Ximending 西門町 is a restaurant in Singapore serving Taiwanese cuisine. Never really thought I’d try this restaurant as did not hear good reviews. However, YT had vouchers so we thought why not since we could not think of a better place. When we were seated, we realized the vouchers were expired. Nevertheless, we ate there and to my surprise, food was good.

For the 5 of us, we ordered 9 small dishes to go with either white rice or sweet potato porridge. Our drink, 8 treasures tea ( from what I could see was a mix of chrysanthemum, red dates, goji berries, longan, tea leaves, honeysuckle, rose buds, rock sugar) was kept nice and hot with a warmer.

This next dish was a serve of sesame chicken soup. Now this looks really plain, but it tasted so good! The sesame oil, ginger and chicken soup was tasty, savory and satisfying. Another bowl please!

The tapioca leaves were topped with minced meat which tasted like the Taiwanese minced braised meat rice (卤肉饭) added a nice touch to the otherwise plain tasting leaves.

This liver dish was delish but a tad undercooked for our liking. The seasoning and sauce used for this dish tasted like the Dragon City at the former Novotel Orchid (the restaurant has been closed for a few years). It was a little bit sweet, savory and fragrant.

Spicy clams (蛤蜊）was the next dish. I reckon this dish did not have enough punch or taste, quite a few clams did not open up.

The noodle soup was quite light and pleasantly good. The broth had a smokey taste which I thought maybe similar to dashi. The noodles (切仔面）had a springiness to it (the QQ feel). The meat was a healthy option, fat free! So some may not like it. Garnishes include chives and bean sprouts. For those who prefer a very light meal here, this is a good choice.

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Steamed cod was the most popular, it was snapped up in a very short time. The fish was fresh, lightly steamed with soy sauce and garnished with shreds of spring onion and carrot including the crispy topping.

Was not impressed with the kidneys in sesame sauce. The sauce tasted sweet and the kidneys tasted like they were not cleansed thoroughly. Most disappointing dish of the night.

Fried hsinchu bee hoon was also another popular dish. Springy rice vermicelli fried with a mix of seafood and egg tasted home cooked in simple seasoning.

Lastly the chai por (chopped radish) omelette came thick & tasted fluffy and lightly salted. I love eggs and thought this was delicious!