Xian De Lai Shanghai Cuisine (Bugis)

So long time ago that I have been to this steamboat place for a few times. I found it the steamboat broth was very refreshing and tasty in eating a lot of the ingredients.

Recently just got to know they have opened another branch at NEX.  I shall go there and try it out one of these days.  As I saw from TV, the steamboat cooker is an unique colorful pot.

Went to try their steamboat with my friends, and it was our first time patronizing.

We had chicken and ma la soup, but unfortunately we were very disappointed with the taste. The chicken soup was almost tasteless and ma la soup had a weird aroma. Variety of the food items was still ok but their cooked food were too expensive to order. Atmosphere was average, as the tables were placed very near to one another.

It will be our first and last visit to this restaurant... 

 

Haha.. Met up with my friends for Xian De Lai Steamboat... The Services is generally okay... however, the first waitress that serve us... I want to order more prawns.. because each time..they only come with only 5-6 prawns..for 3 of us... And even if you write "3" as the quantity, they would still serve ONE portion only (again 5-6 prawns I think) So the waitress say " you finish this first"... hmm...

okay... then at last, she bring us some prawns la... more than 5 this time.. but also not much..haha.. Because, normally I go steamboat for prawnsss... I think most of the time, I ate more than 30 prawns ba..haha... so I find it troublesome to keep "ask" for prawnsss again and again...

haha.there is a large variety of steamboat items there...But, Personally, I prefer those steamboat buffet that.. I can just take any amount I want from the tray la... don't really like ala carte steamboat buffet at Xian De Lai, which come in small portion each time...

 haha... And one more thing... is that they do not have free flow drinks... so we order a can of soft drink la...

The Ma La soup ..I don't really like the herbal taste that become too strong after some time... It is not spicy initially..so we ask for some chilli oil/sauce ...add into the steamboat... then it is very spicy!

 haha... Overall..I don't really like the ma la soup... hmm..... My favorite steamboat is Yuki Yaki..because there is free flow drinks, Sashimi( ala carte buffet - just use the clip to order)... steamboat, BBQ, Sushi and fried items etc... haha... And I can take whatever amount of prawns, scallop, BBQ chicken, fish I want la...I love "freedom"... no need to wait for them to serve only a small portion each time(like xian de lai steamboat)..

Haha.. This is my personal view that..Because I am a BIG EATER la.. so I like those EAT ALL U CAN buffet...just take whatever u want from those tray... don't really like Xian De Lai Steamboat ala carte buffet style..haha..And I prefer those with BBQ de la..

Xian de lai  dumpling(meat with prawn), meat ball, and fish is quite good... quite fresh....  I like all these! GOOD! :-) Per Pax is $25... I find it quite expensive la... for the amount I ate (cos always only come a small portion), and the environment... it is with aircon la...the area is quite small... it is clean and tidy la...

 As for the food... some items quite good... services okay la...  but the ma la soup I dun really like it... Overall not really recommended by me( personal view... you might like it.. just go and try la..haha).. nthing fantastic... I wouldnt go back again...haha... Would want to explore " better"  and "cheaper" place for steamboat!)

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Visited this joint on the recommendation of a friend of a friend who is an ardent fan. I must agree with a few of the reviewers here that they should brush up on their attitude and service.

The wait staff and owner seem to be very enthusiastic in welcoming customers into their restaurant. But that's where the enthusiasm ends. After you are seated, they do take their time in taking your orders and bringing out the food.

Ordering is done by ticking on the desired food items on an order sheet which doubled up as a menu, much like a hong kong cafe. Because there were a number of us, we indicated on the order sheet the number of portions required for each food item. However, when the food arrived, there was only one portion of each food item. Also, many of the food items we ticked did not arrive at all. This happened on all three order rounds we had.

When asked why certain food items did not arrive, the wait staff brought out the missing items begrudgingly (and they were out of luncheon meat at 8pm when they are open to 3am).

Plain iced water was provided in the buffet price but do not expect the glasses to be topped up. We had to make trips to the counter to pour iced water for ourselves. And very interesting that that owner acted surprised that no one served us.

Foodwise, the Mala soupbase was milder than we expected. When the hotpot was brought back into the kitchen to be filled with stock, did not contain as many sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies as when it first arrived with the deep fried chicken bits. The food items were generally fresh but as mentioned before, portions were small.

