Eggs Benedict and duck confit get the mod-Asian brunch treatment at this restaurant at Duxton Hill
Eggs Benedict, English breakfast, French toast, and waffles – all these are tried-and-tested brunch classics and available at pretty much any café. But at Xiao Ya Tou on Duxton Hill, you’ll find none of the usual suspects. Instead, Xiao Ya Tou shakes up the brunch scene with the introduction of a quirky new menu featuring brunchy treats with Japanese, Cantonese, and Indian influences. Curiosity piqued yet?
The first dish we dived into was the twice-cooked duck noodles. Here, you’ve got your French-influenced duck confit paired with yellow homemade noodles that tasted like a cross between mee pok and tagliatelle. The duck fell apart when teased with a fork (the hallmark of any good duck confit) and the noodles were richly flavoured, but perhaps a tad too salty.
Things got a little more exciting with our next dish, the unagi Benedict. This spin on the brunch classic features a fried mantou bun instead of English muffins, unagi instead of ham, and a poached egg. The fried mantou bun is an absolutely decadent addition that truly makes the dish.
Next, I tried the crispy otak otak rojak. The dish, a reinterpretation of rojak comprises of otak otak wrapped in a crispy pastry similar to fried dumpling skins, pineapple purée, peanut sauce, and sliced cucumber. It’s a novel take on the dish and one that introduces fried elements without becoming too heavy or greasy.
My favourite dish, and the highlight of brunch at Xiao Ya Tou is, without a doubt, the wagyu beef chee cheong fun. I’ve got a soft spot for this dish, so I was thrilled to see it upgraded with buttery slices of wagyu beef and lashings of homemade hoisin sauce. The chee cheong fun itself was cooked to a perfect consistency – not overcooked and falling apart.
Xiao Ya Tou hits all the right notes as a brunch choice for me. Sure, I do love a good eggs Benny as much as the next brunch-goer, but I’m always up to trying modern interpretations of this weekend meal. If you’re after a brunch out of the ordinary, here’s the spot for you.
Xiao Ya Tou, 6 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089592. p. 6226 1965. Brunch served 10am-3.30pm on Saturday, all day on Sunday.