I am pretty sure the well-known shopping district in Taiwan - Xi Men Ding is no stranger to most of you. A fast-rising source of fashion and culture, Xi Men Ding is also home to the greatest food in Taipei. Since popular local food stalls which boast authentic Taiwanese delicacies are on the rise nowadays, one can easily enjoy a taste of Taiwan here.
Girlfriend Peiyi and I would be heading to Taipei soon in mid-November 2012, and we thought, why not try something in preparation for our trip? We were in Vivocity at that point of time, and Xi Men Ding was quite the obvious choice. There was a short queue of approximately 6 people, but we were seated within 5 minutes.
Anyway, we took notice of their signature fried rice - an impressive looking Taiwanese-style Grilled Roe Fried Rice (S$11.00). It was quite a disappointment when the grilled fish roes came 50% smaller than the ones in pictures. (Blame it on the "for illustration purpose only") Nevertheless, the fried rice was well fragranced and everything - the crunchy cabbage, spring onions and scrambled eggs came to mix perfectly with the heavily flavoured roes.
Another speciality - San Bei Chicken with Basil (S$18.90) was slightly bland and overcooked, resulting in juice-less and hard chicken chunks. As a matter of fact, with the exhorbitant price, I could get better quality as well as quantity, at the neighbourhood tze char stall below the block.
Fresh Fish Slices w/ Miso Soup (S$6.90) was delectable with the generous portions of mushrooms and fish slices (you don't see it in the picture cos' they are at the bottom).
Xi Men Ding also serves a selection of Flower Tea Balls and Floral Tea. With the typical soft drinks going about at the same price, we rather go for a healthier alternative. Hence, we had Osmanthus Tea (S$8.00). I supposed that osmanthus tea emits a strong, sweet fragrance, but this was just bland.
Contrary to what many food reviews said about their terrible service, I found it acceptable - the service staff smiled and greeted us. That is pure basic service techniques. However, there was once I requested a waitress to clear up a minor spillage on our table, but she totally forgot about it. Xi Men Ding is probably another restaurant that I will say "this is my first, and the last", as they failed to create any "wow" factors (except for the pricings) or any other reasons I should visit them again.
Xi Men Ding Taiwan Cuisine
Tel: 63768018
Operating Hours
Daily: 12:00 - 22:00
1 HarbourFront Walk
#01-51A
VivoCity