Crystal Jade Hong Kong Cafe

This is a review of a group lunch (5 people) at C-​Jade (Cristal Jade) Hong Kong Café on the fourth level of Bugis+.
I had noticed this spot at a previous lunch at nearby Poulet. I suggested we try C-​Jade.
The ambiance is modern and organic with a cool palette and lots of curvatures. It still has the feel of a new restaurant. It is very clean. The restaurant was not very busy.
The staff was professional and friendly. They even assisted with a photo. Everything was handled quickly. I felt we were a little rushed to place our order. The staff didn’t check often to see if the meal was going well. The food came out at a relatively good pace.
The food ranged from poor to mediocre to passable. The quality of the food was a let down. In general, the presentation of the food was relatively nice.
Collage of some of the dishes:
I will review the food I ate and include photos of the food that some of the others ordered.
Fried Seafood Platter — One of the group ordered this as their entrée. I ordered a separate one to share. Simply put, this was not a very good dish. The prawns specifically had a very poor taste that lacked freshness. The fries were of the most pedestrian sort. They did not appear to be fried in fresh oil and they were not crisp. The remainder of the items on the platter lacked any flavour at all.
Chicken, Preserved Sausage, Mushroom & Rice Bowl — This was my entrée and from looking around the table, I think it was the best dish served. It actually wasn’t too bad. It was piping hot. The chicken was tasty but was not particularly tender. The mushrooms had a nice earthy flavour but had an overly moist outer layer that wasn’t particularly appetizing. The portion was of a pretty decent size.
Most others thought their dishes were, at very best, average.
Spaghetti Pork Chop
Seafood Platter
Pork Cutlet and Rice
Seafood Pasta
Receipt (Lunch for 5): $ 101.45
Overall — The ambiance is a bit slick. The staff is friendly and professional. They are not necessarily overly attentive though. The food doesn’t cut it. It was very inconsistent and some of the dishes were not very good. I would not return. Luckily great company can make up for mediocre food. But, unfortunately for C-​Jade Hong Kong Café, that does not get factored into the review.

The crowd barely formed at 6.30pm. The restaurant beams afar, the first magnitude — 3D geometric-​shaped objects clad with lighting enliven the otherwise flat ceiling — quite enchanting. Still as vacant and spacious as it first appeared. Apparently, most of the wait staff were having their break, leaving 2 to man the outlet. Although service was gracious, I’d wish they speed up the tempo a little.
One would agree that the chilled milk tea served here is no where close to the signature pantyhose tea in Hong Kong. Never mind if it didn’t taste the same, everyone knows the Hong Konger uses very special evaporated milk that give its distinction. However, I still get surprises — it was presented in a glass bottle with a hallow space in the middle; filled with dry ice. I have never seen it anywhere before.
If you prefer to have something light to start off, find yourself a salad here. The tuna & fusilli salad makes a good starter although the olive oil did taste weird and the thousand island sauce was far more clotted. The lettuces taste fresh.
I find the instant noodles more appealing. Whenever I was in Hong Kong, this humble bowl of noodles becomes my staple food in the morning. I will not leave the country without a good bowl. Here, it was served with fresh bok choy, one palm-​sized fried egg and 2 luncheon wedges which comforts me greatly. The soup — unsubtle and good with the noodles cooked just right; springy. It has been a good replacement for a bowl of doubled boil soup that I solaced.

Chances upon this café during lunch after we went to Poulet and found the queue too long. Situated at the 4^th floor of the newly revamped Bugis + mall, it seems to be the first HK café I’ve seen from the Crystal Jade franchise.
The décor was what drew me in. It’s nice and bright with white and light blue colors. Upon walking in, we also saw people eating food from really exotic utensils like pots and tubs. The milk tea was held in a beaker-​like apparatus that you have to pour out to a smaller test tube glass!
Unfortunately the food (rice dish and chicken chop pasta) is only so-​so. they have this old school crackers with honey that you can try if you top up your mains for $ 4 for a soup, selected drinks and that cracker.
The only food that made an impression was this sandwich kebab appetizer we tried that had bread, capsicum and chicken slices on a stick. Essentially a sandwich, in kebab form.