Crystal Jade Jiang Nan

The food is good, the service is good! Just that almost no signal for mobile phone, so hardly can surf internet inside.

(I would rate it 2.5 instead, given the prompt service and the willingness to listen to feedback)
Located on level 1, the restaurant layout is bold and modish with large silvery lotus leaves potted in gigantic earthenware scattered sparsely in the dining hall. The longish pitch-​dark bird cage hanging from the ceiling did coincide with the type of cuisine they served, the very least, it reminds me what comes next on the plate — Chinese food.
There are 4 Yusheng «» menus and I decided on a 9 dishes set (CNY Set B) at $ 498.80++ for 8 pax but made for 9 pax with additional topping up and a final bill of $ 648. At $ 72/​pax, I should be happier given a full spread of dishes but I wasn’t quite sure if the money was well-​spent as there appeared to be more miss than hit tonight.
Wish I needn’t have to find reasons to believe that they tried hard to rework the dishes — toning down the time-​honored deep flavours to win the locals. I feedback to ask if it’s so, most of the dishes didn’t quite succeed in the move. It’s a pity but it was encouraging that the restaurant captain took time to listen to our serious evaluation and offer to check with the chef even nothing comes out of it.
We started off with the «appetizer» — Yusheng, which symbolises good fortune for the coming new year — arrived in bright hues and generous servings of crackers. Coupled with auspicious wishes from the waitress, we begin with the ritual to toss everything in the air, it was a pure mess! I could spot curious faces in the dining room who heard our loud roar (embarrassed since we are the only group and in practice, the dish is more commonly eaten during the 15days of the Lunar New Year). Served in fresh carrots, radish, pickled gingers; we were also given a large portion of raw Salmon though I prefer the nostalgic version that comes with wolf herring. The plate is good to feed a 10s.
Then the most-​anticipated Multi-​Flavoured Xiao Long Bao in rainbow hues were served. We barely recall all the different flavours the minute the waiter left the table but to summon another back to recite all over again… encoding failure! Well, anyway, there were Custard Salted egg (center), Foie Gras, Cheese, Black Truffle, Original, Spicy Beef, Chicken and Shrimp fillings in them. Going by its content, I chose the Black Truffle though I know it was never a Chinese dish in its origin, the chef creativity is almost amazing. Heavily perfumed in fungi aroma, the minced meat is juicy with fragile skin and oozing broth, this was quite a spot on.
A replacement to the original soup — Double-​boiled Shark Fin in Superior Broth (individual serving was $ 22.80++) since the kitchen will not have enough time for original double-​boiled. The fin portion was small (glad, I did less harm to the ocean), the soup was near salty — thanks to the preserved ham used (no salt has been added to the soup). It was sheer rich in taste but everyone find the taste a bit harsh. My inner voice tells me that I should not give chance to crippling the shark species.
The Deep Fried Chicken was the least memorable. Smack salty and one dimensional — eeek. The meat was flat with a layer of overly salty crust which appeared greasy. The captain says that the kitchen may have difficulty in getting it marinated long enough and so unable to achieve its best.
Dollop of Wasabi assassinated Mayonnaise were seen coating the Deep Fried Prawns with cubes of fresh dragon fruits pitching at the top. None of us enjoyed the dish. I reckoned the overmuch thick sauce has caused the crusty batter encased the prawn to turn soggy when tuck into, it could be done better with some re-​engineering.
The group reviewed favourably on the Steamed Garoupa, I didn’t like fish (I was finicky, I gave nod) so I passé the dish. It was fresh and absolutely free from awful stench. Looked pretty good on the plate. The Abalone Fried Rice was passable, at least the grains were mushy but in whole. Again, they lacked a balanced taste — plain flat. The abalone slices did no justice to the dish as it only adds rubbery chew to it, not flavour.
Simple is best! The vegetables caught us by surprise. The least expected but was the highly raved among the group. The Broccoli was blanch to perfect, soft without loosing its bite. The flashy mushroom were braised excellently keeping it moist and spongy. No bitter after taste like some fungi, these caps were so pleasing. Plain simple yet gratifying. We voted strongly for it.
The warm Pumpkin Cakes snugging the red bean paste were second best in comparison to that snowy Japanese Glutinous Rice Dumplings. I didn’t give merit for the pumpkin skin since it was too chewy and the overly sweet red bean paste plus the salted yolk was missing in taste. Perhaps the ho-​hum allow the cold glutinous dumplings to shine instead, the cushiony skin gave way to its chilly & smooth mango crème filling in its attempt to hug my tongue each time. The simple component made the best treats on the lazy Susa

Even though Crystal Jade Jiang Nan had opened in Vivocity last year, I did not had the chance to visit
Must Try: 8 assorted xiao long bao (original, cheese, spicy beef, black truffles, foie gras, shrimp, vegetables) plus one mystery yellow ball (which is actually sweet custard) I must comment that the filling is quite huge but one person can still easily finish up the entire basket. However, the skin was not as thin as paradise group if I could recall.
hot stone of multi grain rice with anchovies ($ 13.00) was light on the palate and not too greasy. Might not appeal to those yearning of savoury wok-​hei style rice like me but the big chunks of CHYE POH did help to add crunchiness and flavour to the dish.
The waitress took the wrong order as we wanted the double boiled chicken soup with wanton dumpling. But oh well, since it’s cooked and served, there is no point changing.
Steamed Beancurd with Egg Yolk, French Bean, Carrot, Black Fungus Served in a Cup () ($ 9.80) looked really beautiful on the menu but was tasteless.
The Sichuan Chilli Fish Slices (was a hot favourite. One avid fan of this dish commented that the red chilli was slightly sweeter than the previous ones he had but the ladies begged to differ. The spicy Sichuan chillies and sour green chillies added up to give a sensational taste and the fish being served in slices rather than as a whole brought us lots of convenience.
The service was inattentive and careless as the dessert order was left out and they served the fungus twice because the waitress had keyed in the fungus dish instead of the dessert. The price range is actually similar or even more affordable than the usual Crystal Jade restaurants