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Thursday, May 18, 2006

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao - This Bao Packs a Punch!

i’m not someone that’s true to her roots…

…when it comes to dining, that is. i would much rather eat western, italian, japanese or even muslim food anyday! so when i was at crystal jade la mian xiao long bao recently, i was pleasantly surprised to find that i actually loved the food!

the crystal jade chain of chinese restaurants is so ubiquitous these days you can’t go to a popular shopping mall without seeing one. the chain is so popular it has even divided into different specialisations. there’s crystal jade kitchen, crystal jade palace, crystal jade bakery, crystal jade la mian xiao long bao, crystal jade shanghai cuisine hu cui, et cetera. recently, they have even gone express! to think this was only my second time visiting any crystal jade outlet at all.

for drinks, we ordered their home-made longan drink, which came along with white fungi. it was a refreshing change from the usual lemon tea, and a very healthy drink at the same time.

Longan Drink with White Fungi

Longan Drink with White Fungi (??????)
Price: $3 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Drink rating:

there were so many food items on the menu that we had a really hard time deciding what we wanted; each one looked as yummy as the next! after much deliberation, we went with the following items.

Spicy & Sour Soup in Sichuan Style

Spicy & Sour Soup in Sichuan Style (?????)
Price: $6 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Dish rating:

when the sichuan soup came, i was alarmed to find such a small portion for $6; barely enough for one! but it certainly didn’t disappoint. there was just the right amount of spiciness and the right amount of tang, a good complement to the milder xiao long bao (steamed pork dumpling) that we ordered. i guess anything that is cooked sichuan style can’t go wrong!

Shanghai Steamed Pork Dumpling

Shanghai Steamed Pork Dumpling (?????)
Price: $3.60 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Dish rating:

despite it being the house specialty, i didn’t really like the shanghai steamed pork dumpling that much. it was just okay for me. i did wonder how it was wrapped though, since it was extremely soupy on the inside.

Beijing Pork Dumpling

Beijing Pork Dumpling (????)
Price: $4.50 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Dish rating:

the beijing pork dumpling fared better. less soupy than its shanghainese counterpart, but more savory overall. oh yeah it’s a fraction cheaper too!

Sauteed Chicken in Spicy Sauce

Sauteed Chicken in Spicy Sauce (????)
Price: $10 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Dish rating:

the spicy chicken dish is a very popular dish at chinese restaurants and hawker stalls. i have eaten the same dish at various places before, but this was the first time the chicken came along with cashew nuts! it was simply delightful!

the best part about the meal (besides the yumminess) was that we didn’t have to wait much. even though crystal jade is quite notorious for always having long queues, we were there past 4pm and were ushered to a good window seat pretty quickly. once placing our orders, the food came fast with minimal waiting time.

this definitely won’t be the last time i visit crystal jade!

c(15)mments
  1. glad you like the food =)

    View all comments by Chup

    Posted by posted by Chup SINGAPORE Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 · Time posted May 18, 2006 at 10:32pm · Direct link to this comment link



  2. thanks for the meal chup =) View all comments by Veron

    Posted by posted by Veron SINGAPORE Windows XP Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3 · Time posted May 18, 2006 at 10:37pm · Direct link to this comment link



  3. crystal jade was once a classy chinese restaurant…then one day, my friend noticed that because of its ubiquity, people were allowed to enter wearing sandals and really casual wear. To him, that kind of degraded the classiness of the place.

    But everytime we’re there, xiao long bao is always the default appetiser! Their prawn dumpling noodles are also very good - the prawns are just so juicy and succulent! Also, their various fried rice dishes are very fragrant and certainly different from the usual egg-and-meat fare in hawker centres. I tried the scallop-and-crab-meat one: yummy! View all comments by harrison

    Posted by posted by harrison SINGAPORE Windows XP Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3 · Time posted May 19, 2006 at 8:59pm · Direct link to this comment link



  4. Crystal Jade still looks like a classy place. The waiters/resses are quite professional in their service. The only thing that makes it less classy would be, like you said, the patrons! But I guess it’s not exactly an upmarket restaurant (except for Crystal Jade Palace perhaps) so I’m fine with people going in in slacks!

    I haven’t tried enough of their food I think. A must-try next time: their home-pulled la mian! View all comments by Veron

    Posted by posted by Veron SINGAPORE Windows XP Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3 · Time posted May 20, 2006 at 1:30pm · Direct link to this comment link



  5. maybe other then food and service rating, you can have a ambience rating also.. View all comments by chup

    Posted by posted by chup SINGAPORE Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 · Time posted May 20, 2006 at 2:47pm · Direct link to this comment link



  6. Posted by posted by Veron SINGAPORE Windows XP Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3 · Time posted May 20, 2006 at 2:53pm · Direct link to this comment link



  7. yeah~ View all comments by chup

    Posted by posted by chup SINGAPORE Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 · Time posted May 20, 2006 at 3:07pm · Direct link to this comment link



  8. Cool site revamp! :)
    Keep up de fab work. View all comments by [G]

    Posted by posted by [G] SINGAPORE Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 · Time posted May 22, 2006 at 8:06am · Direct link to this comment link



  9. Posted by posted by Veron SINGAPORE Windows 2000 Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3 · Time posted May 22, 2006 at 10:11am · Direct link to this comment link



  10. i stmbled upon tis website juz want to comment so beautiful sia heee hee :)

    so nice here food, movies, songs, travels, veron so pretty too kekeke :D View all comments by redstars

    Posted by posted by redstars SINGAPORE Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 · Time posted August 9, 2006 at 5:17pm · Direct link to this comment link



  11. always glad to know i have something to offer. thanks for those nice words! View all comments by Veron

    Posted by posted by Veron SINGAPORE Windows XP Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6 · Time posted August 10, 2006 at 1:45am · Direct link to this comment link



  12. Wow!! Ur site looks so beautiful!!! the 1st time i saw it, i was captivated by it… hahaha!
    Btw, which xiaolong bao restaurant is good lei? am goin to treat my frens there on my birthday, but dunno which outlet… any suggestions???
    thanks !! View all comments by iwan

    Posted by posted by iwan UNITED STATES Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 · Time posted August 14, 2006 at 12:49pm · Direct link to this comment link



  13. Thanks! I like Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao and frequent the Great World City outlet as there are less people and the service is excellent. Din Tai Fung’s xiao long bao is comparatively not as good. View all comments by Veron

    Posted by posted by Veron SINGAPORE Windows XP Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6 · Time posted August 14, 2006 at 1:07pm · Direct link to this comment link



  14. i ate at Crystal jade kitchen- holland village 2 times. at that time i didnt know different outlet has different specialities and tastes. therefore, i just ordered normal food like wanton noodle or pordrige, quite boring. maybe have to try again. heard that “la mian” at la mian xiao long bao is very nice ^^ View all comments by hana

    Posted by posted by hana SINGAPORE Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 · Time posted December 28, 2007 at 4:21pm · Direct link to this comment link



  15. crystal jade is a rip off compared to din tai fung

    dtf’s xiao long pao is like the must have…dipped in vinager and eaten with ginger ….yeah..

    the bad point is that if ure eating on a weekend during dinner time… u’ll probably spend most of your time waiting for your seats…they take numbers….

    i rate it a 6/10 View all comments by Jared Lim

    Posted by posted by Jared Lim SINGAPORE Windows Vista Internet Explorer 7.0 · Time posted February 23, 2008 at 10:40pm · Direct link to this comment link



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