Jumbo group serves up Cantonese fare at Xing Yue Xuan
Xing Yue Xuan B1-201 Resorts World Sentosa WEAVE 26 Sentosa Gateway Singapore 098138 Tel: 8031-0096 Open daily for lunch and dinner: 11.30am to 3pm; 5.30pm to 10.30pm
DON'T be mistaken that the lines of people plonking themselves outside Xing Yue Xuan – or even the Jumbo Premium restaurant next to it – are waiting for a table. They're just victims of an affliction that seems to strike anyone who sets foot into WEAVE: an uncontrollable urge to sit down.
Now, WEAVE – that new lifestyle destination in Resorts World Sentosa – is really big. And it's not even fully open yet. But whether you're there to peep at Pierre Herme, buy a bun at Standard Bakery, or grab a coffee at Coach cafe, you will not find a place to sit anywhere. Anything that remotely resembles a flat surface is already covered by a shorts-clad bum that acts like it paid for season parking with either a cheap drink or a thick skin.
The consolation is that you don't have to worry too much about getting into Jumbo Premium, which elevates its familiar chilli-crab-and-everything-else playbook. It's the new baby, Xing Yue Xuan, that intrigues us more.
The discreet frontage reveals a scaled-down, intimate, fine-dining Chinese restaurant with private rooms if you want even more secrecy. The manager and servers share an eager-to-please demeanour in the way they try to make you feel at home. It's hard to resist their unpolished earnestness, and their flexibility in letting you swop out dishes in their set menus.
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Possibly targeting casino high rollers rather than the hand-held fan-toting hoi polloi, Xing Yue Xuan is predictably on the pricey side. Tasting menus are at S$158 a head, and a smallish a la carte menu touts starters priced from S$8 for a poached chicken roll to S$78 for an individual serving of lobster pao fan.
That makes the tasting menu reasonably good value, and a convenient greatest hits compilation if you don't want to trawl through the menu.
It's designed to be posh Cantonese with some modern touches, but its finesse is sporadic. It's as if chefs from Jumbo's more-forgiving kitchens were given the directive to go upmarket, causing some mental short-circuitry in the process. They try a little too hard, with shaky attempts at innovation and a 'more is more' approach to seasoning and preparation.
A platter of three bites to start off the meal. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
The meal starts off well enough, with a welcome cup of tea and a crispy tart filled with apple and avocado tossed in a Thousand Island dressing. The 'trio starters platter' (S$18 a person if ordering a la carte) keeps up the momentum, with a sweet, marinated cherry tomato, a roulade of poached chicken rolled with a ginger-spring onion mixture, and a crunchy nest filled with fluffy egg white tossed with a bit of crabmeat and faux caviar.
Comforting double-boiled fish maw soup. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
The highlight is the piping-hot, double-boiled fish maw and kampong chicken soup (S$38 a la carte). It is comforting and collagen-rich, enhanced with morel mushrooms and gelatinous fish maw.
Seafood pumpkin soup. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
A creamy seafood pumpkin soup (which they let us switch to) tastes oddly like the previous broth blended with pumpkin, with fine strips of sea cucumber. It grows on you after a while. Or it might not.
The 'fuss-free' chilli crab, so named because the portion comes already shelled. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
You can top up S$38 a head for Xing Yue Xuan's 'fuss-free' crab, which is proof of where the chef's heart lies. Jumbo's signature chilli crab hits the spot with its savoury, spicy sweetness, and comes with deep-fried mantou on the side. It's called fuss-free because this half-crab portion comprises a shelled claw and some crab meat (S$78 a la carte).
Steamed crab in custard and pumpkin broth. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
But the steamed version disappoints, with the less-than-fresh crabmeat unable to hide in a steamed egg custard covered by pumpkin broth, with two pie tee shells on the side looking like they were told to show up to offer moral support.
Spinach and cordyceps flowers in superior broth. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
A rather thoughtful steamed mound of spinach and cordyceps flowers would have worked better if the vegetables weren't overpowered by an intense superior broth super-boosted by Chinese ham. And the lobster noodles were unfortunately done in by a too-sweet seafood gravy.
Braised lobster noodles. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Go for the lobster pao fan instead, which comes as part of a performance by your server, who carefully lays fresh shellfish meat into a stone bowl, then pours in some boiling hot broth before topping up with some crispy bits and drops of flavoured oil. The mix of tender lobster, rice, broth and crunchy textures is a satisfying end.
The piping-hot lobster broth with rice. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
A dessert of mango panna cotta and cute cookie shaped like a lion's face are pretty average.
The mango panna cotta and lion-shaped cookie for dessert. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Xing Yue Xuan is still getting its bearings, so give it some time to evolve, lighten up and shape its identity. It's literally Jumbo repackaged for a well-heeled clientele, but it's got to do more if it wants to win them over from the other side.
Rating: 6
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