Xin yuan ji is a popular restaurant in Singapore that specializes in fish soups. They have been around the Bugis area for many years and I never had the chance to try them due to the long queues.
Finally, I have a chance to eat this when my friends suggest this place for fish steamboat.
Menu image from Xin Yuan Ji Facebook Page.
Their food menu is quite extensive. Other than their speciality fish soups, they do have zi-char (stir-fry dishes) too.
The restaurant is air-conditioned, so you won't be sweating when eating especially fish soups. Also, the restaurant is clean and nice too.
The ordered list:
Red Garoupa Fish Steamboat 红斑鱼肉炉 (Meat only, Medium sized, 70 SGD)
We ordered the red garoupa (grouper) for the meat as it is more firm texture and is not flaky compared to red snapper. The fish steamboat came with charcoals burning in the middle for keeping the soup warm.
When you see tomatoes in soup, it's gonna be good and tasty as tomatoes are a natural flavouring for soups. Other ingredients in the soup were yam, coriander, tofus, lots of cabbage and lettuce.
The soup is clear and flavorful, with a slightly sweet taste from the tomatoes. Very hearty and definitely not the overpowered type of soup. The fish was fresh and cooked in the simmering soup and capture its flavours, resulting the fish having the hearty taste with a firm bite texture.
Prawn Scrambled Egg 虾仁炒蛋 (9.8 SGD)
It is actually fried eggs with prawns and carrots. But hey, I don't expect it to be so good. The eggs are cooked fluffy and not oily, prawns and carrots were crunchy lastly they go well with rice
Sweet and Sour Pork 酸甜咕噜肉 (15.80 SGD)
It's a pretty standard sweet and sour pork. The pork was cut into big chunks, the sauce are not too sweet and blended well with the pork. It's a pity that the pork lacks the crunchiness that the dish should have.
French Beans fried with Dry Shrimp 虾米四季豆( 13.80 SGD)
This dish is quite expensive for vegetables and the dry shrimp sauce was quite salty. Not recommending it.
Thoughts
Overall it was a decent meal. The ingredients are fresh, especially the fish meat. The fish steamboat price is pretty steep but fair enough grouper is a premium fish. The soup was clear and sweet but for heavy tasters may find its lack of taste.
Although they are known for fish steamboats and soups, their zi-char (stir-fry dishes) are worth to try it. Not over oily and is a good sidekick for the fish steamboat. I think their chilli can be enhanced by adding fermented bean paste which can elevate the fish steamboat.
The food servings are fast and soup can be refilled if it is not enough. Would definitely come back again for a meal =).
Rating: 4 out of 5 forks
Location：
Address：31 Tan Quee Lan St, #01-01, Singapore 18811
Nearest MRT Station: Bugis
Please visit their Facebook page for the latest updates and operating hours.
For North and North-East people, they do have other outlets at Yishun and Hougang too! Check out this link for the addresses.
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