Gullible Travels

Dian Xiao Er

POSTED ON Sunday, August 23, 2015 AT 2:03 PM \ leave a comment (0)

Dian Xiao Er is a local restaurant chain themed around recreating a traditional Chinese tea-house/inn from medieval times. Xiao Er refers to the waiters that serve the travelling guests and the setting in the restaurants recapture a typical scene from dynasty period dramas.

we wouldn't go so far as to say this is a thematic restaurant concept, but the idea of offering affordable, delicious comfort food would be akin to what the swordsmen would expect back in the day. an iconic feature of the restaurants would be its dim and rustic-looking interiors, fully decked with traditional furniture, lanterns and brickwall finishes. their signature roast duck is also often displayed on their shop-fronts, so it's quite hard to miss them.

known for its repertoire of classic Chinese dishes, we went for their household specialties including this Xiao Er Tofu, which was well fried to give it a crispy exterior, but soft and flavourful interior. another dish to watch out for is the Spicy & sour fish, which consists of fresh steamed fish slices accompanied by a rich sauce of many spices.

as with many other Chinese dishes, the food at Dian Xiao Er can be said to all go well with white-rice. we certainly didn't miss out on their signature Angelica Duck, a cut of their roast duck prepared in herbs. the meat was very tender (which is important to us for roasted duck) and has a unique taste unlike most of the typical roasted meat we have here. this dish just stands out amongst its peers, just like how Hong Kong's Yung Kee stands out from other roast geese restaurants there.

In all, Dian Xiao Er offers a very wholesome, cosy dining experience. it is popular with the local palette and very normal to find long queues forming outside one of their 10 outlets islandwide. Reservations are not available for Fridays, weekends and public holidays, thus making these days the most crowded. We picked the outlet at the basement of Junction 8 in Bishan, which is the newest and thus far, "least discovered" outlet to date. We got fairly good service there and this makes it a fine destination for a weekend family dinner or gathering with friends.

Dian Xiao Er
9 Bishan Place
#B1-07, Junction 8
Singapore 579837

Opening Hours
Mondays to Fridays: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 5.30 pm to 10 pm
Weekends & Public Holidays: 11.30 am to 10 pm

Dian Xiao Er accompanies you to excel in the journey of life..

Miam Miam

POSTED ON Saturday, August 01, 2015 AT 12:05 AM \ leave a comment (0)

Japanese fusion food is a concept that enjoys a fairly good following here. after the success of the original Hoshino Coffee, the next wave that followed suit was Miam Miam. opening its first outlet at Bugis Junction a couple of years back, there are currently two of this French-Japanese fusion cafe in Singapore today.

we visited the outlet at Westgate recently and were greeted by this very chic and trendy exterior. the food offerings of desserts, pastas, Japanese curry rice and drinks - ranging from matcha lattes to French coffee ensured that anyone young and old would be able to find something for themselves here.

the rice dishes are an interesting blend. this Riz Au Curry that comes in a claypot combines baked rice with Japanese curry, sausages, cheese, egg and vegetables. the pot keeps the rice warm and the curry sinks well into the rice and ingredients giving this dish a very distinct flavour. another rice dish to try is the Riz Noir Black Rice, which is essentially squid ink rice with scrambled egg and sausages. if you thought squid ink pasta was great, this dish would turn out very special.

if you prefer to go for something tried and tested, the pastas here at Miam Miam are popular choices. we personally loved the Carbonara spaghetti for its rich, creamy flavour, generous servings of ham and topped off with a wet poached egg. There is an edgier version of this dish which they coined Miam Miam Spaghetti that includes tomatoes and veggies, to give that added twist. the portions for the pastas are generally hearty and reasonable.

not forgetting the toasts and desserts. this classic French Toast is a Miam Miam specialty where small cubes of toast are topped off with whipped cream, sugar and honey. something for those with a sweet tooth. we also tried their caramelised banana pancake, that comes with vanilla ice-cream, they all bordered on the sweet side. Miam Miam cafe is currently enjoying the kind of reception Hoshino once had, when they were a novelty at Plaza Singapura. so expect to experience some queues and a fair waiting time if you visit either Bugis Junction or Westgate today.

Miam Miam
3 Gateway Drive
#01-21/22 Westgate
Singapore 608532

Opening Hours
11.30 am to 10 pm (daily)

The French Cafe with a Japanese twist..