Thursday, June 24, 2010

Crystal Jade (Paragon, Singapore)

For our last lunch in Singapore we had a lunch date with a couple of friends. We decided to go to one of the best restaurants for dim sum...the Crystal Jade in Paragon Mall.


Crystal Jade is a very famous chain of Chinese restaurants in Asia. We have several good ones in Bangkok but the ones in Singapore have different types choices that we do not get in Bangkok.


The decor is very unique for a Chinese restaurant. It actually has no signs of being a Chinese restaurant. It's more like a cocktail lounge. The main colour scheme was purple & black. The chandeliers were not hanging from the ceiling but they were standing which was a nice touch. The spot lights were strategically placed so they highlighted the food; but the room overall was dark & moody. This is not normal for a Chinese restaurant because normally they have bright & ugly florescent lighting.


The first dish was steamed spicy rice rolls. The steamed rice rolls were tender & chewy. The sauce was flavourfu & spicy (but not as spicy as we eat in Bangkok)


The next dish was deep friend tofu skin stuffed with minced shrimp. The tofu was deep fried to a golden brown and was crispy. The minced shrimp was tasty & tender. The combination was very nice.


The next dish was steamed gluttonous rice in pandan leaf. The combination of gluttonous rice, dried shrimp, pork and peanuts made this dish very yummy.


The next dish was shrimp dim sum. The dim sum skin was so thin that you could see the shrimp; which is a good thing. The shrimp was very fresh, plumb and juicy. I do love these little things.


The next dish was minced pork & peanut dim sum. I really liked this dim sum; lots of flavours and textures.


The Riesling was the perfect wine to go with the Chinese food. The wine actually complemented the food.


The next dish was deep fried line fish. The fish was deep fried to a golden brown. They were very crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. Not a lot of flavour but very nice texture.


The next dish was deep fried chicken in a basket. The chicken was very tender & juicy. The chicken had a really amazing flavour. I am not sure; but it could have been an OX sauce.


The next dish was crab dumplings. The dumpling skin was thick & firm. The filling was soft & tender. A lovely dish. The broccoli was a nice touch for added colour and texture.


The next dish was a steamed fish in soy sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly; still raw in the middle. Its always amazing how the Chinese know how long to cook a fish. The soy sauce was very light and tasty. I hate then the soy sauce over powers the entire dish. This dish was perfect.


The next dish was deep fried minced pork rolls. Deep fried to deep brown. The pork rolls were crispy on the outside but the minced pork was tender, moist & juicy. I could eat tons of these things.

The service was very efficient; but not on the friendly side. Not to say they were giving us attitude. It was more like they were robots. No emotion when taking the orders or when serving the food. Maybe because the restaurant was so busy that they do not have the time to be friendly. On the other hand, it did not ruin the lunch in anyway. It is something I just noticed.

Crystal Jade is a highly recommended restaurant!!!

Paragon
290 Orchard Road #05-21/24
Singapore 23
Tel. +6567346866

No comments: