Crystal Jade Steamboat Kitchen

OK when the previous non-food post was out, I had friends who were like, "WTF??!!"

WTF means "Where's the food?" hor.

So I decided to do a food post before I do my Cambodia Part 3 of 3 post. Dedicated to the famished and starved.

When I think of Crystal Jade, I think of three words - reliable, good and affordable. The dining scene in Singapore is not some easy game. Hence, to not only survive but also thrive for such a long time, Crystal Jade must have got it right.

And not just get it right today, but also getting it right tomorrow by constantly changing its strategy to suit the changing trends.

So when an opportunity to revamp the Crystal Jade Kitchen at Plaza Singapura arose, the management transformed the outlet into a new hybrid concept restaurant - an all-you-can-eat 90 minute steamboat, and Cantonese delicacies and dim sum. Since steamboat is the trend now. A totally feasible feastible concept for me, the glutton.

I had the blessings to be invited to try out the best of both worlds of steamboat and kitchen.

Deep fried yam puff with minced meat ($4 per serving of 3 pieces)

This is as delicious as it looks. Deep fried with a delicate, golden, wispy covering, the yam paste and the minced meat were moist and savoury with a salty finish. Great appetizer.

Steamed pork & shrimp with crab roe dumpling ($4.20 per serving of 3 pieces)

Siew Mai was fresh and the meat was chewy. The shrimps they used were pretty huge. And I like that the skin doesn't stick to my teeth. If you know what I mean.

Steamed shrimp dumpling / Har Kau ($4.60 per serving of 3 pieces)
The shrimps used for their har kau were nice, big and fresh.

Pan-fried fish cake with radish ($4 per serving of 3 pieces)
This is unique to the Crystal Jade kitchen and hard to find in Singapore. It is made by stuffing minced fresh fish cake and radish between two layers of wonton skin, and then deep fried until crispy on the outside. It's like eating a fried har kau, but without the inconvenience of the skin flying all over the place. Yummy.. must try!

Roasted combination platter ($25.80 per serving)

Crystal Jade's roasted combination platter comprises of my favourite roast meats: Roast duck, Char Siew (honey barbequed pork), and Siew Yok (pork belly).

I personally find the char siew and siew yok to be average and I've had better ones. But the roast duck stole the limelight. The roast duck is a product of Crystal Jade's hard work and research. Based on their research, ducks which were grown up to 49 days have the best meat. Wah so sad, like the Korean drama 49 days. Can only live for 49 days.

Anyway, I have personally tested their hypothesis and am glad to report the meat is indeed very tender and had the perfect proportion of meat and fat. During the roasting process, the chef has to keep turning the duck and add on a sweet glaze that helps to caramelise the thin layer of skin for a crispy texture. Goes well with the plum sauce. Must try!

After eating the above, I was kinda full. But the never-say-die spirit in me persevered to continue the steamboat buffet. The steamboat buffet was truly value for money.

Induction cooker

Mix your own sauces!

There are six different soup bases to choose from: Pork's bone soup, tomato soup, curry soup, miso soup, superior soup, and spicy mala. Each steamboat pot comes with two compartments so you can choose more than 1 soup. So no need to fight with your friend.

We got to try the pork's bone soup and curry soup. The curry soup is not like our Singaporean curry soup. It's not the "knock you out" kind of spiciness. There's no coconut milk in it, unlike the Singaporean curry. Most of the rest preferred the pork's bone soup. I personally preferred the curry soup as it is more flavourful, and the maggi noodles soaked the flavours pretty well.

The above shows the meat paste. It tasted like minced meat but smoother in texture. Must try!

We also got fried fish skin and mushrooms, which can be eaten as such. However, we think it tasted better when dipped in the soup as they absorb the soup flavours very well.

QQ rice (above) is something that only Crystal Jade has. It is made of both Thai jasmine rice, and glutinous rice. Add some freshly made scallion oil and it turns into flavourful rice that has more than one texture.

The buffet comes with free flow of drinks (soft drinks, hot tea, coffee) and ice-cream.

Don't know why there is lever for the "vanilla" and "chocolate" at the ice-cream machine. Because obviously people will take the "mixed"? Hahaha..

But maybe not because the chocolate was not intense enough.

We were given a bottle of chilli oil as a gift. I forgot to ask if they sell chilli oil separately. Because it makes a perfect gift for friends/family who are abroad. I got this delivered to my friend who was on a London secondment. By passing to another colleague who happened to be flying there. Delivery time was not perfect, tracking service was nonexistent, but never mind since it's free delivery.

Overall, I think Crystal Jade Steamboat Kitchen is an awesome place to dine in. The pricing is right. The food is right. The location is right. Great for gatherings. Hmmm, really difficult to find a reason not to visit this outlet. Maybe that is Crystal Jade's strategy for surviving and thriving so long in the local food scene.

Thanks to Crystal Jade and Joh-Ju for the invited tasting!

Address: Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road #02-32 s238839

Tel: 6336 2833