“Worthwhile, limited period Cantonese buffet”
Only for the month of December 2013 at $58++, this is one buffet you don’t want to miss. As a form of promotion to showcase the talents of Master Chef Leong Chee Yeng, Jade Restaurant is offering this amazing a la carte buffet for a limited time.
So what’s in store for you in this Cantonese restaurant situated in Fullerton Hotel? Over 38 meticulously prepared dishes available, I tried probably half of them and am happy to share what I think about each dish here with you.
Dish portions are served according to how many people are dining. You can even request for a single portion if no one else appreciates what you like, so who cares what other people think.
Steamed Abalone Siew Mai. Meaty, juicy siew mais with a piece of mini abalone on top. I had the ‘unfortunate luck’ of getting the small pieced abalone, so I couldn’t really taste the abalone meat much.
Hot and Sour Seafood Soup. I’m already a regular Sze Chuan hot and sour soup fan and the only thing that could make it better was to have more non-vegan ingredients. Jade restaurant’s version here is a dream come true with generous chunks of prawns and squid. Rather than the usual tofu strips, their soup also uses a whole bean curd (豆花) piece, which makes it that much softer and silky to taste. I can’t believe I’m saying this when I don’t even dig tofu.
Although not particularly spicy, this is probably the best Sze Chuan Style hot and spicy Soup in Singapore.
Deep-fried Prawns Coated with Wasabi Mayonnaise. Crispy, juicy prawns with quite a strong Wasabi kick at the end. The flavours combined quite well, but be wary of your nose reeling from the Wasabi slam.
Roasted Five-spiced Crispy Pork Belly. Extremely tender meat with a crispy exterior, this is one of the better Chinese style pork bellies I’ve had. You can taste the smooth transition from crispy skin, lean meat, to fats, to the more tender under layer. The only better one I’ve tried was at East Ocean Teochew Restaurant.
Golden “Man Tou” Stuffed with Chilli Crab Meat (additional $2.80/pc). The Man tou bun itself was no doubt done really well and fried crisp, but my bun had quite an inadequate amount of chilli crab filling that made the bun rather dry. Apparently, the other bun had more filling, so perhaps consistency in stuffing is what needs work.
Sautéed sliced Beef in Spring Onion and Ginger. I’m not sure how they actually get this so tender, this actually tasted like venison instead. Most probably high grade beef was used to create this insanely soft dish. Almost melting in your mouth, my dinner partner didn’t like that it was too soft though. You just can’t please everyone these days.
Sautéed Pork Ribs in Coffee Sauce. A very classic dish you always find in Singapore Chinese restaurants, this was however the complete opposite of the Sautéed beef in terms of tenderness. After 5 minutes of trying to cut the ribs with my knife, I was about to ask the waitress if they had an axe instead. The coffee sauce was a tad too sweet in my opinion as well.
Steamed Chilean Sea bass with Preserved Olives. Loved the light refreshing sauce, and the Hong Kong cooking style preserved olives. Very rich and fresh fish that goes well with the simple spring onion garnish and chilli.
Sautéed Live Prawn with Spicy Pumpkin Sauce. The Spicy pumpkin sauce was tasty and had that sweetness which goes well with seafood, I however felt the prawn should be deep-fried, as it started to get soggy before we dug in. Peeling the prawn’s shell also meant most of the yummy sauce was peeled away, so using deep-fried you can more likely eat the crispy shell with the sauce for full flavours, a la Cereal prawns.
Sauteed Lobster with Spring Onion and Ginger (additional $18/person). There is also an option with the Spicy Pumpkin sauce, which would have been a better choice as the Spring Onion and Ginger is a rather common preparation style. Quite hefty lumps of lobster, mid joint flesh was a lot juicier than the lobster tail end.
From Top Left Clockwise: Red Bean Pancake, Shaved Coconut Ice with Fresh Strawberries and Chilled Cream of Mango with Lime Jelly. Apparently the waitress took me quite literally when I said I wanted one red bean pancake. A special handmade pancake, I preferred if there was more red bean paste though.
The Shaved Coconut Ice or rather, coconut ice cream, had loads of coconut cream in it and had quite high fat content, making a very full and round ice cream. The strawberries serve to cut the fat content weariness, while the jelly adds texture. Good dessert.
Chilled Cream of Mango is also a very popular Hong Kong dessert, with Jade restaurant’s one including lime jelly, a much more refreshing version with that tinge of sour after-taste with the mango cubes.
Overall, my take is that Jade Restaurant Dinner a la carte Buffet is a pretty worthwhile affair considering the quality and variety of Chinese fare available. A breathtakingly grand ambience, Jade is an excellent place to bring your parents or grandparents, especially if they love traditional Cantonese cuisine.
Expected Damage: $67.80/pax
Jade Restaurant: 1 Fullerton Square, Fullerton Hotel (Ground floor), Singapore 049178 | Website
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 3pm, 6.30pm – 11pm
