Dian Xiao Er (店小二) – 5 x $50 Voucher Giveaway for Alvinology.com Readers!

Have you dined at home-grown restaurant chain Dian Xiao Er (店小二) before?

Ever wonder why their business is so good? During lunch and dinner times, there are always long queues.

I had the rare opportunity to sit through dinner with the founder of Dian Xiao Er, Samuel Yik and his wife, Eliza. Both of them are super nice folks with “no air” that people like to stereotype with Chinese towkays. 

Samuel spoke with strong passion on how he started and operated Dian Xiao Er. He also shared some dining tips on their speciality dishes and enthusiastically explained to us the background of each dish.

I asked Samuel a lot of questions on his business operation. He answered everything candidly and was open to sharing just about everything (sans the recipes to his signature dishes of course). This is a hands-on boss who is on-the-ground and knows what he is doing, definitely not one shaking his legs in office.

Some people say the standards have declined in the past couple of years, but now that the founders are back in control (as of mid-2012), it is definitely worth visiting again.

Well, I am giving out 5 x S$50 Dian Xiao Er dining voucher to five lucky readers to try out the food at Dian Xiao Er!

To win the voucher, simply LIKE Dian Xiao Er on their Facebook page and leave a short message on the page stating why you like their food or would like to try their food. Print-screen the comment and email it to alvinologist@gmail.com by 14 Dec 2012. The best five entries will win the vouchers. To increase your chance of winning, if you are a blogger yourself and is willing to blog about your dining experience at Dian Xiao Er after winning the vouchers, please indicate this in your email.

Now, allow me to introduce to you, some of Dian Xiao Er’s signature dishes so you know what you can expect. 🙂

I am no stranger to Dian Xiao Er restaurants and am a fan of their signature Herbal Roast Duck since I first tried it at their Marina Square outlets a few years ago:

A lot of work goes into the preparation of the roast duck. Those who cook will know how tedious it is to prepare roast ducks.

The ducks at Dian Xiao Er are prepared daily for freshness. The ducks are marinated overnight to allow the herbal flavours to permeate each duck. A generous mixture of Chinese wine and herbs are sealed within the duck throughout the marinating process. The ducks are then roasted with the herbs and wine sealed inside their stomach. The roasting process releases the alcohol content of the wine while cooking with the herbs, resulting in the flavourful sauce that resides within the duck. This flavourful sauce is to be served with the portioned tender duck meat.

A lot of people has the mistaken notion that the herbal sauce is prepared separately and poured onto the duck, it is able to maintain the flavour, precisely because it is cooked INSIDE the duck.

Dian Xiao Er Herbal Roast Ducks are available in three flavours: Angelica Herb (当归), Ten Wonder Herbs (十全) and Wild Ginseng (泡参). Price for a small portion (approx. 2-3 pax servings) starts from $12.90++, a really reasonable price for a very tediously prepared dish.

Other favourites includes the following:

Silver Cod Fish in Superior Soy Sauce