Crystal Jade Dining IN - Well, Count Me OUT

the wildly popular crystal jade restaurants added yet another brand to its chain. this time it is “crystal jade dining in”, with “in” being the operative word for this upmarket restaurant. in singapore, to be “in” is to be hip and trendy. just how hip can a traditional chinese restaurant be?

well i was eager to find out. and apparently, so were many other people. the restaurant at the spanking new vivocity was jam-packed even on a weekday evening. we had no choice but to share a long table with five other couples. the lit walkway that leads to the main dining area is a nice touch, and does a good job of concealing the fact that the restaurant is actually rather small.

Diced Fish with Osmanthus Honey Sauce (??????)
Price: $10 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Dish rating:

the menu gives the first clue as to why this restaurant is “in”. many of the dishes are made with unconventional ingredients and for a first-time visitor, picking the dishes can prove rather daunting. luckily waitresses were on hand to offer suggestions. ours recommended the diced fish with osmanthus honey sauce as an appetiser, which coincidentally was what i had been eyeing. fish with honey sauce seemed an interesting combination and the result was excellent.

at this point i noticed that each person’s place setting had two pairs of chopsticks instead of one. i haven’t dined at chinese restaurants that frequently so i can’t be sure that this is uncommon. the black chopsticks are meant for bringing food from the common dish that everyone shares to your plate, whereas the silver chopsticks are to be used for eating.

Chinese Oolong Tea (???)
Price: $2 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Drink rating:

for drinks we had the chinese tea (???). bitter and bland isn’t exactly my cup of tea although it is a good palate cleanser. as you can see i’m totally not a chinese-tea person and know next to nothing about it!

Braised E-Fu Noodles with Scallop & Egg White (???????)
Price: $18 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Dish rating:

i made the mistake of ordering too much food! the noodles filled a huge bowl, which was enough to feed four persons comfortably. and there were just two of us! it didn’t even taste good! in fact, with the exception of the fish appetiser, all the dishes were bland and monotonous.

Sauteed Diced Chicken & Assorted Mushroom with Dried Chili (??????)
Price: $18 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Dish rating:

take a common chinese dish like kung pow chicken. this is a popular dish that is meant to be flavorful. yet somehow the chef managed to whip up a bland-tasting dish that barely aroused my taste-buds.

Braised Seasonal Vegetable with Crab Roe (?????)
Price: $16 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST + 1% CESS
Dish rating:

the vegetable dish actually fared better. it was an interesting dish consisting of greens covered in a generous amount of crab roe. the roe added much dimension to an otherwise boring dish.

in conclusion the food at the newest crystal jade restaurant is nothing to shout about, despite the high prices. i had enjoyed my previous trips to crystal jade la mian xiao long bao [1] [2] much, much better. however, the bland dishes may just appeal to the health-conscious or those with mild palates. prices here aren’t exactly dirt cheap so budget about $40-$50 per person.

Crystal Jade Dining IN
VivoCity
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-112 Singapore 098585 [map]
(65) 6278 5626
Service rating:

Posted by Veron · Food category · 11,347 views