Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant

As Ms PR's dear hubby was away on one of his frequent business travels, we decided to have a girls' night out and indulge in Cantonese food at Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant at Takashimaya. I realize many people confuse this fine dining outlet with the other fine-dining branch of the Crystal Jade Group, the Teochew-influenced Crystal Jade Golden Palace at Paragon. Apart from the similarity in names, they serve different cuisines and are located at different shopping malls. The one at Taka serves only Cantonese food, whereas the one at Paragon serves both Teochew and Cantonese cuisine. There you go, easy-peasy.

We started off with something Ms PR likes, scallops. The Sauteed Scallop with Cashew Nut ($28) was very commendable, scallops were cooked just right, bouncy, succulent and delicate. They paired well with the crunchy peppers and cashews for a slightly nutty and peppery accent, but what gave this dish a salty fermented flavour was the pickled radish (chai poh).

I really liked the Stewed Beancurd with Bamboo Pith & Fresh Mushroom ($18), mostly because of the bamboo pith. Did you know bamboo pith is actually a type of mushroom? It's got the texture of fish maw, spongy and takes on the flavour of the surrounding seasoning. Also, Ms PR didn't quite take to the button mushrooms, which meant they were all for me, yay!


The Marinated Salted Chicken ($15) didn't look very appetizing but boy were our first impressions wrong, this is one dish that totally blew us away with just one bite. It was moist, and juicy, seasoned simply with a flavoured salt, and a hint of plum. 


Ms PR was very intrigued by the Double-Boiled Whole Yellow Melon Soup with Assorted Seafood ($16).


It was chock-full of fish maw, dried scallops, prawns, fresh scallops, and fish. Very light, very clear, relying only on the natural flavours of the seafood for taste.

My Crabmeat Conpoy & Diced Wintermelon Soup ($8) was like the MSG version of her soup.


I still liked it, even if it was salty in comparison to the whole melon soup, it was still relatively light and clear. I particularly liked the button mushrooms and crunchy diced melons in this.

The pickled Chilled Beancurd appetizer($3), Ms PR liked it for its piquant and savoury flavours, I didn't for the same reasons.




Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant
391 Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City #04-19
Tel: 6735 2388
Opening hours
Lunches Mondays to Fridays 11.30am to 3pm; Saturdays from 11am to 3pm; Sundays from 10.30am to 3pm
Dinners daily from 6pm to 11pm
Website: www.crystaljade.com

Comments

Anonymous said…
The Prof said : Overheard - "if i eat like her i will go bankrupt". Yes, I did not say that ok. And according to the Prof, the only CJ worth visiting is the one at Great World City. Best service by the ah chek and ah sohs ever.
25.2.11
Bern said…
Eh, you know I do eat at hawker centres, it's just that I usually do takeaways and I don't blog about packed food. And really, it's not like I eat at the really high-end restaurants (usually with a celebrity chef's name attached to it), or swish wine that's worth more than some HDB mortgages.

About CJ, the Great World City one doesn't have the double-boiled whole melon soup, or even the crabmeat conpoy melon soup.
26.2.11
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