Ms Skinnyfat

After a recent refurbishment, Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant at Holiday Inn® Singapore Atrium welcomes new Executive Chinese Chef Chan Shun Wong and his new dishes. I was hoping that the dining experience would be better than that forgettable Chinese New Year meal i had earlier in the year and I was not disappointed.

Dinner started with Xin's Signature Home-style Roast Duck with Tea Leaves ($32 half duck/ $58 whole duck). The mouth-watering perfume of the duck reached us before we saw the glistening bird. I can still hear the crackling of the skin as Chef was carving the meat for us. I expected the tea flavor in the tender meat to be pronounced but it wasn't as the the tea leaves were used in the smoking process prior to roasting. We also had stir-fried assorted mushrooms with white truffle oil ($10/portion) to accompany the duck and it brought out the earthy smoky flavors. 

I thought the Poached Clams Xin Cuisine style ($22/ $33/ $42) was cooked with the duck bones a la Peking Duck dining format as the soup tasted very meaty (like salted duck soup). However, there was none! We concluded that our taste buds could have been deceived by the preserved vegetables, ginger and Chinese wine, which are also typically used in a salted duck soup. The broth was tasty but overpowered the light sweetness of the juicy clams (if that's what you're looking to taste in this dish).

I enjoyed Chef's version of the typical deep fried prawns with <insert fruit/veg/egg> mayonnaise. Xin's cuisine serve their lightly battered and succulent prawns with a light and refreshing yuzu mayonnaise that isn't too rich in texture ($10 per pax/ $26/ $39/ $50). I thought the cornflakes were going to be part of the batter but turns out they were just purposeless sprinkles on the side.

A surprising dish was the Hong Kong Kai Lan with Preserved Vegetables ($20/ $30/ $38). Think of this as a vegetarian 梅菜扣肉without the braised pork belly, which sounds kinda meh. Well I never thought the combination of kai lan and preserved vegetables could work but it was a harmonious mix of delicate salty-sweet-bitter crunch. Definitely a unique dish that I highly recommend.

We also had the Stir Fried Wagyu Beef Cubes with Black Pepper and Longan ($36/ $55/ $72). There's a tendency for many Chinese restaurants to ruin the beautiful wagyu with a ridiculously overpowering sauce (often pepper) but the version at Xin Cuisine allowed diners to savor the tender juicy beef while providing a light peppery kick. The longan added a light sweetness which was welcomed as well. 

Another must-try, which is also a signature item on the menu is the Poached Rice with Seafood in Superior Broth served with Crispy Rice ($14/pax). This is super comforting and delicious as the rice has absorbed all that goodness from the superior broth which also has chunks of scallops, prawns and conpoy. Top it up with the crispy puffed rice for a contrasting crunch to to each bite. 

To end the meal, have the Chilled Mango Coulis and Hashima accompanied with a Fried Sesame Ball with Red Bean and Liqueur Chocolate Filling ($18/pax). The creamy mango dessert was absolutely refreshing and contrasted with the hot and crispy fried ball. What i liked about the fried dessert was how thin the starch shell is. While the chocolate liqueur wasn't fantastic, the smooth red bean paste was satisfying.

With the new Executive Chinese Chef Chan Shun Wong helming Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant, it is definitely worth the special stop to scratch the itch for a quality Chinese meal. 

Xin Cuisine

317 Outram Road Singapore 169075
Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium Hotel

Tel: +65 6731 7173

Daily: 12 - 2.30pm, 6.30 - 10.30pm