Makan: Farmland Porridge Steamboat

Porridge Steamboat (SS18, Subang Jaya)

Steam boat has enjoyed a rave revival over the past 10 years especially since the idea of buffet & Korean BBQ burst into the scene. Since then, I’ve enjoyed lots of memorable outings with the steaming pot, stashed with lots of stuff.

Now, porridge steamboat has been around for some time, I’ve heard of it & read about it … but never really got up to try it since reviews were mixed … my family are skeptical on new food & unenthusiastic take from my friends.

So, when AL thought of buying me a belated dinner for my 28th, the idea for this seemed brilliant. And best of all, this place is just at my backyard … just a few minutes breeze from home … so convenient … at the end of Jalan Jengka … on SS18, if you are coming from Subang Parade, it’s on your right side, almost at the end of the stretch.

Got there at 7pm … AL’s late, but since there was no rush … I just went thru the menu … 1st thing, it’s not a buffet (only the porridge is free flow) … standard set is RM14 per head … with lots of add ups. The standard set has no meat, lots of those fishy bally stuff … vege, eggs & 2 prawns … so with minimal crustaceans, I am sure my buffet maximizing friends like DL, KF & YL may not approve this place since they can get more value for money from the usual steamboat or Korean BBQ digs. And the add-ups are not cheap if we order them bit by bit ... ranging from RM5 to RM20 (for scallops)

AL’s the boss, so we went for the standard set … and as they brought out the porridge, it’s the type I liked … thick as broth … then adding the stuff looked interesting (as I usually had this type of porridge with pork, chicken or fish, but not those what-nots I mentioned earlier). Hmmm …

Curiosity, minor skepticism was duly overturned as I took the 1st sip of the porridge … very sweet from the ingredients (does not taste like MSG, though I am sure they would have put some) … and I liked this very much.

And when I felt like I was semi-full, then came the coup de grace … AL ordered yee-meen to be dunked into the porridge … and I was like … whoaaa!!!!! This really is stretching the borders of my culinary imagination … but you know what? It tasted cool!!! Strange as it sounded, this was another something new I tried … in a space of a few hours.

The place is funny … you come at 7pm … it starts to fill up by 8pm … and by 9pm, came in another huge bunch of people … so I also thought, if they were not Chinese, then fine, but more & more Chinese are eating later (it seems so un-Chinese-y)

Anyway, to finish this story off … the experience was cool … the food was cool, but if you were to look at it from a purely industry point of view, you are paying for the niche taste … but if u think that a steamboat is buffet all-u-can-eat & all-u-can-choose, then this is probably not your cup of tea. It’s a nice experience … something you don’t try everyday, but you don’t get the best mix of stuff as u like from Korean or normal steamboat.

Even so, you can choose to have normal steamboat or porridge steamboat at this place, Farmland Steamboat.

Give it a 3 stars.