SIN: Xiao La Jiao {CLOSED}
Sichuan style frog meat!
UPDATE (12/01/2015): The restaurant has closed down.
Have a nice meal,
UPDATE (12/01/2015): The restaurant has closed down.
Xiao La Jiao is a restaurant managed by the Creative Eateries group, specialising in spicy dishes from the Sichuan province in mainland China. I dropped by there when I first visited 112 Katong. All of the food items I ordered the other day, including the dessert, are the chef's selections.
Chuan Style Spicy Chicken S$6.90
Taste: 6.5/10
A quintessential Sichuan cold dish, the spicy chicken was my appetiser of choice. While the skin was delightfully gelatinous, the meat wasn't particularly juicy. Also, the chili sauce was hot enough, but a tad too salty for my liking.
Griddle-Cooked Tian Ji S$16.90
Taste: 7.5/10
It'd been a while since I ate frog meat the last time. Tender, meaty frogs were used for the dish, although there weren't that many of them. Actually, I felt that the highlight of the dish wasn't the frog meat, but the potato wedges which were awesome. They were smooth without being soggy, and the natural sweetness perfectly balanced the overall salty taste of the dish. Talking about the level of spiciness, it was enough to cause me to sweat a little bit in the air-conditioned restaurant.
Beef with Cumin S$15.90
Taste: 7.5/10
The stir-fried beef was pretty much tender. Well, it was much milder in taste and spiciness level when compared to the frog dish, but the aroma of ground cumin was distinctive. I was delighted by the fact that there were lots of sweet onion slices to complement the beef strips.
Claypot Eggplant S$9.80
Taste: 7/10
The tender eggplant strips were cooked in spicy garlic and minced pork sauce, topped with a bit of scallions. While the sauce was hot (in fact, hotter than the frog dish overall) and appetising enough, again, it was kinda salty when eaten without rice.
Mini Rice Balls S$4.00
Taste: 8/10
While it was a warm dessert that I ordered, it was sweet enough to cool down my fiery tongue. The soft and chewy glutinous rice balls, along with the jelly-like wolfberries, were a delight to have while sipping the fragrant rice wine soup.
Homemade Barley (Cold) S$3.50
Taste: 8.5/10
Another thing to extinguish the heat, the homemade barley drink was amazingly thick without being overly sweet. I could definitely use two glasses of it.
Melon's Rating
Taste: 7.5/10
Ambience: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Overall: 7.5/10
While the dishes I tried weren't particularly special, I may come back to try others which seem interesting, including the dessert items they've got to offer. Pika's advice: I've heard that the cooks try to control the spiciness level of the food. However, if you really want to taste the authentic spiciness, you can request for it!
Xiao La Jiao
112 East Coast Road
#03-05 112 Katong
Singapore
(Daily: 12 noon - 9.30pm)
#03-05 112 Katong
Singapore
(Daily: 12 noon - 9.30pm)
*Prices quoted are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST.
Cliff(y)
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