The Occasion
Bob brought my MIL & SIL & yours truly for lunch at Dian Xiao Er's branch at Changi Airport Terminal 3, Level 3 to celebrate SIL's Birthday.
The Restaurant Facts
Dian Xiao Er is owned & operated by Founder Samuel Yik & has locations in several parts of Singapore :
- Marina Square #02-203/4, Tel : 63371928
- Vivocity #02-137/8, Tel : 63769786
- 53 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #B2-02, Tel : 64842268
- Jurong Point #03-26/27, Tel : 67926268
- Lot One, #B1-32/33, Tel : 67661776
- Changi Airport Terminal 3 #03-42/43, Tel : 65423789
- Tampines One #04-07/08, Tel : 67836068
- NEX Serangoon Central #02-09/10, Tel : 66344828
The Cuisine
The Cuisine served here are Chinese Asian, with influences from Yunnan, China. The Signature Dish that Dian Xiao Er is famous for is their Herbal Roast Duck.
The Accolades
Proudly displayed are the recent awards the restaurant has achieved.
The Menu
Displayed on the right of the main entrance door are three posters depicting the menu at a glance.
The Full Menu
Roast Duck was listed as one of the Imperial dishes served to royalty in Yuan Dynasty, and is a prized gourmet delicacy during Ming & Qing Dynasty, China, well-favored by Emperor Qian Long & Empress Dowager Cixi, and in modern times Zhou En Lai was an avid fan of the dish.
The story behind the discovery & development of Herbal Roast Duck - the Signature dish at Dian Xiao Er - it was the brainchild of a waiter who wanted to nurse his sick master back to health by infusing herbs into roast duck to enhance his appetite.
This is more reasons to consider duck in your diet - rich in protein, high iron content, excellent source of Vitamin B3, low in saturated fat.
At Dian Xiao Er, chef uses Cherry Valley ducks bred off the lakeside. The ducks are marinated overnight with a variety of herbs & spices for hours, a mixture of the herbs & chinese wine are sealed inside the duck during the marinating process. The ducks are then roasted at the right temperature to retain its juices. The skin are roasted till crispy whilst its flesh is juicy tender & moist. In the roasting process the sauce made as a result of the mixing of the wine & herbs within the body of the duck forms the sauce used to serve the carved duck.
The Main Entrance
There is a huge mural drawing of Mongolian lady dancing with her friends fronting the entrance.
Next to the Roast Duck Station there is a huge mural drawing depicting life in the Yunnan grasslands that spans across at least 6 metres.
The Chef
At the Roast Duck Station the Chef roast the whole duck using the conventional oven seen here in the background.
This is a typical lunch crowd here at Dian Xiao Er at Changi Airport. The decor of the restaurant has a Yunnan theme with some of the bigger round tables placed under mini marquees designed liken to the tents found in the grasslands of Yunnan. Bamboo poles that are connected diagonally formed the borders of the restaurant.
Since there were four of us, I took the liberty to order 4 main courses :
- Dong Po Rou (Braised Pork Belly)
- Roast Duck with Ten Wonder Herbs
- Pumpkin & Lotus Roots with Salted Egg
- Prawns with Oats
The duck meat is roasted to the right consistency, with the ten herbs infused fully with the wine & meat juices to form the sauce and this lends a sweet herbal flavor to the meat.
Dong Po Rou - is braised till the meat is tender juicy & tears off easily, and the fatty skin is so soft it literally melts in your mouth.
The Lotus Root with Pumpkin & Salted egg yolk - is a new dish on the Dian Xiao Er menu with the salted egg coating the lotus root slices & pumpkin evenly to lend a fragrant savory texture.
The Chef uses 5 large prawns for the Oat Prawn dish- the prawns are fresh juicy and has a crunchy bite to it.
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