Zing By Xi Yan

Zing By Xi Yan
2 Paya Lebar Road
#01-07 Paya Lebar Quarter 3

https://www.xiyan.com.sg/zing-plq

XO Radish Cake (SGD $13)

Healthy, Wholesome Modern Mandarin Dishes

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $40 per person.

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Established in December 2021 as a partnership between Chinese restaurant brand Xi Yan Culinary Group, and social enterprise The Social Kitchen, Zing By Xi Yan offers healthy and contemporary Chinese dishes, including options for plant-based or vegetarian. Zing By Xi Yan also supports the employment of individuals with special needs.

Ambience at Zing By Xi Yan is vibrant and eclectic. Decorated with paintings of dogs and wallpapers featuring birds, the warmly lit space is neatly arrayed with comfortable modern furnishings. There's both indoor and outdoor al-fresco seating, and the space can be converted for events, with projectors and sound systems. The facade is non-descript though, and easy to miss.

Service at Zing By Xi Yan is friendly and efficient. Staff are clear in recommending dishes and taking orders, demonstrating basic product knowledge. As some staff employed have special needs, there is less casual interaction, and diners are advised to exercise patience. Staff offer to remove finished plates throughout the meal, and clean up quickly when diners leave. Experience is generally pleasant.

Food at Zing By Xi Yan is Modern Singaporean and Modern Mandarin Chinese cuisine, featuring fresh sustainable ingredients and health-conscious dishes. Bold in flavour and consistently well-executed, dishes are designed for communal sharing, being large in portion size. There's a good range of vegetarian options, and some vegan choices too. Prices are reflective of a low-end restaurant, budget about SGD $40 per person.

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Zing By Xi Yan Signage

Zing By Xi Yan Exterior

Zing By Xi Yan Interior

Seating Outdoors

Seating Indoors

Decor Artwork

Projector Screen

Mural Of Birds

Paintings Of Dogs

Table Setting

Mooncake Showcase

The Steamed White Rice With Sesame (SGD $1.50) is fragrant, with a fluffy soft mildly sticky texture, and grainy sweet earthy nutty flavour. Worth ordering!

Steamed White Rice With Sesame (SGD $1.50)

Steamed White Rice With Sesame

With The Squid Game (SGD $22), I like that it's non-greasy, the chunks of battered salt and pepper octopus (yes octopus, not squid...) having a gentle crunch to the exterior and a bouncy chew to the interior. Tossed with crisp young celery, flat dried red chili, and crunchy sesame seeds, each bite bursts with nutty savoury salty spice sweet flavour. Highly recommended!

The Squid Game (SGD $22)

The Squid Game

The Dancing Shrooms (SGD $12) were tasty, with tender Japanese mitake mushrooms coated in a spiced batter, tossed with curry leaves. Fragrant and crispy, these have addictive spice vegetal salty savoury flavour. Worth ordering!

Dancing Shrooms (SGD $12)

Dancing Shrooms

The XO Radish Cake (SGD $13) features house-made radish cake cubes, soft and chewy with earthy starchy sweet flavour. It's stir-fried with crunchy bean sprouts, wispy chicken egg, chewy dried shrimp, and crisp spring onions, this carries an addictive eggy vegetal sweet savoury salty spice flavour, yum. So delicious. Highly recommended!

XO Radish Cake (SGD $13)

XO Radish Cake

Sized as an appetizer, the Pan-Seared Wagyu Beef Cubes (SGD $31) features 100 grams of diced Australian wagyu beef striploin, with a marbling score of 7. The cattle had been grain-fed for 400 days, resulting in a bouncy tender succulent chew to texture, with robust meaty savoury salty flavour. Served with a fresh mesclun salad (rocket leaves / arugula, spinach, mizuna, purple cabbage) with vegetal sweet bitter herbal earthy flavour, and 2 dipping sauces. Good!

Pan-Seared Wagyu Beef Cubes (SGD $31)

Pan-Seared Wagyu Beef Cubes

The Kai-Lan With Olive Leaves And Garlic (SGD $16) has large crunchy stalks of kai-lan / Chinese kale / Chinese broccoli with vegetal sweet flavour, dressed with wispy deep-fried olive leaves with vegetal earthy savoury bitter flavour, and crisp fried garlic chips with savoury salty spice flavour. The contrast of textures and flavours is pleasant and unique. Good!

Kai-Lan With Olive Leaves And Garlic (SGD $16)

Kai-Lan With Olive Leaves And Garlic

The Spinach In Trio Egg Broth (SGD $18) is more a soup than a vegetable dish, with leaves of crisp spinach, a trio of bouncy eggs (regular chicken eggs, salted eggs, and century eggs), and soft wolfberries / goji berries, in a warm soup / broth. Infused with the flavour of the ingredients, this carries lovely vegetal sweet salty savoury earthy herbal flavour. Good!

Spinach In Trio Egg Broth (SGD $18)

Spinach In Trio Egg Broth

The Black Truffle Prawn Omelette (SGD $23) has lovely chunky soft egg omelette with eggy savoury salty sweet flavour, dressed with tiny black truffle shavings and truffle oil which lends an earthy taste to the dish. Completed with bouncy deshelled prawns which lend sweet savoury flavour, and a delicate freshness. Good!

