Xiang Signature Restaurant (湘香厨房) – Delicious Hunan Cuisine Food in Bugis

Recently, we have been checking out Hunan cuisine restaurants and our latest find is Xiang Signature, a cozy Chinese restaurant located along Liang Seah Street in Singapore. We really enjoyed the Hunan dishes here and this is our full review of the restaurant.

Difference between Hunan Cuisine and Szechuan Cuisine

Before we continue, let’s talk about the difference between Hunan Cuisine and Szechuan Cuisine. Hunan Cuisine (also known as Xiang Cuisine) is characterised as being gan la (干辣), which literally translates as “dry spicy”. Comparatively speaking, Hunan dishes have a lighter and more straightforward taste because their spiciness come mainly from chili peppers only, and more fresh ingredients are used. On the other hand, Szechuan Cuisine is known for being ma la (麻辣), literally translated as “numbing spicy”. Compared to Hunan dishes, Szechuan dishes have richer and more complex flavours because they are prepared using copious amounts of Szechuan peppers, dried chilies and various types of preserved condiments. They are also generally oilier than Hunan dishes.

Xiang Signature Restaurant

Xiang Signature, as the name suggests, is a Chinese restaurant that specialises in Hunan cuisine dishes. It is located along Liang Seah Street, just a short walk away from Bugis MRT Station. This small joint is actually part of a restaurant group that operates two other Hunan cuisine restaurants: Hunan Cuisine Restaurant at Mosque Street and our beloved Wah Kungfu along Pagoda Street.

Good Service and Comfortable Atmosphere

Stepping into the restaurant, we could see that this was a space where tradition meets a dash of contemporary, where customers dine on classic oriental furniture placed in front of a striking red wall with playful wall art (do you spot a pepper?). We were pleasantly surprised by the decent service here. The staff were quite polite and attentive, and our orders came pretty quickly too.

Chicken Soup

We started our meal with a simple Chicken Soup ($7.80), which according to the menu is stewed at precisely 86 degrees celsius for five hours. Indeed, my first impression of the soup was one of artful balance in the texture and flavours. It was neither runny nor overly luscious, and I really enjoyed the light savoury flavour which left a pleasant fragrant aftertaste in my mouth. Our only qualm was that the portion could have been bigger; this was definitely not enough to share for two persons.

Hunan Style Fried Pork

Our next dish was the Hunan Style Fried Pork ($15.80), a homely dish consisting of pork slices stirred fried with a liberal amount of green pepper. Again, I was surprised by how good this simple dish tasted. The pork slices were tender and juicy with a savoury flavour that wasn’t overwhelming. Infused with the subtle green pepper flavour, it tasted great. I enjoyed eating the feisty green pepper slices too, though moderation is strongly advised because eating too much of the green pepper may lead to mild tummy issues and toilet visits later on (which the author of this article experienced).

Frog in Special Hotpot

The piece de resistance was, of course, the Frog in Special Hotpot ($29.80), a signature dish of Xiang Signature restaurant. This sumptuous dish comprised frog meat cooked with a variety of vegetables such as green peppers, red peppers, shallots, scallions and garlic. It was served to us steaming hot on a gas stove. I loved the succulent frog meat chunks which had a distinctive savoury flavour that was really delicious. The flavour was further accentuated by the fresh taste of the various vegetables. We finished the entire pot in a hurry!

Conclusion

Compared to Szechuan dishes, the Hunan dishes we tried at Xiang Signature restaurant have lighter and more delicate flavours. This is a good place to check out if you enjoy spicy Chinese food but find the traditional mala dishes to be too overwhelming. This is not to say that Hunan cuisine is better than Szechuan cuisine, but what I can say is that we really enjoyed the few Hunan dishes we tried at Xiang Signature. We are glad to have discovered yet another great Chinese restaurant in Singapore.

Xiang Signature
Address: Liang Seah Street #01-12/13/ 189022, 14 Liang Seah St, Singapore 189035
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 11pm
Phone: +65 6338 8939