Saturday, July 23, 2011

88 Steamboat Buffet Dinner @ Ayer Itam, Penang.

Told by my friend about this online voucher promotion happening on everyday coupon website, was attracted by the price which was Rm 10.80 per person only. So I decided to try it out since its affordable and I am pretty free since my new semester just started. Located in Ayer Hitam, opposite SJKC Sin Kang, you will find a hawker center, named 3288 around there. The place for the steamboat to be held is just exactly beside the 3288 hawker center. The place was a little bit dull and unattractive. It was not that hard to locate it as banners were everywhere giving you directions.

The stove has been set in the tables with a huge gas tank below the table. The tables are rough so try not to knock or hit them with your hands. I am not sure whether it has something to do with the structure itself or it was a windy night, the fire was just too weak and it took us a long time to boil the food. For a whole chunks of meat and fish balls, it took us like 15-20 minutes to boil them ? 

The standard set up for steamboat where you can pick your own favourite sauce. Although there were many kinds of sauce out there (sambal, sweet sauce, mayonnaise, chili sauce, Thai sauce etc), but they were just unappealing so I just picked the usual sauce - chopped chilies with soya sauce.

The fish and seafood were not fresh at all. The meats were disappointing either, it was too obvious as the colour changed to dark and pale. No appetite at all after looking at those meats.The vegetables were okay though. I like that they are including bitter gourds in the vegetables section which normally the other steamboat outlets would not do.

More and more usual and common steamboat ingredients, amongst them, the one i find it most interesting was the scallops. However, you must possess lightning speed in order to grab yourself one.

A crab will be given for every 2 purchases of the voucher. There were 4 of us and we were given 2 crabs. The crabs were just okay but they were too small in size, nothing much left after you cooked it.

I am not a cheapskate or trying to act like an "auntie" since I just paid Rm10 and should not be too picky, but I would really hope that they improve more on the stove as we really used a lot of time to cook our food. Drinks were provided too but they were just sugar syrup, disappointment. Other desserts are available too like pudding, ice cream and some cakes. Did not try them out but from the looks, I think they should be okay. The normal price is Rm18.80 instead of Rm10.80.

Ratings:
Taste: 6.5/10
Price: 6/10
Parking: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Government Tax: No
Service Charge: No

Additional Information:
Address: 4, Lintang Kampung Melayu, 11500 Bandar Baru Ayer Itam, Penang. (beside 3288 hawker center)
Phone Number: 016- 406 6892 (call for reservation after 3pm)
Business Hours : Monday - Sunday (even for public holidays) 5pm - 1am 
88 Steamboat Facebook Page

7 comments:

  1. Interesting food blog~ Keep it up dude~ :)

    With so many choices, RM18.80 would not be expensive too. I hope the taste of the sauces would be nice as they would be the most important condiments for steamboat~ :)

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  2. yes, thx for the compliment criz, erm, i just feel like the choices are limited, with such price, i can opt to hv something which i feel its more worth the money, just my personal opinion tho.

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  3. 88 steamboat bukit tinggi much more better..come and have taste for yourself.unlike what u post in your blog, crabs are free flow,not just by coupon. one more thing that make me more interesting is 88 steamboat here have live prawns!u have to catch them yourself and cook as u pleased..come and try here..i usually ate there 3 times a week..lol

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  4. Hi there, Bukit Tinggi is way too far for me to go la, lol, I am staying in Penang, anyway, thanks for your information =)

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  5. looking for steamboat/bbq buffet and found two of your post, i eat this before not bad. going to try another shop which you review, ding!!!!

    Taste...iest

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  6. Ding is a different class by comparison, try Dinhokee for a similar range, i don like this 88 steamboat, my experience was kinda bad

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