Visited Xi Yan by Celebrity Chef Jacky Yu (余健志) at Shaw Centre recently. Had quite a nice experience with the food when we tried its Katong outlet way back in 2019, so this prompted a revisit albeit to a different outlet since the Katong one is not available.
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| shiny |
First impression was this outlet is smaller than expected. At 6pm on a weekend, we were the first table. Diners started to trickle in around 6.40pm and by 7pm, the place was buzzing.
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| interior |
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| table for 4 |
The menu is familiar and spotted a few items that I had tried before. To order, just tick-off the items in the order chit and pass it to the service staff.
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| Chef Jacky Yu |
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| order chit |
While waiting, I had the lychee drink. Tasted like lychee in Sprite and water.
As we handed in the order chit, the friendly staff informed that the current promo is you can get an appetizer dish (below $12) for $1 with min. spend of $50, or $1 for any dish (below $20) with min. spend of $100. Nice!
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| Lychee drink @$4.80 |
When you eat out with friends, our delegated role will be each one to order one dish of our choice. For mine, I ordered the Jiu Rong Vegetables. Turned out to be a very good choice as the vegetable was fresh and crunchy. with well cooked garlic. Those thin strips of Yunnan ham seemed scarce...
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| Jiu Rong Vegetables with Yunnan Ham and Garlic 云南火腿炒青龙菜 @$12.80 |
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| Fried Lo Shi Fan with Xi Yan XO Sauce @$13.50 |
The fried bee tai mak (lo shi fan) was a crowd favourite. But it was missing the 'wok-hei' that was found in this dish from its Katong outlet.
The radish cake was good too, but because it was also XO sauce, the taste was actually similar to the fried lo shi fan. So, recommend to get either of this dish and probably not both. My group was divided in opinion and it was about half preferred the carrot cake while the other half preferred the lo shi fan.
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| Radish Cake M Size @$1 (promo price, UP. $14.70) |
The speed of the dishes being served was rather amazing. Most of the dishes were served within 10 minutes after the order was placed. Wow!
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| Sake Dongpo Pork @$20 (M size) |
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| delicious pork belly with mei cai (preserved vegetables) |
And, we must have meat. Definitely. The Sake Dongpo Pork Belly with Mei Cai (Preserved Vegetables) was a good choice. Though the pork belly could be softer, it was a balanced taste of savoury, sweet, collageny but not overwhelming (jelak). Best paired with white rice.
The most underwhelming dish was the Fried Sotong with salted egg yolk. The batter was oily and soggy. Tasted of salted egg but overall texture left much to be desired. Squid was tender though.
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| Fried Sotong in Butter and Salted Egg Yolk M Size @$25.50 |
Lastly, we tried the Hakka Duck as I've not tried anything like this before. Surprise surprise! The duck was more sweet than savoury. Homely tasting and I think goes well with beer. The sweet taste was most prominent and the duck was lightly chewy. Best part? The skin.
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| Hakka Marinated Duck with Sweet Sauce @$23.80 (Half) |
At 7pm, we were informed that there is a next booking for our table at 8pm. This was another surprise as the reservation did not indicate that there was a next seating. Nevertheless, we ate fast and furious and by 7.30pm, we were about done.
The staff offered complimentary dessert on our next visit, and we jokingly said why not have it now and he really did bring out the ice-cream for each of us. Hahaa, thanks!
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| Coconut Ice-cream with palm jelly |
Spent about $28 per pax for the meal.
Xi Yan Shaw, Casual Dining
Address: 1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, #03-12/13, S228208
Website: https://www.xiyan.com.sg/casual-dining
Contact: +65 6733 3476
Business Hours:
Daily 11.30 am to 3pm, 5.30 pm to 10 pm
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