Good Combo Review: $20++ Hotpot And BBQ Buffet With Free-Flow XLB And Seafood

Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet has cheap buffet in Chinatown

We aren’t short of cheap buffets in Singapore spanning different cuisines, from Kiwami: Ramen & Gyoza Bar‘s ramen buffet to unlimited Lok Lok at A.K Zai Lok Lok. Here’s another one to add to your list for a value-for-money meal: Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet, located right next to Chinatown MRT Station Exit A.

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The restaurant offers an affordable hotpot and BBQ buffet with an impressive lineup of ingredients to choose from. The cheapest option is the Superb buffet, which costs just $19.99++ on weekdays and $22.99++ on weekends. With over 70 all-you-can-eat items to choose from, this 90-minute feast sounded like quite a steal, so we visited them to try it for ourselves.

Food at Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet

Before diving in, it’s worth mentioning that there are two other premium buffet options: the Signature and Supreme, respectively priced at $27.99++ and $42.99++ on weekdays, and $29.99++ and $45.99++ on weekends. However, we got the Superb buffet as we wanted the cheapest and most popular option.

Regardless of which buffet option you go for, you can choose from over 10 soup bases, all of which come with a small top-up fee. To get a fair judgement of the restaurant, we ordered the Double Broth ($4++), where we picked the signature Tomato Broth and Pork Bone Broth. FYI, these two broths are also available a la carte for $3++ each.

The Tomato Broth was comforting, with a mellow, sweet-tangy freshness. That said, we wished the broth were bolder in flavour as it was slightly too mild.

Between the two soups, the Pork Bone Broth was our favourite. It had a moreish depth of porky umami, with a subtle sweetness from the carrots and corn cobs.

As with most hotpot restaurants, there’s a DIY sauce station here. The selection isn’t as extensive as that of other hotpot restaurants, but it stocks all the staples: think peanut sauce, chilli oil, vinegar, diced kinchay, minced garlic and more.

Better yet, the sauce bar is free-flow and available at no additional cost.

For meats, you can choose between pork, beef, chicken, and offal, all available in a variety of cuts and marinades. We went with the Beef Brisket, Marinated Chicken Thigh, and BBQ Pork Collar.

The Beef Brisket was well-marbled, and each slice was delicately soft and tender.

The brisket tasted fresh, with a clean, beefy flavour that wasn’t gamey.

The Marinated Chicken Thigh was coated in a delicious sweet-savoury BBQ marinade. Each piece had a good fat-to-meat ratio, making it juicy and succulent.

Pro tip: We recommend grilling it for a caramelised char and crisp edge.

On the other hand, the BBQ Pork Collar fell short of expectations. While the meat was fresh, it lacked seasoning and had little to no BBQ flavour.

Its texture was the saving grace, as the meat was tender and had a nice, silky layer of fat.

The restaurant offers free-flow seafood as well! We opted for the Prawn and Dory Fish.

The prawns were large and plump. They were fresh with a sweet aftertaste that paired best with the light Tomato Broth.

We enjoyed the dory fish, starring thick slices of firm yet flaky meat that melted away barely on the second chew. The fish slices held their shape and texture, even after being left in the hot broth for a while.

Apart from proteins, they offer a variety of hotpot ingredients at their refrigerated section, including vegetables, noodles, tofu and more.

For the veggies, we had Potato Slices, Shiitake Mushrooms, Baby Cabbage, and Spinach. We had no complaints about these veggies, which were all fresh.

A hotpot meal wouldn’t be complete without noodles, so we got Glass Noodles to add. We also got a serving of Beancurd Skin, a must-have at any hotpot restaurant.

We enjoyed how soft the Glass Noodles were. Even after being submerged in the broth, they kept a satisfying QQ bite and weren’t soggy.

On the flipside, the Beancurd Skin was a tad too firm for our liking. We tried cooking them in the soup for longer to soften them, but it didn’t help much.

The restaurant has a hot food station, with classic Chinese dishes such as Stir-Fried Spam and Vegetables and Short Ribs in Bean Sauce.

The Stir-Fried Spam and Vegetables consisted of spam, potato slices, onions, and a colourful mix of red and green chilli peppers. The vegetables were cooked well, but sadly, the spam was greasy and a bit too mushy.

The Short Ribs in Bean Sauce comprised beef short ribs, potatoes, and herbs in a savoury bean sauce. Despite being doused in sauce, the meat was tough and dry, perhaps a result of being out in the open for a while.

Overall, we’d recommend skipping these dishes to make space for the unlimited meat and seafood.

We also tried their free-flow Xiao Long Bao. Unlike the other hot dishes, the XLB are prepared upon order and come steaming hot.

We were surprised by the quality of the XLB, which was packed with a rich, savoury soup the moment we bit into it. The pork filling didn’t disappoint either; it was juicy and tasty, with a mild herby note. Our only gripe was that the dumpling wrapper was a tad too thick for our liking.

For dessert, we had the Red Bean Soup, featuring soft azuki beans in sugared water. We didn’t like how it was watered down, but the azuki beans did lend a nice earthy note to the otherwise bland dessert.

Ambience at Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet

The restaurant offers a spacious and comfortable setting, accommodating around 70 diners at a time, with tables seating groups of four. Despite the ample seating, the space didn’t feel cramped, as the tables are spread out across two floors. We also appreciated the cushioned sofa seats, with several tables offering dividers for added privacy.

Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet is located next to Chinatown MRT Station. It’s also within walking distance of Maxwell MRT Station and Telok Ayer MRT Station.

Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet – Eatbook review

Overall, Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet offers a pretty good hotpot experience, considering the wallet-friendly prices. Coupled with their convenient location and late-night dining hours, they’re a solid pick for those craving hotpot on a budget. That said, if you’re after broths and meats of higher quality, this may not be the place for you.

If you’re in the area, check out our ArtiStick feature for affordable lok lok and hotpot buffet in Chinatown. Otherwise, read our Chinatown Complex Food Centre guide for more great eats!

Address: 75 Pagoda Street, Singapore 059234
Opening hours: Daily 11:30am to 1:30am
Tel: 6980 7666
Website
Good Combo Hotpot & BBQ Buffet is not a halal-certified eatery.

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Photos taken by Paula Formantes.
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg.