One of my fav casual restos, with unusual dishes rarely found in Singapore; most are not good-looking (if not downright ugly) but so yummy. The classics (eg. salivating chicken, rice in fish broth, pregnant woman fried rice, deep fried pork belly strips, cold jellyfish, etc) are delish. Service is not very proactive, but you come here for the food lah! Fortunately, the foot odour from the reflexology place across the hallway doesn't interfere with the aromatic smell of the yummy dishes. The food at Xi Yan is as good as the food in Xi'an.

The restaurant was relatively quite for Monday night with about a couple tables occupied. Service was fast. Pork Patty with Salted Fish and Water Chestnut 鹹魚马蹄煎肉餅 ($6++/ petite) The patties looked simple and a tab dry but it was savoury and crunchy inside. Salivating Spicy Chicken 囍宴金牌口水雞 ($6.50++/ petite) It looked quite spicy with the layer of chilli oil on top. There was cold silky smooth potato noodles buried underneath the pile of chicken slices and century egg wedges. While it was spicy, it was refreshing cold at the same time. Deep-fried Shrimp Paste Fish Fillet with Pomelo Water Chestnut Salad 香茅蝦醬炸鱼柳配柚子沙拉 ($9++/ petite) It looked different from the picture. An odd combination which worked refreshing well. It was a party in the mouth with savoury shrimp paste, juicy tart pomelo and sweet dressing. Fried Lo Shi Fan with Xi Yan XO Sauce 客家XO醬干炒老鼠粉 ($12.80++) Simply looking with wok taste and crunchy feel. Thought that it would be spicy with XO sauce but turned out that it was not.

My aunt suggested this place for lunch. So I read, Xi Yan was first started by Jacky Wu, a designer turned celebrity chef in Hong Kong in year 2000. Sorry, I may perhaps be living in a cave for the past decade, I do not know who he is. I only know who Jackie Chan is. I am all for trying new things during my trip in Singapore. Sure, I said. We arrived around 11.10am and it was dark inside. A staff told us the restaurant opened at 11.30am. Great! We could slowly take our time and decide what to order when we get in. There was a menu next to the entrance. The kids were excited. I already had an idea as to what to order as I have spotted something I would like to try. We then sat down on the chairs available outside the restaurant. Right before 11.30am, the restaurant opened and one male staff came and led us in. The staff showed us a table next to the window, nice! The kids already knew what they wanted, my aunt was undecided. She asked if I like to order a couple of dishes to share, I said sure. I always try to accommodate others if it doesn't hurt. So I let her decide what to order. Eventually she went with two dishes featured in the monthly special, stir fried rib eye with pickled green mango and pea sprouts (dou miao) with mei cai (a kind of pickled vegetables). I asked the girls how they like their food. I told them briefly how I usually rate a dish. To make things simpler for them, I said A is something that is very good, A+ is extremely good, so good that they would order the same the next time they visit or something that would make them return just for the dish. B is alright, C is near or basically Failed. So the girls said.. Rice in Superior Fish Soup was a B. Sake Dongpo Pork with Mushrooms was rated an A. Then my take on the other two dishes, Stir fried Rib eye w/pickled green mango - A (the beef tasted fresh and soft) Pea sprouts w/ mei cai - A+ (pea sprouts were extremely fresh & dish was tasty) Service is definitely an A+ . If this review is based on service alone, I will definitely give this place a 5 stars. The staffs were friendly and one bespectacled female staff who spoke Cantonese to us, was knowledgeable about all the dishes in the menu. She was the one who recommended us the dishes featured in the monthly specials. We were rather puzzled by how to proceed to make payment for the meals when we were done and ready to leave. We were given a slip with the items we ordered, so we thought we may have to pay at a counter somewhere. I started walking with my credit card and the slip of paper, and almost walked out of the restaurant. My aunt spotted a cash register behind a pillar, tucked in an awkward corner. We asked the staff if we could pay there, she said yes. Some of the dishes here definitely need some fine tuning to be very good or outstanding. Service was what that helps to give this place a solid 4 stars from me. This place definitely has potential and room for improvement. I may pop by one day to have what I originally planned to order. We shall see.