BDW and I have never been to Hong Kong or Singapore and so we’ve never experienced how it is to shop there during a sale which some folks I know swear by or to eat at all these great restaurants that some people know by heart (and swear by too!). When news of a Manila branch of Crystal Jade fired up the blogs and twitter, I couldn’t relate but what got me excited was the prospect of eating at a great restaurant which is know for its good food. I was particularly curious about Xiao Long Bao, the steamed soup dumplings which people said was a must try in Crystal Jade.
When Crystal Jade opened people lined up for miles and had to wait for at least an hour for a table. I figured that the best time to go there would be late lunch on a weekday. Luckily one Monday, BDW and I were on leave and after an event I attended in the morning, we hied off to Virramall in Greenhills to tried the famed Xiao Long Bao of Crystal Jade.
There weren’t any lines when we got there and we got a table in less than five minutes! It also helped that there were just us two and so they could wedge us in any space available that had a table. When we got in the place was reallly busy and I felt that the attendants were a bit frazzled. A table next to us never got everything they ordered and they were already complaining. Good thing we had an attentive attendant.
We knew what to order because there was a copy of the menu outside the restaurant:
Of course what I really wanted to order is this:
Xiao Long Bao ( Php 158)
These dumplings lived up to the hype!! These dumplings are the best BDW and I have ever had EVER! And we’ve eaten our fair share of siomai and dumplings in our young lives haha 😀
Eating it can be a challenge because the soup is HOT. I ate a whole dumpling and I almost burned my tongue! But I quickly learned that the best way to eat this is to first dunk the dumpling in its ginger- soy dipping sauce
then gently pick up the dumpling and scoop it with the spoon
Then bite into the dumpling to open it and suck the soup slowly (aaaah! sarap!) and then eat the rest! NOMNOMNOM!!
The Xiao Long Bao was so good that we ordered another basket and cleaned it up right away 😀 The soup dumpling went well with the Spicy Chicken with Noodle that we ordered too.
Noodle with Spicy Chicken (Php 288)
The hand pulled fresh noodles are made in the restaurant. The main cooks in Crystal Jade Greenhills all come from the Hong Kong branch and when we got there it seemed like they were training their Pinoy counterparts. Anyway, the guy doing the noodles was super fast and makes batches by the order. I’ve had fresh noodles probably twice in a restaurant in Megamall but this one takes the cake. The noodles are served cold and it reminded me of the Cold Soba BDW and I ordered while we were in Tokyo. The noodles were delicate and had the right kind of bite that was neither too hard nor too soft. It sopped up the spiciness of the chicken and although I’m not a fan of spicy dishes, I almost finished half of this dish!
We also ordered Deep Fried Pork with Garlic (Php 290)
It was just ok and tasted like any other fried pork dish you could get at a good local Chinese restaurant. It was the most expensive item in our menu but it was the most uneventful 😛
We finished the meal with a cold dessert and we ordered this beauty:
Grass Jelly and Beancurd Jelly (Php198)
It’s cold taho served in a huge glass. It’s good for three people I think but it was just enough for me and BDW hehe. It was the perfect end to the the spicy chicken + the hot xiao long bao.
All in all Crystal Jade is a must try! I think the lines are still long most especially on weekends so be prepared to wait. It’s good to go there at odd hours though so if you’re on leave maybe you could swing by and treat yourself to really good food 🙂 Also, the food is reasonably priced and the servings are good for two to three people.
While waiting, you can watch the noodle guy in action hehe
Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Virra Mall, Greenhills Shopping Center, Missouri St.
San Juan City, Metro Manila(02) 570-6910
Tip: The restaurant is actually outside Virra Mall and is right behind the Haagen-Dazs Kiosk.
Floyd Castro says
December 23, 2012 at 7:16 amWe has dinner on this restaurant last night.
I liked their xiao long bao and wanton noodles – but all the rest are not good.
The lemon chichen’s breading is too thick. The pork ribs tasted like it was cooked by an amateur. The fried rice is also not good.
Chinese restaurants which are a lot cheaper than this can offer much-much better food and dinning experience.
If you just want to have good xio long bao just make sure you don’t order anything else.
Finally, all their food items are overpriced!!!
Didi Paterno says
October 8, 2010 at 8:56 amI’ve been itching to try it but would like the lines to disappear muna.
Until what time are they open? perhaps a late dinner would be a good time to go?
manilamommy says
October 8, 2010 at 9:12 pmhi didi! they open at 10 then close at 3 pm then they open again at 5 pm 🙂 weekdays lunch are good times to go kasi from what i’ve heard, even dinner time during weekdays puno pa rin!
hi carlos! i’ve never had xiao long bao ever so crystal jade was my first time to try it. i was really happy with it but maybe i could create a more balanced review if there are other xiao long bao places here in the metro (meron nga ba?) crystal jade as their leaflet said is a french michelin bib gourmand restaurant (not really sure what that means though). i’ve also been hearing about din tai fung!! i wish i could try that soon as the folks i know who’ve tried it also swears by it as well 😀
thanks didi and carlos for dropping by! 😀
Carlos says
October 8, 2010 at 8:34 amI was actually invited to their opening but since I don’t do press launches on my blog I declined. I’ve heard mixed reviews and so far your blog is the first one that really says it was good.
I hope the other people were wrong! I live in San Juan and I would love for a good place to open that can offer excellent Xiao Long Bao. I’ve tried Din Tai Fung and so far nothing has beat that. (Well it is after a Michellin Star Restaurant!)
The La Mien looks good too! Hmm, I wonder when the lines will start disappearing? I have tried Crystal Jade in Singapore and its damn good!
I haven’t found a restaurant in Manila though worth waiting a few hours in line for!
Cheers,
Carlos
Cha says
October 7, 2010 at 9:57 pmB brought xiao long bao to makati a few weeks back – by the time I got around to eating it, the dumplings had absorbed the soup! Still moist though.
Had lunch there today. Didn’t realize we ordered what you did, and more. Sumakit ulo namin pareho after. Sana hindi naman dahil sa MSG.
neva adelane says
October 7, 2010 at 10:11 pm@cha – there should be instructions how to properly reheat the dumplings. i want to go back! hehe
manilamommy says
October 5, 2010 at 9:49 amhi beached11 and certified foodies 😀 yep crystal jade is a must try 🙂 even with the long lines, ok naman ang food and at least di ganon kamahal din so pwede na hehe 😀 hope you guys can come back here and let me know how your crystal jade experience was!
Certified Foodies says
October 4, 2010 at 1:38 amMy bro and I were at Greenhills last Thursday and we saw a really long line of people waiting outside this restaurant around dinner time. We weren’t really familiar with the name and now I understand why people patiently waited for a table. We’ll definitely go back there to try their dumplings.
Beached11 says
October 1, 2010 at 4:38 pmI had this when I was in Malaysia. They taught me the same technique to scoop it first so I can get all the soup inside. Ü I love the sauce especially if there’s a lot of ginger. Thanks for sharing, now I know where to get one in Manila. Yum!