Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao (Ngee Ann City)

You have to admit that the quality of their xiao lung bao is always at its prime. You will never have one without any "soup" inside it and this is what's making it famous and special. Pork chop noodle is another favorite of mine. But, the tables are too close together and I HATE the line up.!!!!

I used to be a loyal fan of this particular branch. Whenever I am at Ngee Ann and don't know what to eat, I will inevitably always end up here.

After the change in menu since last year, I went back to try again and vowed never to go back again. You probably would if you feel as cheated as I did.

I used to love eating their tofu with century egg. However, that particular dish did not taste fresh at all. And so different from what I had eaten in the past.

That was alright, I could have always ask them to change one for me. However, the next dish, Prawn and pork dumplings irked me the most. I would expect there to be pieces of prawn and minced pork inside right? But all I got was MINCED PORK! I thought that they had served a wrong dish to me, so I asked a waitress and she said that it's the correct dish, and that there is more pork than prawns. Excuse me?? I did not even see or taste a PRAWN inside...not even minced....

I asked her whether the kitchen staff has changed since the menu changed and she said "No". When I commented that since there doesn't seem to be prawns inside, they should just rename. But she simply smiled, and did not even offer to change the dish for me.

After that terrible experience, I have not gone back to this branch...an unpleasant dining experience at a place I thought would never happen...

I love this place! And it was great to see so many reviewers agree :D Xiao long baos are superb, my mums friend is from shang hai, and she says that the xiao long baos are really good, comparable even to the shang hai xiao long baos. The 'you men shun' bamboo is FANTASTIC. Possibly the best in the entire world! THIS IS A MUST TRY, and deserves to be up there with the fantastic xiao long baos! The thin bamboo strips dont look much, but every last fiber is packed to the hilt with FLAVOUR! Slightly sweet and very savoury.It is indescribable, JUST GO TRY IT!! ABSOLUTE MUST TRY, folks!

Noodles are (of course!) springy and chewy,Soup is good, well seasoned and flavourful.The vegtables here are fresh, my mums favourite is the white cabbage stewed the ham and pork bone broth and the carrot 'sou's are excellent! Melts and flakes away in your mouth, revealing juicy carrot strips. Yummy for the tummy! What's great about crystal jade is that most of the food is all great tasting, and the quality maintains. A famous chef once said: 'It's easy to make a good dish, but to make that same good dish tens of thousands of times is excellence.'

This place have been my first choice should I be craving for 小龍包 (xiao long bao). After nibbled a small hole on it, I proceeded on to draw the liquid. The aroma and taste came with it was heavenly.

Since my last visit, they had revamped the menu and no longer serve my favourite, double-boiled chicken soup served with 拉面 (la mian). A little disappointed but somehow my experience yesterday cast away my disappointment.

My mum and I ordered:
- Salted Duck (Succulent)
- 小龍包 (As fantastic as before)
- LaMian w/Spicy Sauce (Okay…)
- LaMain/Shrmp Wanton Soup (Love the wanton, )
- Chinese Tea (Bitter… Perhaps, they put a lot of tea leaf. Overall, it leaves me with an unforgettable experience.)

The new menu enables us to choose from 7 variety of拉面, ranging from dragon beard noodle to hand slice noodle. I tried the latter. Although it was my first time trying this noodle, I hate it. The noodle served was too thick, it was as though I am eating flour.

Ultimately, 翡翠拉面小龍包 never fail to make my experience there worthwhile.


meL

‘Food itself is very personal; do not be affected by what I have written. Try it instead and tell me.’

Pai Gu La Mian is good! Normal Pai Gu very difficult to peel the meat off the bone but this is different. Meat is soft and tasty.

Xiao Long Bao should be one of the best in Singapore. The soup is less oily than those that I have eaten though the skin is a bit thick and difficult to bite.

Price is reasonable. Ambience good for eating, not so much talking.

This is one of the earlier LM XLB places in Singapore. With CJ LM XLBs, the standards do vary branch to branch but I am happy to report that this "early" branch is still good.

FOOD
XLB - 50% larger than the Din Dai Fung 18g ones, with softer skin that still does not break so no soup leakage, at 5 for $4.50, no complaints at all.

Shen Jian Bao - somehow this came out bland this time

Pot stickers (Guo Tie) - $3 for 3.50 I think. Large, with the skin just right and tasty

Shanghai Fried Nian Gao - Very nice no complaints

Shredded pancake deep fried - more fluffy than a prata with spring onions inside, this was really really good

SERVICE
We had a very good aunty look after us

AMBIENCE
They must have refurbished because the decor is definitely nicer than before

VALUE
I complain about the increase in prices but I suppose it is the first increase in a few years so really can't complain.

Whenever I want to eat in comfort, have my nearly daily dosage of noodles, I'll run to Xiao Long Bao La Mien. Overtime, some dishes have remianed constant, some have been dropped from the list while others just dropped in standard.

Must have:
1) THE CHILLI!!! It goes well with everything! Ok nealry everything, I even add it to my congee...

2) Xiao Long Bao- still one of the best, meaty filling & not over-minced.

3) Hot & sour La Mien- loved the soup, portion has shrunk tremendously. The taste yo-yo between fantastic to so-so, either way. I still load it up with more vinegar & chilli

3) Deep fried pork ribs- delicious but sometimes the oil is not drained out well so it becomes quite oily.

4) Deep fried eel- crunchy, sweet. Great taste & texture.

Can try sometimes:
1) Red bean pancake- I like this in general but find it too oily & pastry is not the flaky kind

2) Sweet & sour pork- not a fan of it in general, but I will order this dish occasionally. At least their batter remains slightly crunchy & only coated with a thin layer of the sauce.

Other dishes I've tried are nice in general just not memorable. Tho I get incredibly thirsty after every meal here. I still love my Cystal Jade.

Feels like an atas cha chan teng at times & weekends can be a riot with kids around...

Everything is very value for $$ here

my recommendations.

the fried pork rib la mien.. very generous in the pork ribs .. taste very good.. add abit of pounded chilli into ur la mien and walla.. for less than $10...

xiao long baos.
decent enough to order it everytime i come here. actually i cant tasted the difference between ding tai fung and crystal jades ones... and i will glady come here over dtf, coz the noodles at dtf sucks.

the pan fried pancake..
i forgot what is the ingredient inside.. this is good.

side note : the shen jian bao is not like those authentic ones u get in shanghai.. these 1 doesnt come with the soup inside when i ordered it...

I have eaten at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao so many times in my life that I have lost count to be honest. First, it was at the Jurong Point one when I lived somewhere near there; then at the Northpoint one, when I lived somewhere near there; then at the Ngee Ann City one, when all my friends wanted to go there.

Definitely, the standard of each restaurant vary quite a lot, and out of the 3 places, I prefer the Jurong Point outlet which was one of the first outlets of the chain. But that was like 5 years ago so I do not know what it is like now.

Anyway, from my experience at the Ngee Ann City outlet, the food there is generally not bad. Most of the time, the restaurant is pretty crowded and very packed, with people of all age groups, showing its popularity in the heart of the masses.

Food is almost always never too bad at CJLMXLB (yeah... acronyms rule). Ironically, my least favorite dishes of the place are La mian and xiao long bao, which I feel are both mediocre. Most of the time, the Xiao long bao's skin is too thick, and lacks the sensation of the soup flowing into your mouth when you break the skin of the xiao long bao. The different La Mians are also so-so, without oomph.
What I recommend from the place are these few other dishes instead:

1) Hong You Chao Shou (Wantons in hot chilli oil)
It's basically wantons dripped with chilli oil and vinegar. IMHO, if you are looking for dumpling-like fare, this is a top choice. It isn't too spicy, and the slightly sour taste really helps in making your meal.

2) Luo Buo Si Su Bing (Shredded carrots fried dumplings)
Well, not really dumplings. It's "bing", so more of like pastry. The amazing thing about this baby, is that it is crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. Be careful though because this thing is hot and stays hot. And to top it off, its a healthy fare with all the carrots in it.

3) Some Fried Fish
I seriously forgot the name, but there is this fried fish dish which cost like $16 dollars. This thing is absolutely fantastic. Fried to a crispy perfection (most of the time), with the fish melting as it enters your mouth. If all fish and chips were like that...

All in all, not as place which I like to go nowadays, but still definitely a quality eatery. Do remember to try my recommendations and let me know what you think.

the xiao long bao and la mian is really good.. i been there a couple of times and it havnt disappoint me yet.. i tried the "zha jiang mian" and the beef stew noodles before and both is equally good offering different kind of option. the "xiao long bao" is thick enough to hold the soup inside but thin enough to go unnotice when you bite into it..