SINGAPORE - When Coca Steamboat opened in Singapore in 1987 as a franchise of a successful chain of hotpot restaurants in Bangkok, it was an instant success.

I was a fan, drawn by its unique suki sauce, a chilli sauce that was slightly sweet and infused with aromatic herbs. The restaurant also introduced me to fish glue, a paste that is piped into the boiling stock to form strands of springy fishcake.