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Shop 1, G/F, 8 Wing Fung Street, Wan Chai

Tel: 2833 6299

Open: Noon-11pm

Cuisine: Mainly Chinese fusion, with some ingredients imported from Japan.

Ambience: Xi Yan Sweets is a small, but busy, restaurant next to Three Pacific Place. It has a dashing designer decor in reddish tones  with beige and white furniture. Stylish paintings adorn  the walls.

Price: $180 per person including drinks,  but not wine.

Pros: Innovative dishes with beautiful presentation. Xi Yan Sweets offers some popular dishes that are served in its sister restaurant, Xi Yan, a private kitchen that's always booked out months in advance. By going to the less busy Xi Yan Sweets, you can try similar dishes without the hassle of waiting.

Cons: It has a small menu and half of it is desserts. The beige wooden stools aren't  comfortable  and the tables are small. We have no idea why the lychee ice-cream crepe ($36)  tasted of durian - perhaps  it was because we tried so many rich flavours in one meal, which confused our taste buds.

Recommended dishes: We couldn't not order the restaurant's famous dish, Japanese greenhouse tomato with sesame sauce ($36) - even though we don't fancy tomatoes.  The tomato was skinned, cut into slices and bathed in a yellowish brown sesame sauce, which is slightly salty and spicy. The sauce contrasted with the taste of the  fresh,  sweet tomato, but the flavours didn't overwhelm each other.

We  expected the Sichuan spicy chicken ($78, above) to come with big pieces of chicken. Instead, thin slices  were served with cold, transparent green bean noodles, preserved eggs and peanuts. The ingredients were flavoured by the delicious spicy sauce.

The fried soft shell crab in plum sauce ($68) was  crisp, but not oily, and was among the best we've tried.

For dessert, the jasmine tea ice cream ($25) was refreshing.

What else? Xi Yan Sweets is owned by Jacky Yu, who also cooks at the private kitchen.



Xi Yan Sweets