Yummy Singaporean Adventures : Chinese New Year Dinner at Crystal Jade!
In the midst of the Lunar New Year, everyone in Singapore is preparing, cooking food in their homes, preparing steamboat meals, giving away ang-pao ( red gift envelopes with money in them ), and giving mandarin oranges for luck. As for me, I am away from my family, and I thank the Lord so much as I am blessed with wonderful friends from highschool here in Singapore, as I celebrated the Lunar New Year with them, whom I consider my second family.
Of course, these good friends of mine have really keen tastebuds, and decide to dine in only the best Chinese restaurant in Singapore ( in our opinion ) - Crystal Jade. There are so many branches of Crystal Jade here, and the nicest one is located at Holland Road, and there is where we camped in to eat our Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner together.
Crystal Jade is said to have the best xiao long bao’s that can rival even the world-class Din Tai Fung, and I was so so ready to compare, from my last , unforgettable xiao long bao experience at Din Tai Fung in Shanghai two years ago!
The initial appetizer served at Crystal Jade did not disappoint me a bit, but made me anticipate for really, really good food. Steamed peanuts, that you’d want to use your chopsticks to eat them with. But nah, I was too excited and I didn’t! Haha!
Next, was the Loi Hei. My friends had to stop me from taking photos as the server was about to do the “rites”. I’m not sure if Loi Hei is only practiced in Singapore, but this is definitely the first that I have experienced. A salad-full of shredded vegetables, wonton skins, some salmon shreds, and some sweet dressing that are supposed to mean something ( a mix if prosperity, good fortune, good health, family solidarity, amongst everything ), and all those present sitting are supposed to stand up, grab their chopsticks toss the salad up in the air as high as they can ( they say, the higher, the better! ) , as they shout their wishes. Oh yeah, we did say our wishes out loud!
..and did I mention that the salad was really yummy? sweet, and very healthy!
As we moved on to our main dishes, I was getting really, really excited!
Very good. This made me bring back my love for vegetables that I normally don’t eat. Mushrooms here are cooked quite impeccably, I love it!
Ahh..Xiao Long Bao. They say that the Din Tai Fung in Singapore is no match for the Din Tai Fung in Shanghai, and as I quite recall, I fell in love with the Xiao Long Bao over at DTF Shanghai. I haven’t tried DTF here in Singapore, but Crystal Jade’s Xiao Long Bao won my heart. Twice. Thrice. That I just kept on getting this over and over again. Good thing we ordered around four servings ( x 5 per serving ) of this. This is the perfect dimsum for me!
This is one of my favorite dishes amongst the food served at the table. The spicy flavor is just right - not too much, and yes, did I mention flavor? This dish is bursting with flavor. Perhaps with some oyster sauce and sesame oil.
While I liked the Fried Diced Chicken With Dried Chili better ( well, anything chili pleases me ), my friends like the Sauteed Chicken With Cashew Nut better. It was also flavorful, but not as strong as the former dish that I have mentioned. Mellow-tasting, in my opinion.
This dish was a little bit of a disappointment. We were looking for the fish meat, but it was just a teeny weeny amount. But then, it tasted okay when paired with black vinegar.
Every New Year’s eve, families would often cook dishes, and come up with something that has black moss in it. They say, it’s for long life. This somewhat pata tim, is very delicious, in my opinion, as the soy sauce was not too strong, it was just very pleasing and comforting to the tastebuds as it invites me to eat more.
They save the best for last, I’m sure. Crispy, deep fried, tender, meaty duck. Very meaty, that my friends laughed as I said, “this is so good!” full of gratified emotions. Hahahaha! I LOVE THIS DISH! Most resto’s serve duck that are not as juicy and meaty as this one served at Crystal Jade, and I would come back to Crystal Jade just for this ( and the xiao long bao! )
We capped off for some desert - this buchi-like dessert that has crushed peanuts inside. Also very very good.
To sum up, Crystal Jade is one of the best restaurants in Singapore that I’ve ever tried, that I would willingly go back during weekends, when I feel like rewarding myself with good food. I’m definitely coming back for their Xiao Long Bao’s. Last weekend was also a good weekend to immerse myself in the Singaporean culture with the Loi Hei that was fairly new to me, and I understand how they take importance on celebrating the Lunar New Year, which runs for 15 days here, which explains why I have no classes for two weeks here. Haha!
Crystal Jade branches are scattered all over Singapore, at Takashimaya, Holland Road, and many many more. Look it up!
Tata for now!
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