XI HE RESTAURANT Review

A popular Wuxi local restaurant hidden in a densely populated residential area near Lihu Lake in Wuxi. I arrived early and had already started queuing up for a number. Fortunately, the waiting time was not long and I was seated soon. It is very convenient to order dishes. They only select Wuxi specialties, which are fresh but not too strong in taste. I placed my order steadily. The speed of serving dishes is very ideal. One dish after another, not too slow or too fast, can be savored carefully. Three white fried dough sticks, small fried dough sticks, cut in the middle, embedded with fish paste, crispy and delicious. Magnolia cake, basically still tastes like when I was a child, with crispy and fragrant skin, soft and glutinous cake body, and overflowing red soup with meat filling, with some improvements. Fresh shrimp soup snails, which are snails before Qingming Festival, are not yet full of young shells, plump and refreshing, just in time. Coriander mixed with kidney flower, also a local specialty, is handled very cleanly, without any peculiar smell, tender and crispy, slightly spicy with fermented bean curd sauce, delicious.

Xihe Wuxi Cuisine on Zhongnan Road, the building was formerly a hotel. The catering part of Xihe is on the first floor, and it is not clear whether there is a second floor. The layout has small tables for individual customers, private rooms that can accommodate one to three tables, and the open kitchen is also clear at a glance. It seems to be separated from Xixin. I don’t know if it is a sub-brand or independent, but the characteristic snails are still the signature. Because it was a family banquet, I took pictures of the first few cold dishes, which were still quite delicate and traditional in taste. The old braised pork liver was solid in the mouth, the fried fish sauce was moist and sweet, and the hot dishes were stone pot baked taro and soup snails. The others were also at the same level, and I was generally satisfied.

Came here based on reviews. During the Chinese New Year, most families booked tables for dinner, and the hall was full. It was easy to park at the door, and there were plenty of parking spaces. The environment was a little disappointing, it was messy, the tables and chairs were placed close together, and smoking was allowed indoors. The service was OK, and the response was fast. Because of the Chinese New Year, the menu was changed to a temporary one, and many of the dishes I wanted to eat were not found. The overall level of the food should be at the level of popular dishes with local characteristics. [Three White Fried Dough Sticks] Because a lot of large pieces of three whites were added, the fried dough sticks themselves became hard and dry, and had more river flavor than ordinary fried dough sticks, and the taste had an extra layer. The flavors were also well integrated, but I felt it was too oily after eating it. [Crab Roe Tendon] was very good, with a lot of crab meat, and the tendons were soft and rotten. [Whitebait Scrambled Eggs], there were more whitebait, and it was delicious. [Shepherd's Purse Mushroom Soup] [Brown Sugar Cake] was average. It could be better.

Xixin Restaurant, famous for its conch soup, serves large portions as usual and the taste is authentic Wuxi flavor. There are many flavors of soup snails, including sauce, chicken soup, etc. The Tianmu Lake fish head is super big and the fish balls are fresh and tender.

A special home-style restaurant near my home, doing very good business