KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Can RM98 for fried rice ever be worth it?

At Xigong Seafood Restaurant, the answer is a resounding, albeit extravagant, yes. I know what you’re thinking. I was thinking the exact same thing.

When I first heard of it, I expected to find a clumsy exercise in excess, full of needless fillers like gold leaf, which serve only to increase the price.

Instead, I found a mountain of rice, piled high with treasures from the deep — prawns, crab and scallops, topped with a generous helping of crispy deep-fried shrimp.

It sat there, presented almost rather humbly in a plain white dish, wherein each grain of rice, bit of scallion, and slice of seafood glistened with fat like pearls under a light.

With each spoonful, I kept looking for the gimmick, the catch, the inevitable "gotcha!” moment — yet it continually eluded me.

Instead, when all was said and done, I was left with an undeniable feeling of contentment and satisfaction, borne from a simple combination of expert technique and great ingredients — light, skilfully seasoned and full of wok hei, the fried rice on its own warranted plenty of applause, and each piece of prawn, crab or scallop was sweet and fresh.

You won’t find this on the menu, at least until they update it.

Ask for the hou mun chao fan (豪门炒饭) in Cantonese, which roughly translates to "rich fried rice”.

The portion was plenty for three, so if you’re looking for a reason to celebrate with a group, look no further than here.

Xigong is located at the corner of a row of shops on Jalan Helang Sewah, in a quiet Kepong neighbourhood that couldn’t look more at odds with the restaurant on a weeknight.

The bright neon sign draws the eyes like moths to a flame, which isn’t the worst description of the dining room at 8pm.

Both shop lots are buzzing, with people swarming around an entertaining scene of controlled chaos.

Next to us was a big party of Japanese diners, getting rowdier by the minute and evidently enjoying themselves.

"Chaotic, but refined” was a recurring theme throughout for the food as well.

While the fried rice displayed immense finesse, the Dry Fried Prawns (RM60 for meng har) pulled no punches.

Inside each prawn was sweet, supple flesh, but the real treat was sucking on the shells which had been coated in a dark, viscous paste that was bursting with flavour from black beans and chillies.

A messy pot of Three Trotters (RM60 with sea cucumber) was yet another example of a dish here that goes the whole hog.

It is a gnarly and oh-so-delicious scene of pork ribs, jelly-like tendons and gelatinous pork trotters, with pieces of sea cucumber and a halved head of garlic scattered throughout.

Best of all, it’s tossed in a luscious sauce filled to the brim with savouriness thanks to bits of dried cuttlefish.

It’s a carnal, bone-sucking, cartilage-crunching affair that’ll leave you looking like a pack of wolves at the feast, licking your lips in between each mouthful.

The Golden Box Beancurd (RM30) was perhaps the night's most subtle dish, yet still embraced bold flavours.

A large block of tofu is stuffed with prawns, scallops and an abundance of garlic, so if you’re looking to keep Dracula at bay, this is the way to go.

Interspersed within are chunks of water chestnut, providing plenty of crunch.

The entire dish is drenched in a thick cornstarch slurry that imparts a strong taste of dried seafood.

Eating out can be a simple, low-key affair, but when you want to be big, loud and celebratory, Xigong is the answer.

The restaurant and the food are frenetic, high-octane and celebratory without feeling stuffy or ostentatious.

There’s just enough of a touch of refinement about it to prevent it from feeling tacky, and honestly, the fried rice alone is worth the price of admission.

Xigong Seafood Restaurant

21-23, Jalan Helang Sewah, Taman Seri Kepong Baru, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11-3pm, 5.30-10.30pm

Tel: 03-6273 2242

Facebook:@XigongSeafoodRestaurant

Instagram:@xigongseafood

*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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