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Introduction
Xi Yan offers fundamental modern Chinese cuisine. However, they also bring together diverse Asian culinary cultures, matched and balanced to create dishes that aim to please. Xi Yan also caters to guests' special advance request whenever they require an elaborate menu for their dining pleasure.
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Good For
Kids-Friendly
Opening Hours
Mon - Sun
12:00 - 15:00
17:30 - 22:30
Above information is for reference only. Please check details with the restaurant.
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Xi Yan first opened in Singapore in 2005, bringing along a whole new concept of dining to Singapore with the introduction of private dining whereby tables are extremely limited (think 3-5 tables), reservations are definitely necessary and the chef decides what you eat for that day. It does sound draconian, but the upside is that the menu changes daily, save for a few specialties and dining is exclusive! Nestled amongst the old shop houses along Craig Road, Xi Yan, as mentioned earlier, is by reservations only and you need a minimum of 6 pax to dine there (exceptions can be made if you do not meet the required number of people, but you need to order the pricier menu. Rule of thumb is - You need to spend about $500-$600/table). The entrance to Xi Yan is discreet, without even a hint of its presence (That explains the difficulty we had in trying to locate it). Here's a clue though. It shares the premises with Sui Japanese Restaurant.The interior is cosy and modernly furnished with hues of red and brown. Abstract paintings don the sides and ambient lighting is practised. Simplicity at its finesse .The Greenhouse Tomatoes in Sesame Sauce are grown in a greenhouse aka organic tomatoes and are much bigger than your average tomato. Not to mention that they cost ridiculously more as well. According to the waiter, these organic tomatoes are juicier and taste better. I am inclined to agree. The tomatoes were juicy and full of bite. With the wasabi infused sesame sauce, the tomato was refreshing and truly an appetizer.The Cold Tofu Pork Floss was an interesting dish with the tofu topped with pork floss, salted egg yolk, dried shrimps and deep fried shallot. A nice combination with the saltiness of the dried shrimp complementing the sweetness of the pork floss with the shallot to give it fragrance. However, the tofu which was supposedly imported from Japan, lacked the silky smoothness which good tofu should have.The Shrimp and Crab Paste on Baguette Toast was nothing more than a fanciful presentation and preparation method of our Heh Bi Hiam.A few grievances with the Deep Fried Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk. First of all, the prawns were only averaged sized. For the price we were paying, I had expected huge prawns. Second, the prawns weren't cleaned properly. The innards(or shit if you prefer) could still be seen. The good thing was, the salted egg yolk coating on the prawn shells tasted better with every mouth. It did come across as a little too mild at first though, but the more you suck at the shell, the better the taste.The Stewed Beef Shin with Tangerine Peel was quite good, soft and tender from simmering in the pot for 2 hrs. I could detect a tinge of sweetness as well, probably from the tangerine peel. However, the raw beef taste can be quite overwhelming at times and thats coming from someone who likes steak medium rare.The ingredients in the Sichuan Salivating Chicken are quite interesting actually, with chicken slices, yam noodles, roasted peanuts, chilli, coriander and century egg. I personally found everything normal except for the yam noodles which were surprisingly chewy and full of bite. I've never tried anything like it. Just for the record, this dish did make me salivate, but not from the goodness of the sauce, but from the chilli in it.The Fried Lemongrass Shrimp Paste Grouper was deep fried till 70% cooked and then coated with the lemongrass shrimp paste and then deep fried again. The result A crispy exterior with a soft and moist interior. I laud the skill in the preparation of this dish, but denigrate the quality of the fish. The flesh came across as rather bland, not sweet as I would have expected it to be.The Furong Chicken Soupwas supposedly boiled for 4 hrs before serving. Though relatively long, it still doesn't qualify as double boiled soup and it certainly can't match the other superior soups that I've tried. But still very decent without a doubt.The Tofu Ice Cream on Pandan Glutinous Rice was probably the best dish of the day. The ice cream was quite well done but in no way reminded me of tofu. The base of pandan glutinous rice was not too sticky and just right on the texture, tasting pleasantly of pandan.Overall we felt that the price was grossly expensive given the quality of food and ingredients used. Sure its an exclusive novelty, but novelties can only last so long. Service was excellent though and the cooking process of every dish was explained to us by our waiter in great detail. However, that alone is not enough to entice us to return.
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