Black Truffle Prawn Omelette (SGD $23)

Black Truffle Prawn Omelette

Felt the Golden Egg Tofu With Chye Poh (SGD $15) was lacklustre, decent at best. The egg tofu wasn't as soft or wobbly as expected, and the chy poh might originally have been crisp, but quickly softened due to the gravy. The flavours of eggy grainy sweet savoury salty still holds though, so at least it's tasty. But certainly have had better elsewhere. Could be improved.

Golden Egg Tofu With Chye Poh (SGD $15)

Golden Egg Tofu With Chye Poh

Loved their Hakka Yong Tau Foo (SGD $15) rendition, which features 6 large pieces of ingredients, all stuffed with a filling of tender minced pork and soft fish paste. There's 2 spongy tofu bean curd puffs, 1 crisp yellow bell pepper, 2 wispy bean curd skin wraps, 1 crunchy bitter gourd, and 1 springy tofu bean curd. Immersed in a thick soy bean gravy, these carry grainy vegetal meaty sweet savoury salty earthy flavours. Very filling, great when paired with white rice. Highly recommended!

Hakka Yong Tau Foo (SGD $15)

Hakka Yong Tau Foo

Hakka Yong Tau Foo

Loved the ample gravy in the Tropical Fruits Sweet & Sour Pork (SGD $18), which is thick and sour sweet in flavour. The chunks of tender chewy pork loin have meaty sweet sour savoury flavour, while the juicy fruits (lychee, pineapple, strawberry) lend fruity sweet flavour, and the crunchy cucumber lends a cooling vegetal sweet note. Best paired with white rice, as the taste profile of this dish is robust. Highly recommended!

Tropical Fruits Sweet & Sour Pork (SGD $18)

Tropical Fruits Sweet & Sour Pork

The Steamed Whole Sea Bass Fish Hong Kong Style In Soy Sauce (SGD $32) features a fresh sea bass fish, medium in size (about 600g - 700g), with tender flaky fish meat. Dressed with crisp parsley, scallions, and red chili, which lend vegetal sweet spice flavour. The robust soy sauce gravy carries bold salty earthy savoury flavour, lifting the overall taste of the dish. Highly recommended!

Steamed Whole Sea Bass Fish Hong Kong Style In Soy Sauce (SGD $32)

Steamed Whole Sea Bass Fish Hong Kong Style In Soy Sauce

Steamed Whole Sea Bass Fish Hong Kong Style In Soy Sauce

The unique Signature Shrimp Paste Barramundi With Pomelo Salad (SGD $20.80) was fantastic, so delicious. Features large boneless fillets of barramundi fish, coated in the house shrimp paste, then deep-fried. It's crispy outside and tender flaky inside, with a gentle savoury sweet flavour. Plated with crisp shallots and juicy pomelo chunks, which lend vegetal fruity sweet sour flavour. The dish is generously served with a bright gravy, infused with pomelo and mango juice and red chili, lending a sharp fruity sweet sour spice kick. Among our favourite dishes here. Highly recommended!

Signature Shrimp Paste Barramundi With Pomelo Salad (SGD $20.80)

Signature Shrimp Paste Barramundi With Pomelo Salad

Signature Shrimp Paste Barramundi With Pomelo Salad

The unique Curry Fried Rice With Chicken Karaage (SGD $16.50) features lovely short-grain rice stir-fried with bits of egg, spring onions, and infused with the essence of curry, resulting in a fluffy light texture with robust grainy spice savoury salty sweet flavour. The chunks of boneless chicken are coated in a curry infused batter, crisp juicy with addictive meaty spice savoury salty sweet flavour. I noticed that the fried rice wasn't completely infused though, with some plain white rice grains being visible, but the taste was still delicious overall. Good!

Curry Fried Rice With Chicken Karaage (SGD $16.50)

Curry Fried Rice With Chicken Karaage

The Ice Cream Salted Creme Caramel (SGD $4) is creamy smooth with salty savoury sweet flavour. The Ice Cream Granny's Gula Melaka (SGD $4) is creamy smooth and fragrant with earthy sweet flavour. The Ice Cream Coconut (SGD $4) is smooth creamy with lovely mild earthy nutty floral sweet flavour. The Ice Cream Cookies & Cream (SGD $4) is icey smooth with deep milky nutty bready sweet flavour. Good!

Ice Cream Salted Creme Caramel (SGD $4)

Ice Cream Granny's Gula Melaka (SGD $4)

Ice Cream Coconut (SGD $4)

Ice Cream Cookies & Cream (SGD $4)

The Tang Yuan Mixed (SGD $6.40) features 2 unique flavours. The Tang Yuan Green Tea With Black Sesame Paste has chewy green tea infused glutinous rice exterior with a grainy thick chunky black sesame paste interior, bursting with earthy nutty sweet flavour. The Tang Yuan With Custard Paste has chewy glutinous rice exterior with a grainy thick chunky custard interior, bursting with salty savoury sweet flavour. Both are served in a warm ginger soup / broth with herbal sweet spice flavour. Highly recommended!