Dian Xiao Er always serves delectable food and this visit to the restaurant was no different.

A trip to Dian Xiao Er is not complete without its signature roasted duck dish. This is the Duck Roasted with Ten Wonder Herbs ($25.30 for a medium-sized serving). The meat is soft and tender, the taste of the herbs subtle but still sweet. Even if you're not a herbal food fan, the taste of the herbs does not overpower the original taste of roasted duck. Usually, I do not eat the skin of roasted meats but I simply could not resist the crispy skin of this roasted duck. The skin was crispy and it had just the right amounts of gravy infused in it. What more can I say about the duck? I love it! A must-have when you visit Dian Xiao Er.

Next up, we had the Braised Assorted Mushroom with Broccoli ($13.30). Nice and simple fare with no-frills. Mushrooms were soft, broccoli were fresh. The gravy was not too starchy as well. After that, came the soup of the day which was Lotus Soup ($5.80). Another simple and nice dish served quickly. They were generous with their chunks of meat and lotus roots and we were thankful for that. Lastly, came the Roasted Lamb Grassland Style ($16.90). This dish had a hint of spiciness to it so people who cannot take even a little chili might want to avoid it. As always, the meat was soft and tender. However, I felt that this dish was a tad too oily for my liking.

Overall, it was another pleasant visit to Dian Xiao Er. The servers were attentive and catered to my needs to their best abilities. Even though we went during dinnertime and there was a queue of about 6-7 people before us, we got our table pretty quickly within 10 minutes. Would definitely visit again!

Some people think that just because something is vegetarian, it is not appetizing. Others think that vegetarian food is reserved only for vegetarians and for specific ritual purposes. Well, visit LingZhi Vegetarian Restaurant just once and it will dispel any such legends and myths. Steering clear of mock meats and sticking to real ‘herbal’, LingZhi offers a wide variety of vegetarian dishes for the health-conscious This is the Deep Fried Lotus Roots with Golden Mushroom Rolls for $16. This appetizer (looks like cheese sticks) is fried to a golden brown and is crispy to a T. The golden mushrooms are flavourful and very chewy. The crispy exterior combined with the soft and fragrant mushroom makes for a wonderful starter to an even amazing lunch. This is the Fried Brown Rice with Mixed Vegetables for $14. You can request for them to add fried shallots to make the fried rice more delicious. This dish is for the health-concious! It is very healthy as it is cooked with brown rice and is not oily. The portion is huge enough for 2 people to share. How do you end of a delightful lunch? With dessert, of course! I tried the Almond Jelly with Avocado Cream for $5. It has one raspberry and one blueberry as "garnishing". The almond is soft and silky, almost as soft as tofu. I'm usually not a big fan of almond jelly but having tasted the one from LingZhi, I am sold! The buttery avocado cream complements the smooth almond jelly perfectly and everyone knows that avocado has skin-replenishing benefits. Yummy and yay!

Service is excellent and our teacups were never empty. The waiters were attentive and catered to our needs. Since it is owned by TungLok Group, expect similar or slightly better service standards as compared to Crystal Jade Restaurants. I would have washed my meal down with some juice shots in test tubes (very adorable and ingenious, 1 for $2.50, 8 for $20, 2 flavours from the menu) but by then I would definitely have needed to loosen my belt. Hurry down during this chinese new year period and you can even get complimentary red packets! LingZhi is conveniently located in Novena Square, which is easily accessible by MRT.

Another time at LingZhi Restaurant! What can I say? Delicious food, excellent service and a convenient location. How can anyone say no to this combination? This is the Braised 'Bai Ling' Mushrooms with Chestnuts ($18). Mushrooms were soft and tender and the chestnuts added an extra 'oomph' to the brown sauce. Fantastic! Next up was the Di Wang Miao ($20). According to the waiter, this vegetable was just flown in from Taiwan and arrived that morning. I could tell that the leaves were young and fresh too from the vibrant green colour of the vegetable. Nice complement with the mushrooms.

LingZhi Restaurant never fails to deliver quality food and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a satisfying and delightful vegan meal.

Dian Xiao Er never fails to disappoint whether you're heading out for lunch or dinner. On this visit, my friends and I ordered the Set Meal for 2pax (can be shared among 3 people). The set meal is offered during weekdays and comes with 2 rice and 2 (refillable) hot chinese tea. The set meal comes with 3 dishes and costs $26.90. Considering the quality of food you get, it is really value-for-money since one dish costs an average of $12. Dian Xiao Er is rather thoughtful as well as it lists the amount of calories that one dish has in its menu. First to arrive was the Baby Kai Lan with salted fish and lime (usual price $9.60, 370kcal for the small portion). The Kai Lan was crunchy and not too overcooked. The lime made the sauce slightly tangy and could serve as a little appetizer. The salted fish was added in small cubes and a mouthful of the kailan with the salted fish can be a little too salty but these cubes can be easily avoided. Next up was the sesame chicken Hunan style (usual price $9.30, 790kcal for the small portion). This dish is slightly spicy and came with onions and preserved onions as garnishing. Unfortunately, I have to say that majority of this dish consists of flour fried to a crisp and the meaty parts were rather insignificant. But on the whole a flavourful dish and the spiciness added a little kick for the dish. The third dish was the Fish Maw Thick Soup with Seafood (usual price $16.90, 340kcal for the small portion). This dish is endorsed by the Health Promotion Board as it is listed with the food pyramid logo in the menu. I liked this dish the best as it not too starchy like fish maw soup served in other restaurants. Combined with white rice, it can transform into another dish, mui fan. There are thin chicken slices in the soup too.

Since we went during lunch, it was generally emptier compared to dinner time. Serves were nice and friendly especially one auntie who was really courteous. I like to come here for the Duck with Angelica Herbs but we did not order it this time round. Would definitely visit again and would recommend this to other diners.

Dian Xiao Er has slowly but surely became one of my favorite restaurants in Singapore. Judging by the number of times that my family and I visit in one month, it is safe to say that we are big fans of their food! I've mentioned before that a trip to Dian Xiao Er is not complete without her signature roasted duck but we gave the duck a miss this time as we already had our share of duck in the earlier part of the day. This time, we opted mostly for seafood dishes.

First up was the Spinach in Superior Broth. I love how the restaurant is always generous with their small fish, dried scallops and wolfberries toppings. The clear soup was tasty and not too salty. Spinach was sweet and fragrant. The toppings added a well-rounded aroma to lift the taste of the vegetable.

Second dish that came was the Old-Styled Steamed Fish Slices. I found this dish a tad salty, but the gravy went really well with white rice. The mushroom seemed soaked in the gravy for a long time as it had a brownish tinge to it. Fish might contain small bones so be careful during consumption.

Lastly, we ordered the Baked Fresh Prawns Jiangnan Style. The prawns looked huge but the meat was rather dismal. Nevertheless, it was juicy enough and upon biting, the taste of the wine comes out and that is the highlight of the Jiangnan dish.

Once again, Dian Xiao Er offers a fuss-free dining experience that never fails to deliver. However, our experience this time was not comparable to the previous few times. When we requested for chopped big chili, one of the servers said that the kitchen does not serve that kind of chili. We felt that this was unacceptable was a reason as it is ridiculous that such an established restaurant does not have one of the basic ingredients for cooking. Upon asking another server, we got our chili. Perhaps the first server was new, but this is not a good reason for her lack of knowledge and can't-be-bothered attitude. This experience was marred by one server but we will still continue to support Dian Xiao Er.