Xi Yan Sweets

Our local friends took us here for dinner. The restaurant feels very modern, clean, and comfortable, if a tad cramped.
We had several dishes that varied in their yum factor. The standout was the Greenhouse tomatoes. I could probably eat a half dozen of them. It’s served cold and has just the right balance of wasabi to give it a kick and sesame oil to give it aroma without being overpowering. It is one of the most refreshing things I’ve had in a while. We’ll definitely be experimenting at home to recreate it.
The pork and olives friend rice was surprisingly good. I hate olives and would never have ordered it, but thankfully my friend did. I really enjoyed it. The rice was nice and al dente, while the Chinese-​style olives imparted a slight savory kick. My minor quibble was that it was a smidge over salted, but overall, it was very good.
The radish patty in XO sauce was ok, but not memorable. At first, I thought it was tofu, but then realized it was a radish.
The fried taro chicken wings were juicy inside and crispy on the outside, but was a bit bland. The dish felt like it was trying too hard to be innovative.
The crispy duck with glutenous rice sounds far better than it tasted. It looks like a biscotti with a side dish of plum sauce. Taste-​wise, it was more like day old rice sweetened with plum sauce. I could not detect any duck.
The string bean in salted egg yolk is OK if you like things that taste like dried shirimp paste, but stay away if you don’t.
The desserts were far more consistent. My favorite was the lychee ice cream in osmanthus wine. The bottom layer was a half dozen lychee fruits, topped with ice cream, then everything was drizzled with wine, which imparted an apricot scent. Not overly sweet and refreshing, a great way to end the meal.
The dumplings with ginger soup was a novel take on a traditional dessert. The dumplings were soft and gooey on the outside, with a nice crunch inside. Traditionally, the inside is made of black sesame paste, but I think this one has some kind of egg. The ginger soup is hard to mess up since it’s mainly rock sugar, ginger and yams.
Finally, the apple crisp was fine. Fresh green apples topped with ice cream, and something that gave it a little crunch, possibly small shavings of rock sugar. This is the kind of dessert that you’d get at a friend’s house, but not a signature menu item.
In sum, I can’t say every dish was amazing, but there were several memorable items. The restaurant is definitely worth a visit.