Crystal Jade Jiang Nan reopens at Vivocity, impresses with new Jiang Nan & Sichuan specialties

Crystal Jade Jiang Nan in Vivocity now sports an elegant and stylish interior with the ergonomic chairs, dreamy abstract art, and marble table tops. Along with beautiful interior design, is a cuisine inspired and characterised by “the land of rice and fish” (Jiang Nan), created by Group Executive Chef Martin Foo and a team of expert chefs.

Unlike its sibling-outlets Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao and Crystal Jade Kitchen, Crystal Jade Jiang Nan boasts a unique selection of Jiang Nan and Sichuan specialties.

The first dish we tried was the Three Delicacies Platter (Salted Duck, Smoked Fish, Spinach with Sesame Sauce) 南京盐水鸭、江苏熏鱼、麻酱波菜鲜百合, which goes for $16.80.

The salted duck was tasty and juicy without being too salty. The smoked fish was crispy and sweet, bordering on caramelly flavours, and the spinach was well cooked. The sesame sauce was slightly overwhelming, but this ‘collection’ of appetisers definitely won us over!

The next dish was the Cheesy Crisp Mochi Ball 芝士汤圆 at $10.80 for 6 pieces. This one was a surprising favourite for almost everyone that night. An unusual choice for a dish, isn’t it?

The mochi is not as heavy or glutinous as you may think. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The mochi ball is light, fluffy, non-oily, and the cheese inside is a springy mozzarella. We wish we had more of these!

Another unique dish is the Double-boiled Conpoy and Chrysanthemum Soup with Pearl Abalone 杭菊干贝炖珍珠鲍鱼 $18.80 per person. This one was a mind-blowing one! Who knew chrysanthemum can be delicious as soup and as tea?

Served cheekily in this ceramic teapot, the savoury chrysanthemum soup left us wanting more! There’s abalone, pork, chicken and other goodies inside when you’ve finished pouring it all out!

Mala-lovers, rejoice! There’s a special mala dish on the revamped menu for you: Mala Crispy Roasted Chicken 麻辣脆皮烧鸡 ($15.80/half, $29.80/whole). This was such a wonderful rendition of a typical spicy roasted chicken dish.

The skin is crispy and coated with deliciously glazed mala sauce, and the chicken is nestled in an abundant reservoir of special mala sauce. I suspect I’d be able to finish the entire thing by myself if the mala sauce doesn’t get me first – I’m not joking!

This Steamed Yellow Croaker in Rice Wine Broth 酒香蒸黃花鱼 ($28.80 per portion, about 400g) was served next. Honestly, there wasn’t anything really spectacular about the fish itself except for the fact that it’s really yellow (and worthy of its name), but the rice wine broth was a winner. It’s so flavourful, with a savoury, mellow rice wine (Shaoxing wine) that complements the tender fish well. The yellow croaker also comes with thinly sliced mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and pork.

This is the Sautéed Dried Shrimp And Vermicelli with Cabbage served in Claypot 虾米粉丝炒包心菜 $13.80 per portion. You could enjoy an entire pot of this as a meal if you love vermicelli (which actually happened with some customers), or as a vegetable dish on the side.

It’s a zesty, rich dish, albeit quite oily. The crunchy cabbage and springy vermicelli make a good, savoury team!

The ever-popular Yangzhou fried rice meets a new creative rendition in this Crystal Jade Yangzhou Fried “Rice Shaped Pasta” 米形意粉，翡翠扬州炒饭 $16.80 per portion.

It looks like rice, but these bits of ‘rice’ are actually pasta shaped like rice. It’s ever-slightly springy (see if you can spot the difference), but don’t fret – it doesn’t really deviate from the texture of rice much! The interesting addition of sakura shrimp gives the Yangzhou fried rice a boost of flavour.

The next dish was the Souffle Egg White Ball stuffed with Red Bean and Banana 高丽香蕉豆沙 $8.80 for 3 pieces. So pillowy soft and fluffy!

Inside is mashed red bean and banana, and the taste, when combined together, is unexpectedly wonderful. The souffle is dusted with sugar powder, which gives it a sweet oomph when you bite into it!

Lastly, we had the Double-boiled Snow Pear with Osmanthus 桂花炖雪梨 $7.80. The snow pear was surprisingly huge, hollowed out in the middle and draped neatly inside the porcelain bowl with a few longans atop.

The entire dessert is mildly sweet, which is a relief! The snow pear is ‘tenderised’ and soft, which goes well with the chewy longans!

We had these drinks to accompany the food. A teapot of Pu Er 普洱茶, and some mocktails which go for $8 each. We really enjoyed the Mint Cucumber Mocktail, and it deserves special mention!

We’ve come to the end of the Jiang Nan feasting! It was really, really impressive. We can’t wait to try the rest of the other dishes!

 

Crystal Jade Jiang Nan

1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-52 VivoCity, Singapore 098585

Tel: +65 6221 1830

 

Weekday: 11:30am-10pm

Weekend: 11am-10pm

Website: https://www.crystaljade.com/index/

 

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Images and write up by @chowbaccas

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