TAIYO ST58B EDITOR’S RAVE
$89, from Best Denki, Courts Megastore, Takashimaya D.S. and Tangs Orchard
Hotpot capacity: 3 litres, serves up to six persons
WHAT’S HOT
• I liked that it had separate controls – one for the steamboat, and the other for the grill. It gave me the option of using one without the other. The heat for the hotpot could be adjusted to four settings – warm, low, medium and high, but the grill could only be switched on or off.
• It came to the boil the quickest – taking 15 minutes, about 5 to 10 minutes faster than the others, with all at high heat. But the stock evaporated the fastest too, so I had to refill the pot more often.
• Cleaning was simple. It was easy to detach both the pot and grill from the base of the appliance – I just had to lift them up. The smaller-sized grill also made washing quick and easy.
WHAT’S NOT
• The grill is next to the pot rather than around it, making it hard for everyone to reach it – the person nearest the grill will have to cook for the rest.
• With the smallest grill of the lot, this could only hold seven pieces of chicken, each about 5cm long – not the most useful for BBQ lovers.
VERDICT It heats up quickly and is great for a predominantly steamboat dinner, with grilled food as sides.
SCORE 8/10
CORNELL CBG5 BEST VALUE
$73.90, from Courts Megastore, Harvey Norman and Fairprice Xtra
Hotpot capacity: 2.3 litres, serves up to five persons
WHAT’S HOT
• There are five heat settings, and at the lowest, the soup simmered gently and did not evaporate too quickly, so there was no need for frequent refills.
• The rectangular grill is much bigger than Taiyo’s, holding 12 pieces of chicken at a time.
• Detaching the hotpot was straightforward. And the handles on the side of the grill made it easy to lift it off the base.
WHAT’S NOT
• There are no separate controls for the pot and grill so I could not use each on its own.
• The stock took 25 minutes to boil – the most sluggish of the lot. But it was not slower to cook – the fishballs in our test were ready in the same time as all the pots.
• Like the Taiyo, it was hard for some at the table to reach the grill as it is next to the pot and not around it.
VERDICT A good-sized grill with a hotpot conducive to long dinners.
SCORE 7.5/10
IONA GL-3708
$83, from Tangs Orchard and Courts Megastore
Hotpot capacity: 2.3 litres, serves up to five persons
WHAT’S HOT
• There were separate controls for the pot and grill, and I could adjust the heat from low to medium or high, for both.
• It has the biggest grill capacity, fitting 12 pieces of chicken with space to spare.
• This needed the least stock refills as the soup level descended gradually.
• Unlike the Taiyo and Cornell, the grill is positioned around the pot – so it's easy for everyone to reach both, no matter where they’re seated.
WHAT’S NOT
• It took a while for the water to boil: 19 minutes. Like the Cornell, the hotpot is on the grill pan, so it took longer for the heat to reach it.
• It was easy to remove the hotpot, but the grill pan was neither detachable nor washable, and I was unable to remove charred food bits stuck in the crevices after the meal.
VERDICT The ample grill, communal design and user-friendly heat control put this above the rest, but the fixed pan that could not be washed was a huge minus.
SCORE 7.5/10
This article was originally published in Simply Her February 2015.