The Dead Cockroach: Xin Peng La Mian Xiao Long Bao @ Blk 442 Clementi Ave 3

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Ask anyone for food suggestions at Clementi and chances are, the majority would direct you towards Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre.

However, apart from the food centre, there are quite a number of coffee shops in the vicinity which are worthy of a visit too.

Bgain 442 Eating House - the coffee shop within the closest proximity, is located just across the food centre at blk 442.

Xin Peng La Mian Xiao Long Bao is one of the more notable stall here and as its name imply, offers a variety of la mian and xiao long bao.

For la mian, they have:

fried bean sauce la mian (aka zha jiang mian)
dumpling la mian (soup/dry)
five spices beef la mian soup
chicken chop/pork chop la mian (soup/dry)
vegetable meat wanton la mian (soup/dry)
preserved vegetable shredded meat la mian (soup/dry)
vegetable meat wanton soup
spicy shredded chicken la mian soup

As for dumplings, they have:

Shanghai xiao long bao
Shandong dumpling
Shandong fried dumpling
red oil wanton

Frozen dumplings are also available at $12 for 30 pieces. That is good news for your hotpot party!

After a quick scan of the menu, I was impressed by how affordably priced the food here are.

I got greedy and decided to order the dumpling la mian dry ($4.50) and a steamer of xiao long bao ($4.50 for 6 pieces).

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What I did not expect was the massive size of the bowl of la mian.

Five large dumplings sat atop the mound of noodle accompanied by cucumber shreds, xiao bai cai and black fungus. I helped myself to the chopped spring onions placed on the counter together with the other condiments like chili, ginger shreds and black vinegar.

As mentioned, the dumpling size is quite sizeable. Taking a bite out of one, I find that the thickness of the skin can be rather inconsistent as some area is thicker.

You can probably tell from the photo that it is not just a pocket of air inside but filled snugly with a mixture of ground pork and chives.

I am not quite a fan of the pungent smell of chives though so I had to smother them in the vinegar and chili oil to mask the flavor.

With so much ingredients, I could not even see the noodle below. Sweeping them aside, I was taken aback by the portion which is good enough to share among two.

Tossing the noodle in the dark sauce, the noodle texture is firm and posses a good bite.

Finding the dark sauce a tad sweet, I tossed in some of the chili which reminded me of mala chili although the effect is much milder than 小辣.

Nevertheless, the addition of the fragrant chili did elevate the taste profile quite considerably.

I intentionally left the xiao long bao for the last as I do not do too well with hot food, particularly sneaky ones that could potentially scald my tongue with their juices inside.

By the time I conquered the bowl of la mian, the xiao long bao had already turned cold and became deflated.

Their bottoms sticked to the paper when I tried picking them up but fortunately, their skin did not tear.

Through no one's fault but mine alone, the skin were a little dried up while the texture slightly tough. This might not have happened if I had consumed them still hot.

I prefer the xiao long bao as compared to the dumplings as there are no chives in them.

Initially, I thought that I could easily finish everything by myself but apparently, I was wrong.

I eventually ended up having to pack two dumplings and three xiao long bao home in a doggy bag.

From $4 to $5.50, the offerings here give you bang for your buck. If you are famished but left with only $10 in your wallet, this should satisfy both your budget as well as your tummy.