Steamed over steamboat

The Missus took me out for dinner tonight at this steamboat place at Ikano. Forgot the name of the restaurant, but it's the one at the basement level, with tables that go almost right into the P1 parking. If you're lucky, you can get a parking spot literally next to your table. Like going to your favourite Mamak, just that it's underground and the air is much more polluted with car exhaust fumes. The food itself was okay, I guess. We ordered the 2-person combo which had a bit of everything, with tomyam soup which was spicy, even for my high pedas threshold.

What I really want to rant about is the whole concept of "steamboat". I mean, when I eat OUT at a RESTAURANT, I expect the food to be COOKED. Instead I'm given a plate of raw fish, chicken and vegetables and am expected to cook it myself. And some places add insult to injury by charging a bomb for this "privilege". I mean, if I'm supposed to boil the food myself, I might as well get the raw stuff at my local Tesco, bring the food home, set up a rice cooker in my living room, fill it with water and pop in a few tomyam cubes, and eat while watching the latest downloaded episode of Family Guy!

I personally think that of all the possible options to open a restaurant, opening a steamboat restaurant would hands down be the most profitable. I mean, you don't need to hire skilled cooks to cook, as there's NO COOKING INVOLVED. You just need to get your supplies in, and chop them up into bite-size pieces, and serve them to your gullible patrons together with a boiling pot of cubestock water.