Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao @ Holland Village

Unlimited servicing of Xiao Long Bao? Yes you did not hear me wrongly, that's what you get at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao at Holland Village when you are there for their steamboat buffet. Crystal Jade has come a long way since 1992. From 1 outlet to over 100 outlets across 18 major cities in 9 countries in Asia Pacific region offering 21 concepts and still counting.

Anyway my visit this round was not for the steamboat buffet. I am here to savour their ala carte menu. Here are some of the delectable dishes I tried.

Steamed Soupy Xiao Long Bao 4.5/5

Not to be missed is the Steamed Soupy Xiao Long Bao ($5.20 for 4pcs). Picking it up with the chopsticks, the delicate thin skin of the Xiao Long Bao held the balanced mixture of pork and soup without bursting. The subtle broth was cooked for 6 hours melded perfectly with the meat for an exquisite taste with the right proportion and thickness.

Chicken Marinated with Chinese Wine & Wolfberry 4/5

The Chicken Marinated with Chinese Wine & Wolfberry ($9) is served chilled. The nourishing bowl comes with health benefit wolfberry and chinese yam. Wolfberry is good for strengthening the eyes, liver and kidney. The chinese yam is good for indigestion. relieve stomach pain and diarrhoea.

Spicy & Sour Thick Soup in Sichuan Style 4/5

The bowl of Spicy & Sour Thick Soup in Sichuan Style ($7.50) comes with a generous serving of mushroom, bamboo shoot and shrimp. The bowl of soup was neither too sour or spicy, just right for my taste. If you prefer stronger taste, you can add chilli oil or vinegar to further enhance the flavours.

Braised Pork Belly 3/5

The Jiang Nan style Braised Pork Berry served with pancake ($14.80) was nice but did not standout for me. The skin was braised to tender melting soft but the meat was a tad tough for me. The sauce was also a bit mild for my palate, I prefer stronger flavours. The pancake was also too small for sandwiching the braised pork belly due to the cut size.

Sauteed Egg White with Fish Meat and Conpoy 4/5

Story goes that the Sauteed Egg White with Fish Meat and Conpoy ($13.50) was created by the villagers for the emperor. The emperor was craving for crab meat but the port village did not have crabs that day so they substituted it with egg white and fish meat creating a texture and taste similar to crab meat. This delicacy was quite addictive no wonder the villagers managed to con the emperor.

Spicy Chicken with Poached La Mian 4.5/5

Having the Spicy Chicken with Poached La Mian ($9.80) was like discovering a pot of gold. I love Sichuan Dou Hua's spicy chicken (口水鸡) and I didn't know Crystal Jade does pretty awesome spicy chicken too. Pairing the spicy chicken (口水鸡) and la mian (拉面) was like a match in heaven for double enjoyment. Do you know that at Crystal Jade excluding the traditional la mian, you can choose from the 8 types of la main (dragon beard, double width, triangle, flat face, broad face, double line, hand teared and hand sliced) that comes with different textures.

Mango Pudding 

Mango Pudding 4/5

Using only Philippine mango for their Mango Pudding ($6), each bowl of mango pudding is made with 1 whole mango. Half of it is pureed while the other half is juiced. You can also add a bit of condensed milk to enhance the taste further.

Crystal Jade has always been a trusted brand dishing out exceptional food quality and consistency in a congenial ambience. Besides traditional Cantonese and Teochew cuisine, Crystal Jade has also diverse   into other Chinese cuisine, Korean cuisine and even bakeries serving pastries and breads.


Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Holland Village
241 Holland Avenue
Singapore 278976
Tel: +65 64630968
Website: http://www.crystaljade.com
Nearest MRT: Holland Village (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon- Sun & PH: 11am - 12am
Steamboat: 5pm - 12am

Direction:
1) Alight at Holland Village MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to destination. Journey time 3 minutes.

Quan Xin Yuan Restaurant (泉馨园) @ Kitchener Road

For the month of May 2013, Makansutra dinner was held at Quan Xin Yuan (泉馨园) a traditional Hokkien restaurant that has inherited the family recipes from generation to generation since 1930. Our dinner was held at the new outlet at Kitchener Road which is walking distance from their Jalan Besar outlet.

Cold Dish Platter 3.5/5

The dinner started with the Cold Dish Platter. My favourite is the Wu Xiang Fen Ti (五香粉蹄) which is made from the the skin of pig trotter and stuffed with the minced pork. This is a labour intensive dish that takes more than 10 hours to prepare. After skinning the pig trotter and stuffing it with the minced pork, it is steamed for 2 hours and then fridge for another 8 hours, giving the skin a nice jelly crunchy texture.

Roast Sucking Pig 4/5

The Roast Sucking Pig was cooked perfectly with crackling skin. It was so good that we even dissected  the pig head to enjoy the beautifully roasted crackling skin.

Steamed Pomfret 3/5

I thought Steamed Promfret was a Teochew dish and was a bit puzzled when this dish was served. Nevertheless, the promfret was beautifully cooked, fresh and moist. However it was a bit small to be shared for a table of 11 hungry people.

Braised Broccoli with Prawns 3/5

The Braised Broccoli with Prawns was pretty pedestrian except for the big succulent prawns.

Chestnut Duck 4/5

The restaurant prefers to use duck that weights between 1.8kg to 2kg as it is a nice size with tender meat. The Chestnut Duck was indeed very tender and fell apart with ease.

Hokkien Style Fried Rice Cakes 4.2/5

This is my first time have rice cakes prepared in this way. The Hokkien Style Fried Rice Cakes is stir fried with sambal chilli. The end result is a plate of bouncy and chewy rice cakes coated with fragrant sambal chilli. This is something I will order again in my next visit.


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Quan Xin Yuan Restaurant (泉馨园) 
161 Kitchener Road
Singapore 2085311
Tel: +65 62946254
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuanXinYuan
Nearest MRT: Farrer Park (NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 230pm, 530pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Farrer Park MRT station. Take Exit I. Cut across City Square Mall to the exit to Kitchener Road. Cross the traffic junction and turn left onto Kitchener Road. Journey time about 5 minutes.