Crystal Jade Hong Kong Cafe

Not long after the closure of their Macau Cafe, Crystal Jade chanelled to fighting for a slice of the competitive Cha Chan Teng market. Dunking right into the bustling Liang Seah Street zone where a few other HK cafes stood, business was quite a fair performance.


Pork Chop Macaroni Soup ($7.80)

While opted for her usual usual healthier choice macaroni soup, adorned with porkchop, egg and luncheon meat. The rest of us ventured into the baked specialties- a common dish in HK cafe fare- where a range of toppings were offered with choices of mushroom/tomato sauce and rice/spaghetti.


Seafood Baked Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce($9.80)

I plunged right into the seemingly promising Marinara without much hesitation; i loved pasta, seafood and have recently took up a tomato base fetish. Last to arrive, it came generally overbaked with the sauce slightly charred and a bed of overcooked spaghetti.

Imagine yellow-noodles instead of al dente pasta- it was something like that. The hot sauce was nothing too spectacular about but passable with crabsticks, mussels, prawns and fish fillets.


Seafood Baked Rice with Mushroom Sauce ($9.80)


Porkchop Baked Rice with Tomato Sauce ($8.50)

Both dad and Sis hit for the baked rice for both Dad and Sis. The rice had been fried with egg and shredded pak choi before it was baked, making things more fanciful but still a tad too dry for my palate. Spaghetti was a better choice for me.

We used our $30 dining voucher from starhub $30 voucher since it was applicable. I am tempted to go back and get to know the desserts better!

Crystal Jade Hong Kong Cafe
1 Liang Seah St
#01-12

Hua Ting

Once a year we have a pricey chinese meal for my paternal Grandmother's birthday dinner. For her 77th this time, Dad fixed on this much acclaimed restuarant in Orchard Hotel.

Consider this an extremely high-end place; prices are around 15-20% more expensive than similar class chinese restaurants in the fine-dining category. What you can expect to get is the real McCoy of true-blue Chinese cuisine with a wee bit of fusion. Dishes are bold and experimental in a grand haute style, but insecurely varying with individual liking.

The cheapest way out was to go for the Promotional Set Menu at $68+++ per pax. Definitely a good alternative to the sky-high ala carte pricings, especially when we are in a large group of 8.


Beancurd Appetiser


Salmon fish roll with honeydew salad

An attempt to bring the west and east saw lively presentation but average success. It was like trying to be special but couldn't quite get through...wrapping a melon stick with smoked salmon showed no cohesiveness while that mixture of honeydew & rockmelon cubes in cocktail dressing was nothing to shout for.



Braised shark's fin with shredded chicken and harsma

What a generous serving of this delicacy. I see edible sharks fins shreds with soft harsma and chicken that felt like egg whites. This is one dish everyone would slurp up to the last bit, not entirely because of its goodness but the value.



Braised sliced abalone with sea cucumber and seasonal greens

I attempted the sea cucumber (which i never really fancied), its got a gluey texture that i can't quite tolerate. Abalone was oooh~ real substance in perfect thickness for me. Veggie stalks were also not overdone.



Braised fillet of venison with fresh button and chinese mushroom

The first deer meat i ever consumed. Sure a suitable false impression of beef but i found the meaty taste rather unpleasant to swallow. Exotic meats are just not my thing. Instead i liked the mushrooms flavourfully absorbed with the savoury gravy.



Stewed E fu noodle with fresh crab meat

Oversoft and slightly soggy noodles not fully fulfilling in taste. Those crabmeat shreds made it passable but in a portion too pathetic to rescue the dish.



Sweetened cream of almond with glutinous rice ball

Dessert was mediocre with insufficient thickening and a tinge of artificiality detected. Thankfully the black sesame fillings were not too sweet.


To our delight they voluntarily offered a complimentary car park coupon upon settling the bill. The main stumbling block to coming back would be the high prices, and it would only be worth paying for the hits.

Hua Ting Restaurant
442 Orchard Road
Orchard Hotel
Singapore 238879

Wedding Dinner @ Fortunate Restaurant

Think Fortunate and i'll think dimsum.

Not until i attended this family friend's wedding dinner where the typical chinese fare was served. Of course, do not expect impressive service for such a budgetted affair.


Five Auspicious Combination

The usual range of cold appetisers like seasoned jellyfish, baby octopus, prawn salad with additions of deep-fried "money-bags" and springrolls. Deep-fried items were crispy without the greasy oozes and worth a mention were my favourite springrolls packed with a peppery filling.


Braised Shark's Fin with Crab Meat

Just some crab pieces swimming in a starch-based soup. My bowl did not contain a single piece of sharksfin at all until Mum offered me one of hers.


Poached Live Prawns with Chinese Wine

Something more light-tasting which Sis & i both had two servings of. Inconsistency proven, only the first one was fresh.


Braised Sliced Abalone with Vegetable

Sampled a load of veggies with a mere slice of abalone. It was no different from oyster mushrooms.


Crispy Roasted Sucking Pig


Steamed Garoupa Hong Kong Style

I was taken aback by the captain who instantly dissected the whole fish into this unsightly mess. How unglam. Fish was passable, at least without the fishyness.


Roasted Crispy Chicken

Salt-marinated breast meat turned out to be surprisingly tasty.


Braised Ee-Fu Noodle

Consider this the star of the meal. This last dish, usually avoided by many, was incredibly well done with noodles cooked to perfection, evenly coated and absorbed with a delectable sauce. The gap between sweet and savoury made me slurp up to the very last strand.

Unexpected find: the most impressive ee-fu noodle so far.



Chilled Sago with Mango Puree

Yikes. Paltry amount of sago bits and bitter pomelo swimming in watery puree (obviously from some packeted mango beverage). Where's the mangoes?

So the final verdict. I wouldn't mind coming back for an ala carte order of Ee-fu noodles and springrolls... and maybe try their dimsum.

Fortunate Restuarant 幸福饮茶
181 Toa Payoh Lor 4
#02-602