DaXi 大喜 (AMK Hub)

As @daxisg specialises in dumplings, both the dumpling dishes were naturally praiseworthy. However the noodles were decent and didn't sufficiently impress us. I'll reserve judgment as there are many non-dumpling dishes which we haven't tried.

We also ordered the 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗽 ($8.80), a dish that I've never seen before. The three pieces of beancurd prawn rolls (aka 𝘧𝘶 𝘱𝘪 𝘫𝘶𝘢𝘯腐皮卷) were filled with fresh, crunchy prawns, although I question the sagacity of placing them in soup as they quickly lost their crispness. I also thought the soup would have a different flavour profile from that which came with the dumplings, but sadly, they were the same.

The 𝗦𝗺𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗣𝗮𝗻-𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 ($11.80, 5 pcs) fared better. The crispy "disc" provided a wonderful textural contrast with the dumplings filled with succulent smoked duck slices.

A dumpling specialty restaurant, DaXi offers dumplings cooked three different ways: in chicken broth, boiled and pan fried. The dumpling fillings include original pork, pork & chives, and smoked duck. After ordering, we eagerly anticipated our food, but the waiting time was rather long (more than 30 minutes) even though there were only about 20 pax in the restaurant.

The 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗗𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵 ($10.80, 5 pcs) ticked all the boxes with their meaty pork fillings and the invigorating, flavourful soup. If I had one complaint, the dumpling skins were too thick.

It was not far-fetched to complain about 5 pieces of pork dumplings to cost S$10.80, especially if the fillings were mostly made with pork and mushroom. Despite the dumplings were made really plump, I was disappointed with the tough dumpling skin.

That said, I must compliment them for making really crispy fried batter that was not just aesthetically pleasing, but also good for dipping into their black vinegar and the shrimp chilli paste.

An appetiser that was delicious and savoury for mushroom lovers for sure, this Salt & Pepper Oyster Mushroom (S$6.80) was very crispy but did not feel oily at all.

Unlike the photograph in the menu, this dish seemed to have left the oyster mushrooms much in its original form. I was not sure if the intention was to keep the mushrooms moist, but having them in strips might have been more apt if I would want to take my time to savour this dish.