For this fine Friday afternoon, we were invited to try out Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight's Weekday Dinner Dim sum Buffet. This is actually our first time to try Crystal Jade here in the Philippines; our first taste of Crystal Jade was a few years back in Singapore.
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| Crystal Jade Shanghai, VMall |
Situated at the ground floor of VMall Greenhills Shopping Center with its violet & gray exteriors, you can't miss it. As you enter, you'll see that they didn't overwhelm the restaurant space with Chinese figurines & knick knacks, instead they kept it clean yet cozy.
Your dim sum buffet adventure begins with a piece of paper they give you wherein you check your dim sum favorites. It takes a few minutes for your order to came out since they make every dim sum fresh as you order. That's quality right there!
Here's a table shot of all our orders!
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| Table Shot |
Without further ado, let's get on to the food.
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| Cold Cucumber with Minced Garlic in Sesame Oil |
This is basically cucumbers dipped in sesame oil. This crunchy veggie dimsum is light & a nice start for your dim sum dinner.
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| Congee with Salted Pork & Preserved Egg |
Chinese porridge with century egg &slivers of pulled pork. Was kinda expecting the pork floss kind but no worries, the pork slivers was just as good.
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| Noodle with Spring Onion Oil |
Fragrant noodles with warm broth is a Chinese food staple. It was actually the Spring Onion Oil that saved the day. The flavor blended nicely with the noodles. Just be wary of it being a bit too oily after a few spoonfuls.
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| Pork Dumpling with Hot Chili |
Minced pork stuffed in a dough and splashed with hot chili. I have to be honest, it was the chili that did the trick. This dim sum seemed to be the crowd favorite that Friday afternoon.
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| Pan-fried Carrot Cake with Dried Shrimp & Preserved Meat |
We prefer our Carrot Cake aka Radish Cake a bit more on the toasted side but this softer version wasn't bad. It had just the right amount of chewiness. I personally prefer it with hoisin sauce for the thick sweet taste while Hubby likes to eat this with the thick hot sauce.
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| Deep Fried Spring Roll |
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| Steamed Vegetable Dumpling |
Now for a different kind of dimpling. This is chopped vegetable wrapped in dough. Simple yet tasty. Food-Stars Recommendation? Try dipping it in the XLB (Xiao Long Bao) sauce for a nice kick of flavor.
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| Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumpling with Crab Roe (Siew Mai) |
This dainty-looking dim sum stuffed with pork, shrimp and crab roe got Hubby's approval.
We were getting full by this point (we needed to save room for their Xiao Long Bao) so we weren't able to sample the other dimsum shown below. :(
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| "Beijing" Pork Dumpling |
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| Minced Pork Dumpling with String Bean |
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| Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Sesame Sauce |
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| Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Beans Sauce |
But I had to make an exception for the Chicken Feet. In every chicken feet dish, its the sauce that matters. Crystal Jade's was yum. Loved the red sauce, sweet with a bit of a spicy kick. A definite thumbs up in my book. ;)
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| Pan-Fried Shanghai Pork Bun |
And of course, the piece-de-resistance, say hello to the much-talked about Xiao Long Bao. ;)
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| Steamed Soupy Pork Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao) |
Xiao Long Bao is all about the soupy center and we found the best way of getting in all the soup without wasting a single drop. How you may ask, well read on.
Carefully place the Xiao Long Bao onto your spoon. Next, pour in some black vinegar with ginger slivers. Done? Now place the whole thing in your mouth. With a couple more people wanting to try this method out, half of our table began looking like chipmunks with cheeks full of nuts! ;) Taking your first bite takes your taste buds in a swirl of flavors; you'll be glad you saved all the soup.
Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight's Xiao Long Bao gets a star in my book. Food-Stars Recommendation? Let it cool a bit to avoid burning your tongue but be sure to eat it before the soup inside gets cold. ;)
Our dim sum afternoon was a success. We've found new favorites that we'll surely be back for. Nice one, Crystal Jade. ;9
Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight
Unit 117-121 VMall Greenhills, Shopping Center,
Greenhills, San Juan City, Philippines
570-5233; 5706912
** Weekday Dinner Dimsum Buffet is available from Monday- Friday 6:00-9:30pm (Php 488+ per person) **
'Til our next Good Eat!
♥ Food-Stars
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