10 Cheapest & Best Buffets in Singapore under $30

The 10 Best Cheapest Singapore Buffets

The ten cheapest and best buffets (relative to their price) in Singapore. No, we are not going to list the steamboats you see at Chinatown and Bugis who’s utensils come with remnants of the last person’s meal. “Cheap” does not have to mean bad if you know where to go.

In this list, we show you not only the most affordable, but also the most delicious buffets in Singapore you can find under $30. Singaporeans love food but what we love even more is unlimited food!

Today, even the bigger chains like Crystal Jade and Jumbo have started to diversify their restaurants by offering steamboat buffet options. In the first part of our buffet series, we show you 10 buffets of various cuisines under $30 that we have scouted out.

Also check out our youtube video!

Remember, it is always a good idea to read more reviews of these places by going to their TSL pages. This is so you can be certain the place is worth visiting after reading several different perspectives.

10 Great Value Singapore Buffets under $30

1. Chicken Up (Korean Fried Chicken)

Address: 48 Tanjong Pagar Rd, 088469
Price: $25 weekdays / $30 weekends
Reservation: 6327 1203

This place may actually be considered expensive, if not for the fact that they offer a chicken buffet on weekdays ($25)! Not to mention it can be upgraded to include a beer buffet for just $7 more ($32).

When I first came here I was unaware of their chicken buffet and I felt they were overpriced. $18 for four pieces of chicken may seem expensive so just add a few more dollars to get the buffet and your meal becomes so much more worthwhile. Not to mention they are easily in the top 3 Korean friend chicken stores in Singapore. Their chicken comes in plenty of flavours, I recommend the Swicy (a Sweet-Spicy hybrid) and Crispy versions.

These pieces are full chicken pieces (drumstick+wing) unlike 4 fingers / bonchon that counts a single drumlet as one piece. i.e in that picture above, that counts as one piece. I bet the insane 4 finger crowd would be here instead if they knew any better.

Other than the chicken, you won’t have much else to eat, apart from the unlimited fries and a Korean style chicken stew to go along with your buffet. So you must really like Korean style fried chicken to enjoy yourself here.

Make reservations (number above) as this place is small and usually packed with a working type crowd that spills over from Chinatown / Raffles Place offices. A turn off though is how they don’t serve free water, which is quite surprising since its culture for Korean restaurants to serve free water / side dishes.

2. Crystal Jade Kitchen (Chinese Steamboat / Xiao Long Bao)

Address: #02-43 Great World City Singapore 237994, Also at Holland Village.
Price: $20.80+ (Weekdays) $23.80 (Weekends)
Reservation: 6738 2911 (Great World City), 6336 2833 (Plazza Singapura)

UNLIMITED XIAO LONG BAOS!!!

Yes, Crystal Jade Kitchen has their own special steamboat restaurant too. The one at Holland V comes with endless streams of Xiao Long Baos with their steamboat and its priced very reasonably under $30! The one we’ve been to was at Great World City had steamboat only but it was good enough.

Dining here is an attractive option if your partners are concerned about hygiene. It’s somewhere with decent ambience which you can even bring your relatives without being given disapproving looks. The sauces and dishes here are served with immaculate cleanliness, which is a refreshing change from the Bugis steamboats. And its only a few dollars more expensive!

Other highlights were the attentive service, sauce selection + their special home made sauce, unlimited soft drinks which they serve in the 1.5 litre bottle (quite weird), 4 appetisers you can choose while waiting for your food to cook and the free dish that comes depending on how many people you have. For 2-3 people the complimentary dish are 4 medium prawns.

However, if you come to this steamboat expecting to eat lots of meat, you will be disappointed. They only have a few variants of chicken, pork and beef. No fish, no seafood. The best meat is their chicken fillets. The other meats are really average and the rest of the menu is 90% vegetables.

The soup is also average. Their ma la is not even spicy (skip that!) and the chicken soup way too plain. So although we really like the fresh, cheap and hygienic take here, the lack of meat and overall quality stops it from being one of our favorites. Still, we come here quite a bit since its just next to the TSL office!

It is the cheapest steamboat with good ambience in Singapore though and not many people know about it hence its spot on this list.

3. Chiso Zanmai (Japanese)

Address: #02-17 6 Eu Tong Sen Street Singapore 059817
Price: $14.90+
Reservation: 6221 3177

Chiso Zanmai makes this list on the virtue of being so amazingly affordable for a Japanese buffet. Yes it is our lowest rated in this list but 68% is still very decent. For some perspective, the more expensive Sakae Sushi has a 58% rating from our members. You should come during LUNCH time for the ultimate bargain as dinner prices aren’t that cheap. I did not enjoy their buffet but many members did. And their lunch is priced at $14.90 making it an absolute steal.

