Xi Yan 囍宴 (Maxwell)

When we checked with the restaurant manager on what he would recommend for desserts, he pointed us to the Lychee Ice Cream (S$6.00) which was decorated with osmanthus flowers, a soaked lychee and a mix of lychee caviar and tadpole jellies.

In the sweetness of the ice cream, I thought this was a light sweet ending to our delicious meal.

Xi Yan at Maxwell mainly offered contemporary Chinese dishes with some culinary hacks to give the meals a more elevated feel. And so as the place was on the quiet side, this might be a perfect place for some upscaled Zi Char in a more private setting!

I was not sure if the Twist and Shout Ribs sounded like a extremely torturous massage or chiropractor session, but the ribs here (S$78.00 per 500g) was quite a fine dish actually.

Upon serving the dish, the staff would assist with dislodging the rib bones to show that these roasted Iberico pork prime ribs had been slow-cooked to perfection. Next, we were told to put a bit of everything — meat, grilled pineapples, sauce and cucumber wasabi caviar — on to our soup spoons. This mouthful combination was quite fascinating, with the savoury flavours from the pork balancing so well with the sweet-acid from the pineapple and then cleansing the palates with the bursting caviar. Just one or two spoonfuls of these and I was already satisfied at the meat section.

The medium portion of this dish, at S$33.00, was actually the perfect appetiser for sharing among 6 persons, as recommended by the restaurant manager.

While eggplants (or brinjal for that matter) might not be the most pleasant vegetable to many, the restaurant had prepared the dish well such that when they were fried and caramelised, you practically could not catch the acquired texture easily. In fact, at a point in time, one of my fellow diners who hated eggplants was caught nibbling on the caramelised sticks while (she thought) we were not looking. That was probably how well-received this dish was.