Xi Yan - Yummy meal

Yesterday was Kim's birthday, so about a week back I had already made a lunch reservation at Xi Yan restaurant, a small nice restaurant tucked away at Craig Road. Patrons will find it hard to find this restaurant as you can see from the picture, there is no signboard. Unless one knows the exact address of the restaurant, I doubt anyone be able to pinpoint the exact location of Xi Yan. Xi Yan is a franchise from Hong Kong with 3 outlets there with the other one here in Singapore.

First dish on the lunch menu is Greenhouse Tomatoes in Sesame Sauce. What I can say about this dish is that the tomato is huge. And the sauce is laced with wasabi as well giving it a tingling taste of sourness and spiceness thats just nice to open the taste buds for more good things to come.

Next to come is Fried Radish Patty in XO & Cheese Sauce. Eating it reminds me of taking a bite in Hong Kong. So they say the chef made this with putting Shaoxing wine inside the radish and fry it to crisp perfection. So the radish just melts in your mouth.

Deep Fried Soft Shelled Crabs in Plum Sauce. Crispy, and nice, its perfect and its just a perfect showcase how all soft shell crabs should taste like.


The very reason why I chose Xi Yan is because of this signature dish above. Sichuan Salivating Chicken With Century Eggs. So before you start of this dish, the waitress will ask you whether you want to settle for mild, medium or hot. So we settled for medium since we dont know what to expect when they serve it hot to us. Anyway, the dish comes with additional chili in the event one finds the spice level is not up to one's liking. The dish is cold and it reminds Kim of Korean Cold Noodle. After tasting it, I must say this dish deserves 2 thumbs up. The century egg and nuts mixtures just blends nicely. Only a smart chef would have think of this dish.

By the time Zhengiang Spareribs hit the table, I must say the barrage of food is taking its toll on me. However how can I give this spare ribs a miss when the chef has marinate it with brown sugar and XO sauce. One of the best spare ribs I have tasted thus far.

Shrimp Paste Grouper With Pomelo Salad is fusion at its best. Who would have thought of the idea of having pamelo and water chesnut mixed with deep fried grouper? Never would I have imagined having fruits mixed with fried fish. But after having taste that, I am a believer that as long as the ingredients is in the hands of a fine chef, anything is possible.

After having the fish, I definately dont have room anymore for any meaty food. So I was glad The Abalone Ginseng Chicken Soup came along. The soup taste is mild and boiled for 6 hours, its a perfect closure before the desserts come in.




The cake above was specially made for Kim as I had earlier specified that it was her birthday. So its kinda unique that instead of blowing candles, Kim has to blow the brightly lid fire doused with alcohol circling the cake.

Tofu Ice Cream on Pandan Rice With Coconut Cream is another example of how a fusion dessert should be. A bite into the creamy ice cream, I can feel the taste of the tofu. The sticky rice (pulut) is really a brilliant add on. So this last dish is really the icing on the cake.

After a hearty meal, I paid $180 and felt so poor that I just had my Thai instant noodle that night....hahahahaha. Seriously.........but on a hindsight, its worth the money. The food's good and the ambience is great.