Jeremy says: “The (dinner) price per person is more or less what you’d pay in a typical mid-range jap restaurant here in SG (approx $30). The fare is more or less what you’d find in such establishments too (e.g. salmon sashimi, the usual sushi selection, tempura etc). The only difference being the unlimited free flow of everything, making this place very worth the money.

The salmon sashimi was fresh and generously cut. Noteworthy were the chawan mushi and agadeshi tofu. The prawn tempura was wonderful: freshly fried on the outside, succulent on the inside. The dessert selection was limited, but the soft serve ice cream is really all you’re going to need. I can’t wait to go back!”

Check out more Chiso Zanmai Reviews from our members.

4. The House of Steamboat (Chinese Steamboat)

Address: 7 Tan Quee Lan Street Singapore 188096
Price: $17.90
Reservation: 6336 2875

The House of Steamboat is located opposite Bugis Junction at the mid-point of Tan Quee Lan street. This is one of my all time favourite steamboat buffet places when I feel like filling up my stomach without spending more than 20 bucks. It’s the quintessential Bugis-type steamboat on steroids.

A few things make this place stand out. First, their soup here is a level better then the other Bugis steamboats. They have a special soup chef that prepares the stock and no MSG is used. I also find the hygiene levels slightly higher here. Next, I love how they offer BBQ as well. If you pay a few dollars more you get to have both the steamboat and BBQ tray at your table! How cool is that?

We normally just get the steamboat though, but this mix seems popular with other patrons. The vegetables are self service and the meats have to be ordered from the menu. Don’t worry, its unlimited!

Finally, there is free flow of fried food – super spicy chicken, man tou, Shi Sha mo etc. So forget the antagonizing wait while your raw food cooks and tuck in right away! Chloe loves Shi Sha Mo so she especially loves coming here. And the price? Just $17.90 NET. Amazing!

After dinner you can head over to the next lane “Liang Seah street” for some great dessert. I recommend Ah Chew’s Mango Sago.

Read more The House of Steamboat Reviews from our members.

5. 2D1N Soju Bang (Korean BBQ)

Address: 46 Tanjong Pagar Road Singapore 088467
Price: $25++
Reservation: Not accepted. Come early or you’re gonna have to queue.

2D1N is an extremely popular Korean BBQ restaurant along Tanjong Pagar road. The actual name for this place is Ssikkek Korea BBQ and they are located at the top of the 2D1N restaurant. But because its a hard to pronounce its Korean name, most Singaporeans just remember this place as 2D1N. Remember it is not the same and access is through the side staircase next to 2D1N.

Variety is not as wide but it still has 12 MEATS and all of the most popular dishes from Pork Belly to marinated Bulgogi. You will not be able to find any other quality Korean BBQ at such a great prices in Singapore and that is why its one of my favourite buffet places. They have also opened a branch in Novena and one more on the edge of Chinatown.

Meeafl: “It is perpetually crowded and there is always a queue outside as no reservation is allowed for the buffet dinner. The place is cramped and hot and stuff and noisy and smokey, BUT, the food makes it all worth it.

There may not be a large variety of meat available, but the quality of meat and the tastiness of the food available is amazing. It makes leaving the restaurant with a layer of oil on your face extremely worth it. They even provide febreeze at the stairs for you to get rid of the bbq smell on your shirt.”

Take a look at more 2D1N Soju Bang Reviews from our members.

6. Coca Restaurant (Thai Steamboat)

Address: #04-23, Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Road, Singapore 238872
Price: Lunch: $26++ Dinner: $42++
Reservation: 6734 7887

Coca pioneered Thai-style Suki steamboat dining and they have been around for a long time now with 3 branches in Singapore – at Takashimaya, International Building and even Resorts World Sentosa. They lunch menu is priced at just $26 and you get to try their special COCA sauce.

Their dinner menu is a lot pricer because you can help yourself to seafood like prawns, oysters and flower crabs making it a great deal for its price.

Missy W: “Since my childhood days, my family always celebrated a happy occasion with a visit to Coca. During our dating days, Hubbs and I also liked to frequent Coca for a happy meal and still visit frequently. It’s menu has not changed much over the years. My favorites are the pork ball, their green spinach wanton noodles and their home made chili sauce.

Their meat balls (Beef, chicken, pork and fish) are all hand made by their in-house kitchen staff. It’s yummy and full of flavor, unlike commercial pork balls which are springy, sweet and taste of food additives. The green spinach noodle is their spin on normal yellow wanton noodles. It might look unappetizing but after you have cooked it in the sweet broth, it is amazing!

Oh, don’t get me started on the chili sauce! It had coriander leaves, sesame seeds and their special rendition of chili sauce. I always ask for several helpings as it is just so good! Spicy yet sweet.”

