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C-Jade Express – An Express to be Missed! [Closed]

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The Crystal Jade chain is famed for dishing out consistently good food along with good service. My previous visit to Crystal Jade la mian xiao long bao left me with a deep and lasting positive impression of the place. Its latest foray into the fast-food market comes in the form of a Hong Kong style coffee shop, c-jade express.

In true fast-food style, the menu is printed upon brightly lit boards visible to all, and you place your orders at the counter.

Sweet & Sour Fish Rice

Sweet & Sour Fish Rice (咕噜鱼片烩饭)
SGD9+

I went for the sweet and sour fish rice, a rather safe option. Dining under the Crystal Jade brand name, I expected much more than I would normally get at hawker stalls. Unfortunately, that was exactly what I got. Hawker-standard food but at four times the price. As the food was being served I knew right away that it was gonna turn out terrible. And I was right.

I suspect the sweet and sour sauce was merely ketchup sauce from a bottle, thinned out with water and with sugar added. I wolfed down the fish slices quickly, leaving most of the rice untouched. If you thought the fish rice was terrible, wait till you see their maggi mee.

Spicy Pork Noodle

Spicy Pork Noodle (五香肉丁一丁面)
SGD4.80+

You ask, what? Maggi mee? Yeah you got that right. The spicy pork noodle was none other than a fancier version of maggi mee. The noodle looked like maggi mee. It tasted like maggi mee. And that’s not all. The pork cubes came straight out of a can! I know this is c-jade express. But Crystal Jade is definitely going “express” a little too far!

French Toast with Vanilla Ice Cream

French Toast with Vanilla Ice Cream (雪糕多士)
SGD1.80 (with minimum purchase of $10)+

Over here, you would find many people chomping down on French toast with vanilla ice cream. C-jade express offers the dessert at $1.80 with the minimum purchase of $10. This is easily met since most of their a la carte menu items are just under $10 anyway. Fortunately the dessert was okay. But then again, how bad can ice cream toast get? Boy it seems like I don’t have any good words for this place at all!

Alright their service was pretty efficient. The waitresses cleaned up the tables rather swiftly so that each time you finished a dish, the plate would be cleared away immediately. Like what my dinner partner said, this was to maximise their business transaction turnover more so than anything else. I nodded in agreement. What cynics we were!

There, you have it. I don’t have any good words for this place at all. Crystal jade’s reputation of good quality food ends here.

C-Jade Express (翡翠美食速递)
Wisma Atria
435 Orchard Road #B1-18
Singapore 238877
(65) 6733 6326
www.crystaljade.com

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and WordPress development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

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6 responses

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my
August 7, 2006

yes the food there sucks.. i was expecting something good since it’s no matter what, still crystal jade.

anyway ur rice looks like those “cai fan” stalls’ ones.. i’m nv go there again!
Reply
Veron
August 7, 2006

exactly! i had the exact same sentiments as you. no wonder they call this “c-jade” instead of the usual “crystal jade”. probably their first step at distancing the “crystal jade” name from this mediocrity.

not only did my fish rice look like it came from a hawker stall, it tasted no different too. people should stay away from this place altogether!
Reply
ry
August 7, 2006

9 bucks for just sweet and sour fish? What a rip-off. For $2.50 I can get chicken, fish and veg at my regular mixed veg stall…

I tried their goose burger before. The patty is even smaller than KFC man… Never going to eat there again.
Reply
Anonymous
August 7, 2006

hmmm just so you know, the noodles thing, by the chinese name, its obvious that its supposed to be instant noodles. (yi ding mian, which means nissin instant noodles). its actually a famous breakfast meal in hongkong. the meat is supposed to be canned food as well. so they’re not cheating you on that. but i do agree that the food there aint fantastic.
Reply
Veron
August 7, 2006

Well seems like everyone so far has the consensus that the $9 fish rice is no better, if not worse than what you can get from any regular hawker stall. anyhoo, it’s evident that i’m gonna boycott that place! c-jade express that is. i still love the rest of crystal jade.
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Veron
August 7, 2006

i didn’t actually realise 一丁面 translates to instant noodles. i was still wondering what it meant! well we learn something new everyday!
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