Da Si Xi Xiao Chu

Mummy dearest wanted to have dinner together with me and The Wife today. So I got her to decide what she wanted to eat. She settled on frog porridge, which is something we have pretty frequently (as in maybe once or twice per month?).

We headed to our usual hangout at Geylang, G7 Sinma Live Seafood. Imagine our shock when we arrived and saw the place packed to the brim with no seats in sight! This has never happened! This stands testament to the popularity of the frog porridge there, but I shall leave it for another day when I have pictures to prove my point.

We were wondering where to go next, when I recalled that I have seen a queue snaking around at an establishment just behind at Sims Way.

Behold! Da Si Xi Xiao Chu! Hey hey my Mandarin is not that bad huh! Apparently this is a chain from JB, and the local arm is co-owned by celebrity chef Eric Teo. I was just wondering why his face was plastered so prominently at the restaurant facade. Now after a short Google search for the restaurant's website (which doesn't exist, or just too smart for me to find ;p) I find out why from other food blogs and reviews.

What's visiting an establishment without trying the signature dishes? Mum snooped around for a little, and initially we decided on the JB Curry Fish Head, quite reasonably priced at $28. But the waitress who took our order was quite on-the-ball, and strongly recommended the Claypot Crab Rice instead.

Well, although food is always subjective, the staff should know their product best right? So we went ahead with her suggestion, and we were rewarded with an unmistakable claypot aroma wafting out from the claypot when the dish was being brought out (the waiting time is about 20mins for this dish).

You can't tell from the photo, but the portion is HUGE. The rice that is. It is enough for about 3-5, depending on the appetites of the diners. Me, The Wife and Mum didn't manage to finish, and the portion left over could easily have fed another person.

The rich is fragrant and each grain is distinct from each other. You can literally taste each and every single grain of rice. That is the strength, yet therein lies the weakness. The taste comes at the expense of the rice being very dry. But to some, that is the essence of claypot rice. There are some restaurants that offer you soup to eat together with the burnt bits of rice. There were also bit of bacon, shrimp and roast pork in the rice, which gave it a little more texture and flavour.

I did quite like the rice, though both The Wife and Mum didn't really like it. One commented it was too dry, and the other said that there was a taste missing. Oh well. One thing we all could agree on though. The crab was a huge disappointment.

The crab itself was extremely bland, and we surmise that most of the flavour has already seeped into the rice. There wasn't any of the sweetness or crabby taste that makes crab a favourite among gastronomes. To make matters worse, the flesh was all stuck to the shell, even at the pincer area. It made eating the crab a huge pain. I would recommend trying this dish once for the rice, but not for the crab. But to pay $50 for just claypot rice...not so worth it huh.

We also tried the Deep Fried Prawn Bacon Rolls. I love bacon, and I love prawns, and I figured it would be like the yakitori sticks of asparagus wrapped in bacon. YUM! Turns out I wasn't too far off from my guess!It was exactly like that, but without the sticks.

One thing I didn't count on was the presence of mayo. A LOT of mayo. It kinda ruined it for all 3 of us because we aren't huge fans. But I guess I wouldn't have liked the dishes without mayo as well. Even through the thick mayo, I could taste the porkiness of the bacon. Thumbs down! The Wife and Mum did agree that this is a pretty special dish though not suited for all.

One last dish we ordered was something all 3 of us love. French Beans! Or so the waitress would have us believe.

Ok I believe it is technically still French Beans, but not the fat and juicy variety we are used to. This was skinnier and not as juicy, but has it's own appeal. Still crunchy and succulent, the dish was PERFECTLY complemented by the topping.

Crunchy and flavourful bits of garlic, chilli and dried shrimp made our meal here a very enjoyable one. It was good with the beans, good own it's own, and even enhanced the claypot rice! 3 thumbs up from us!

Some of the drinks here are also home made, so quite wholesome and nice. Gives a very homey and nostalgic old-school feel. 

Overall, I think it is safe to say that we would be back to try some of the other dishes like the signature Curry Fish Head as well as the JB Fried Bee Hoon!

Price Range - $20 onwards per person

Address : 19 Sims Way

T: 6744 6728
No website I could find!

Signing off,
The Lunatic