I know this isn't blog post worthy anymore since we have a Crystal Jade branch here in the Philippines, but for those who have also eaten in the Singapore and HK branches, you get what I mean when I say that there's a whole lot missing here. Like I am not very sure how the business deal was forged, but I am sensing possible franchisor-franchisee issues as the food here lack authenticity...
Complaints aside, we went to Hong Kong last December, and while we were out and about most of the time, we made it a point to eat at Crystal Jade somehow.
This is what I really love about Crystal Jade in Hong Kong: the tea. As in I always come back here not just for the food but also for the tea. They have good tasting tea, and it's fun that someone refills it for you. When I'm at home of course I have to do my tea by myself and everything.
The last time we were in hong Kong prior to this trip was in April 2015, so it's been quite a long time that the menu is new already.
So for today I got something out of the hairy crab menu, and it's their noodles with hairy crab. On its side is their rice cakes in rice wine dessert, and behind the bowl of noodles is the actual bowl of soup the noodles come with.
Since this is a dish all about strong flavors, the soup is so few, and perhaps also because the hairy crab meat morsels will be more difficult to fish out if there's too much soup. This reaaaally packs a punch, it's got a really strong, roasted, crab flavor. Not just crab, but a roasted crab flavor. The noodles are great as always, and so is the soup. I honestly will not order this again even if it's so good because it's too nourishing...
And this is the "mochi" dessert! I would have never started to order dishes like this had it not been for one of mama's aunts (well technically she is mama's aunt in law, but she's almost just mama's age)! When she brought us around in Taiwan, she brought us to the Din Tai Fung there, and I was able to order a similar rice wine dessert with mochi in it. I learned to like it from that point on, because otherwise no one would be able to make me order foods with wine!
This doesn't look appetizing because it looks so plain, but looks can be so deceiving. It's a great ensemble of the fermented rice, the mochi balls, and the soup itself. The mochi had no filling (it was not the usual yuanxiao or ping pong balls of mochi with filling inside), but it was baby marshmallow sized and was perfect nonetheless.
We also ate there again, so for the second time I decided to have one basket of Xiao Long Bao to myself. I didn't eat a lot of other stuff since I already had this basket to myself. And again, the tea is the best.
To finish this meal, I have yet another mochi dessert, but this time it's their mochi ball with roasted black sesame paste inside swimming in a golden pool of ginger soup. By far this is one of my favorite Eastern desserts, and whenever I go to Crystal Jade in Hong Kong I always make it a point to have this.
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