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 any day! so when i was at crystal jade la mian xiao long bao ^[1] recently, i was pleasantly surprised to find that i actually loved the food!

the crystal jade restaurants are 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 ^[2]! to think this was only my second time visiting any crystal jade outlet at all.

^[3]

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 (龙眼雪耳糖水)
Price: $3 + 10% Service Charge + 7% 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 (四川酸辣汤)
Price: $6 + 10% Service Charge + 7% 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 (上海小笼包)
Price: $3.60 + 10% Service Charge + 7% 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 (北京水饺)
Price: $4.50 + 10% Service Charge + 7% 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 (宫保鸡丁)
Price: $10 + 10% Service Charge + 7% 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!