The posters on the restaurant walls also advertised "free-flow crabs" but given that the ordering system only served up one portion of crab (one portion = half a small crab) each time, it was hardly a "free-flow", unless you kept ticking and ordering it on multiple order sheets.

It seemed that the restaurant is trying to restrict the amount of food that its customers eat by putting out small portions and hoping that customers would get tired of ordering multiple times. If this is the way the restaurant does business, their advertising as an "a la carte" *buffet* is definitely a mis-representation.

And like some of the reviewers have said here, there is an extra charge of $5 over and on top of their per pax buffet price for their soupbase. With more hotpot restaurants on the same stretch that what we could count with our fingers, XLD is definitely not value for money.

The restaurant is situated on the fairly hip Liang Seah St so I suppose it appeals to the young. But if looking for value, you should be better off at Chong Qing No.1 Steamboat.

Not sure if complacencies are excuses for the long servign time and unapproachable workers?

I am ok that they are one of the few shops that actually charges $5 for their soup base.

 

Hey ! That amt though not substantial, actually adds to their monthly revenue.

I must agree that their beef filet is nicely sliced .  But if you're looking for thinly sliced beef, you should try the one 2 doors away (nicest decor along Liang Seah)

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Date visited: Last visit was before November 2008

This is one of my favorite hotpot restaurants, and I have returned several times.

Soupbases are delicious, ingredients fresh and standards are consistent for each visit. My favorite is their ma2 la4 soup, which is by far the best ma2 la4 soupbase that I have come across. It is spicy enough but not oily. And its quality only applies to this branch. I have tried Xian De Lai at Bukit Timah but they are not so good.

The decor of the restaurant is decent, however, the atmosphere is always crowded and noisy. Not to mention the heat in spite of the aircon. I always try to get an indoor table downstairs if possible, as the ventilation seems better. The area upstairs is enclosed and stuffy even though the aircon is supposed to be stronger. If you come in a bigger group, you will still probably end up upstairs though, as the tables there are bigger. Nonetheless, the food quality makes up for the lack of ambience.

Regarding service, staff are generally polite, efficient and make effort to be prompt.

I went with a group of 7 friends for dinner. Get seats upstairs as it is nicer and aircon is stronger.

The good thing that I like is that you just have to indicate the items you want and the waiters will bring it for you. The duck soup and mala soup base was better. You have to pay extra money for canned drinks. Food selection was good, order more of the dumplings and fish glue. Waiters were helpful and quick to get our orders. We were there till 10+, the last group upstairs to leave but the waiters did not chase us away.

Conclusion: Good place for large noisy group gatherings, as you can just sit down and talk, without need to get food. Service was good. Book ahead if you are having a large group!

Whenever I think steamboat buffet, my first choice will always be Xian De Lai. I am an ardent fan of steamboat and I can sit for hours to slurp on the oh-so-sweet broth and feast on the selection of dumplings, fish glue, and more…

Being here for the past 4 years tells me by experience to always book a table a day or 2 ahead to secure a place. It’s usually packed and being a steamboat place where everyone takes their own sweet time to complete the meal, you wouldn’t usually get a seat fast. So be forewarned.

In order to get the attention of the servers can be trying as they normally walk up and down the aisle too quickly and usually forget our order for that much needed coke or an extra bowl. So you have to be a bit more fierce and demanding when ordering with the Chinese servers. Be very specific with what you want and always ask for more otherwise they come in puny proportion, especially for the golden needle mushrooms which comes in 1 stack even when I asked for 4, 5 or 6! (trust me, I have tested this many times)

Before you start, there will be a whole list of things to choose, for the uninitiated, make sure you get your soup right 1st . There are about 4 types of broth to choose from, the standard usually chicken soup, salted vege duck soup, mala soup and the spicy chicken soup which you can eat the fried crispy chicken meat before they add the broth into the pot. My personal favourite is the combination of the mala and salted vege duck soup. The duck broth is always clear and fragrant with the light hint of salted vege taste is awesome while the mala one just numb your senses after awhile and feels very shiok if you are like me who likes a feisty meal!

Basically everything on the menu is worth a try except for the special meat balls. They are unusually hard and big. A bite into it can cause much indigestion already. Yes, it will fill your stomach and leave you with limited space for more good stuff.

My verdict for this yummy-licious steamboat is a fair deal with a few friends for a pig out session. Food when shared, the calories don’t count anymore. =p

Come for the good food and banter with the staff to give you more mushrooms.