7. JPOT (Chinese)

Address: #01-53 VivoCity (Lobby F) 1 HarbourFront Walk Singapore 098585
Price: Lunch Sets: 14.80 / 17.80 ++ | Dinner Sets: 58++ for two

JPOT is a uniquely Singaporean concept from the well known JUMBO Group of Restaurants. And this is actually a-la-carte and not buffet. Opps, but since I’ve mentioned them on top I thought I’ll include them here too.

There are seven different hotpot soup bases from mild to spicy, and they come in individual pots, an innovative take and they are marketed as a more “hygienic” way to enjoy hotpot. I personally prefer the less “hygienic” way though as its easier to bond with your dining companions over food when you share your meal from the same pot.

duskofdoubt says: “I’m not a big fan of steamboats, I’ll admit that, but my dining experience at JPot was so wonderful that it made me doubt my initial dislike for steamboat. Firstly, I have never ever been to any other restaurant that allows customers to order their food through an iPad. I was pretty amazed when the staff pulled out an iPad and started teaching my family the basics of ordering from the restaurant, and it definitely impressed me a lot.

JPot is definitely a good place to go for steamboat enthusiasts. Although on the slightly pricier side, the steamboat there is extremely fulfilling, and I can assure you that you won’t regret dining there.”

Read more Jpot Buffet Reviews from our members.

8. Kiseki (Japanese)

Address: #08-01/02/03 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, Singapore 238896
Lunch: 19.80++ (Weekday) Dinner: $31.80++ (Weekend)
Reservation: 6736 1216

Kiseki has over 29 categories and 200 buffet items from grills to Hot Pots to Japanese Western. Despite its relatively bad location (who goes to Orchard Central, let alone the 8th floor?) and ability to accommodate 280 diners, every single time we’ve tried going here it had an insane 1 hour queue. So go early or forget about it.

desirabbit says “KISEKI is definitely my favourite buffet restaurant. From first entering the shop, you can already feel a sense of freshness and the space is just humongous so it feels like you are walking down a street of Japanese food stalls.

I especially love their prawn and crab selection although these may change from time to time. Sometimes they have snow crabs with huge pincers while other times they only have flower crab. They also have the largest mussels I have ever seen and these are always fresh and really tickle your taste buds.

Their dessert counter is another section to look forward to. They have a chocolate dip which you can use freely and lovely cheesecakes and sponge cakes…. I always enjoy my dining experience at Kiseki and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good buffet.”

Read more Kiseki Buffet Reviews from our members.

9. Buffet Town (International /Seafood)

Address: #B1-44E, Raffles City 252 North Bridge Road
Prices: Lunch $26.80++ (Weekday) Dinner: $36.80++ (Weekday)
Lunch $31.80++ (Weekend) Dinner: $41.80++ (Weekend)
Reservation: 6837 3793

Like Kiseki, Thai Express and Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, Buffet Town is another franchise under the Minor Food Group in Singapore. They are located at the basement in Raffles City, have a seating capacity of 450 and they even have a mini playground for kids in their restaurant!

There are over 300 buffet items in 29 item categories, including chilled prawns, mussels, freshly shucked oysters and fresh sashimi.

alvinjuano says: “There is no denying the huge range of food offered here. There’s something from each culture, from a bowl of laksa to a delicious plate of sashimi. I have been to the place three times and have tried almost everything they offered and the only thing that makes me return is the plate of sashimi they have. The salmon is cut neatly to satisfyingly thick pieces and will melt in your mouth as you chew those heavenly pieces.

And that’s it.

I wasn’t amazed at the taste of the other food they offered and neither of them leave a significant impression. But if you want a taste of almost every culture, Buffet Town would be the most affordable place to go.”

10. Mushroom Pot (Mushroom! / Chinese)

Address:2 Stadium Walk, Singapore 397691
OG Orchard Point, Level 4, 160 Orchard Road Singapore 238842
Lunch:$21.80++ (Weekday) Dinner: $29.80++ (Weekend)
Reservation: 6733 9910 (Orchard), 6342 3320 (Stadium)

Now this is a really interesting steamboat restaurant and the only one of its kind in Singapore. Their mushroom soup contains over 20 types of wild mushrooms, seafood and meats!

wangkh says: “If you translate the Chinese name, it meant “longevity pot”. What a good place to celebrate birthdays especially for your parents or parent-in-laws. I had been to their indoor stadium branch many times.

It is not especially crowded so you do not need to make reservation even if you need a big table. Mushroom pot is basically steamboat but a more healthy variant of it. You can choose two soup bases and besides the steamboat dishes, they also served cooked dishes. The favourite for my children is the mushroom fries. This is a healthy variant of French Fries but equally tasty.

Remember to order two plates because most likely it would not be enough to go around. My personal favourite is their drunken chicken, tender chicken cooked with wine and served cold. Also order two plates because the serving is not very big.”