Had a $150 voucher. Went for a dinner with 2 friends on a weekday night. The restaurant is rather empty. Only about 3 tables were occupied. Ordered beef, chicken, prawns, stir fried kailan, scallop, fried ice-cream and sesame ball. Among all of these, the prawns were very good. Big thick and fat. Shells were easy to peel. Beef were the best. Very thick and soft. Scallop was good too. Look at the way the mushrooms are displayed. Very creative. A must try is the sesame ball. It is flavored with liquor inside. Once you bite, the hot juice just flow out. All this cost $153.00. I've got a $20 voucher to sell for $5 from this restaurant. Contact me: roglimsh@singnet.com.sg

[#4]

When I failed to make a booking almost three months ago at Xin Cuisine, I was told that it was "closed for good". I cannot approximate the dismay I felt then. What joy, when I received a phone call and e-mail from their staff, announcing the return of Xin Cuisine! Speculations abound, of course, of what happened in the 3 months it closed down. Did the chef pack his bags? Alas, thank goodness, no. A detailed revamp was in place- they did away with the black (and rather baggy) uniforms that made all the waitresses look 2 months pregnant, installed a new wine cellar and imparted a more chic, open concept to the dining. Now it looks more cosy and casual and inviting on the inside. (The outside looks a tad more daunting than before, though)

Xin Cuisine proudly wears its two star chefs on its sleeves- Chefs Cheung Kin Nam (your wonderful dim sum shifu) and Lee Hiu Ngai (your head chef). For me, Xin Cuisine excels best at its dim sum, where the range and creativity is nothing short of mind-boggling. And my yardstick of its quality - I almost never use the chilli sauce they provide. (Their chilli sauce is a fantastic bean sauce which packs a fiery punch, something that I'm a sucker for, for your information please) Other establishments can see me asking for chilli sauce over and over again; this is never the case here. Such dedication to mix the correct sauce with the correct dim sum warrants my undivided reverence for the dim sum chef. Hurray.

Currently, with the revamp, which must have been detailed and expensive, comes an inevitable mark-up of prices. Food-wise, the mark up is not so intensive. When it comes to artisan teas, it costs a rather eye-raising $6 per person (as compared to $2 last time). I ordered the Golden Peony, which is a refreshing white tea. It came in a transparent, cutesy glass teapot with filter. It was strategically only filled to half to prevent over-steeping the tea leaves and not to let the tea become cold. Such detailed attention certainly justifies the dollars spent on good tea.

Opening the meal was a small appetiser of pickled leaf mustard. Quite pleasant, but there was little creativity about this. Not that it really matters much, though - definitely more pertinent was the dim sum and dishes that we ordered.

The Xiao Long Bao ($3.90 / 3pcs) used to come in small ceramic tartlet saucers in which the thick soup was added outside - preventing all accidents with clumsy chopsticks. I'm not so concerned with this as my ego allows me to admit my proficiency with chopsticks, but the more recent XLB features a plumper, larger dumpling with thinner skin, and a slightly thinner soup (though it's piping hot and plentiful). A worthy contender.

I'm a sucker for beef tripe, hence the "Hundred Leaves" of Beef - ($3.90 / portion) goes well with me. In this case, chewy (and reasonably generous) chunks of beef tripe are steeped in mildly spicy laksa gravy and adorned with chilli slices. It's also well-complemented with a base of smooth bean skin. So sedap, I unashamedly scooped every drop of gravy clean.

The Rice Flour Roll with Doughsticks ($4.50 / portion) is a simple dim sum that remains a true test of the chef's skill. In this instance, the doughsticks were slightly soft, but still subtly crispy, and the rice flour roll was fine. It was acceptable, and the portion was reasonably generous.

There were Dumplings filled with Caviar and topped with Baby Abalone ($6.00 / 3 pcs). This was a luxurious dumpling of crystal skin with prawn and meat filling, and topped with a small abalone that fits snugly on top of the dumpling. A smattering of black caviar adds a briny lift to this dim sum, though the odour may be slightly fishy for some. This is something you don't get at your next-door dim sum joint, though.

The Pan-fried "Pot Stickers" with Foie Gras ($8.00 / 4 pcs) were creatively served on a hot plate, each attached to a crispy rice net. There was little hint of foie gras (as compared to the previous version), and it was paired with an orange-coloured sauce we understood from a wait staff to be mustard. However, it's far from piquant and you can lap it up by the spoonful with your guotie. A creative value-add to a common dim sum.

Of course, my perennial favourite dim sum still remains the creative and attractive Steamed Glutinous Rice Balls Marinated with Wine ($3.90 / 3 pcs). It looks (unfortunately) like a streptococcus from afar, but I assure with all my heart it's much better tasting than that. A flavourful and fragrant wine-marinated meat centre is encased by a layer of minced prawns, then dotted with glutinous rice grains and topped with a pretty wolfberry. Cute, and delicious. Bravo for Chef Cheung's ingenuity!

These 6 dim sum treats aside, there was also a Steamed Bamboo Clam with Garlic ($10.00 / pc), a treat which we understood was not always featured. The clam was fresh and juicy, and littered with a generous mound of garlic, savoury soya sauce and smooth bean vermicelli. An elegant rendition of a simple dish.

For our dessert, praise the Lord, here comes the return of my much-awaited Deep Fried Sesame Balls with Red Bean Paste and Liqueur ($6.00 / 3 pcs)! Damn, beyond the sesame-speckled golden beauties lie a layer of smooth glutinous rice dough, coated on the inside with red bean and chocolate paste, then lo and behold, the much-awaited yellow custard-looking liqueur gushes through and sends smoke through your mouth and lungs. It's pretty strong for something marketed as a normal dessert so parents, you may want to keep the smallest kids away from this. It's no kiddy stuff.

For the service, it was a really busy Sunday lunch, and it was packed, way beyond the crowd expected of them before their up-marketing revamp. Sometimes the service was long and slightly sporadic, but when we were served, it was friendly, yet professional and sensitive. It's not the best in town, but nevertheless competent. Just note that it's not very wheelchair friendly because there are a couple of steps (2 up, 2 down) and there's no ramp.

On my part, I will recommend this for business lunches, where good food complements good talk. A nice place to wow your colleagues and associates, without prices being overly ridiculous. Also a nice place to hold a good family dinner (or lunch, where you can revel in Chef Cheung's creativity and finesse).

Please, enjoy.

##

I discovered this place by accident when I couldn't find parking. I pulled in, mostly wanting to check out the place next door, but was drawn into this little place, with palin white, utilitarian booths, rows of siracha, soy, and other sauces, and lots of people eating inside.

Any of the shu mai are great, and definitely ask for the hot sauce, which is their own blend of this mildly sweet yet spicy orange stuff. the skewers are good too, although occasionally a little dry, and a surprise was the tri colored, almost jello-like bean cake... it's pretty good! They also have traditional dishes like noodles soups and rice congee, all delicious.

Came here yesterday for dimsum with kids and parents. Been here many times on and off. Their dimsum is always quite good and they are more off-beat so they are never too crowded which is good.

Dad ordered an interesting lamb stew in claypot. they somehow managed to cook the ginger very soft and yummy. The lamb was a little hard but still very good. Had a very nice tao ru dipping sauce.