their desserts as well, of which they have a variety, in-cluding ice cream, puddings, jellies and cakes.
The ice cream would be a hit with adults and children alike, as it was a make-your-own version with Hershey’s chocolate syrup, strawberry sauce and whipped cream, and toppings of nuts and raisins.
Note to parents: Please make sure your children are supervised when helping themselves to the ice cream 
After thoroughly enjoying my own bowl of ice cream, I tried their fruit tarts and cakes, which were decent. All was good, with Gopal having his usual Nescafe tarik while the rest of us chatted away.
That is when I realised that steamboats were quite a healthy option for a meal. Everything was steamed or boiled, there were no carbs apart from the noodles and desserts, and the beverages were healthy and un-carbonated. Just stay away from too much seafood, and you are okay!
The only grouses I had were about the parking, which is perfectly understandable seeing that this is after all Changkat Bukit Bintang, and the ambience of the restaurant. Although it was part of a hotel, I did not find the dining area very pleasing as it was noisy and closeted. The layout or flow of the patrons were okay, with the steamboat buffet items in the middle and the condiments and desserts on the side, but I personally didn’t find very attractive. But I must say the food made up for it thought, and my dinner was thoroughly enjoyable.
The Steamboat Restaurant fits 120 people at any given time and accepts reservations for private functions, as long as notified beforehand. Opening hours are 6–10pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Story By : Kohilam Kalimuthu
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