Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao now in the Philippines

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, famous in Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asian countries for its La Mian and Xiao Long Bao among others, opened last September 13, 2010 in the Philippines. It is located at the ground floor of Virra Mall in Greenhills, San Juan, near Häagen-Dazs.

My family decided to try out Crystal Jade a few weeks back, when we were in the area. We almost didn't make it because the restaurant closes at 9pm, and we arrived around 30 minutes before closing time. There were people still lined up since 6pm and have not been seated yet. Luckily, we didn't wait for too long to get our table.

While waiting I took photos from the outside. You'll notice that you can see the kitchen from the outside, because it's just separated by transparent glass. I guess it's part of the whole set-up, where passers-by can see how the food, especially their specialty, are made. Frankly, all I can think of while waiting was how good the Xiao Long Bao and the La Mian will be; after all, that's what they are famous for, right?


For the La Mian, we got the Noodle with Dried Shrimp & Peanut in Spicy Sauce (Php 288). I love the mix of the peanut with the noodle dish. The spiciness was just great as well. I enjoyed eating this. You have to eat it quickly, because it becomes cold fast.


Of course, we also got the Steamed Soupy Pork Dumpling "Xiao Long Bao" (Php 158 for 5 pcs.) I didn't get blown-off at first bite, but I would still say that it is good. I guess I would still go for Suzhou's Xiao Long Bao just because it's also of quality and it's more affordable.


All the other dishes that follows are also good. If you ask me though, I would stick to the La Mian and the Xiao Long Bao :) We also got the Sauteed Chicken with Cashew Nuts in Spicy Sauce, served with pancakes (Php 288), Fried Rice with Diced Chinese Sausage, Shrimp & Egg in "Yang Chow" Style (Php 248), and the Radish Pastry (Php 98 for 3 pcs.). I would definitely be back for the La Mian and the Xiao Long Bao :)

XO Kitchen's Special Chinese Comfort Food

XO Kitchen "a chinese delicacy" is a simplistic, almost hole-in-the-wall type, yet artistic and eye-catching Chinese restaurant that serves delicious home-cooked comfort Chinese favorites, passed on in the Tan family, along Jupiter street in Bel-air, Makati. Last week, my former adviser and fellow alumni Florencio Sebastian III (Mr. Sebs or Sebs, as we fondly call him) invited us to try out this restaurant he made and helped designed. As I was intrigued both by the looks of the restaurant and the food, of course, I accepted the invite :)

XO Kitchen's Menu: Ala Carte (Pork, Seafood, Beef/Mutton, Chicken/Pigeon), and Noodles/Soup Menu | Rice Meal (Pork, Seafood, Chicken, Beef), Dimsum, and Others Menu | Vegetables, Rice, Egg, Desserts, and Drinks Menu | New Dishes
From Buendia, we turned right at Makati Avenue, and took the left to Jupiter St. From there, it's to your right; it's easy to spot. At first look, you can see the well designed outside structure, that sure makes passersby curious about the restaurant. Since I don't really like to do the ordering for a bunch of people, and we were just invited, we asked Mr. Sebs to order for everyone. He got us these food, which he likes and are his personal favorites.


Fried Noodle with Seafood (Php 130) - You can still taste the crunchy to soft noodles, with really tasty sauce and generous serving of different kinds of seafood. | Seafood Fried Rice with Salted Fish (Php 120) - I'm not really fond of fried rice with fish, but this tasted well. The fish blended well with the rice and other ingredients put into the dish. I just hope that the serving size was bigger. In any case, two servings of the rice were enough for 5 adult men who had not had their breakfast at 11:30am. :))


Their dimsums are a must try! I haven't had the chance to try their Hakaw, which, in my personal opinion, should be the benchmark on how good the dimsum set of restaurants are (if you had to measure or compare). We had the Fried Shrimp Wonton (Php 85) and the Shrimp Kutchay Puff (Php 75). I would suggest you stick with the Fried Shrimp Wonton; or better yet, get the steamed Hakaw (Php 95), which I would say will taste great, based on the taste of the Fried Shrimp Wonton. Yummy. I crave. I crave!


The star of the show, well one of (because they're all good, I tell you!), is the Steamed Three (3) Kinds Egg (Php 100) - This dish is made up of chicken egg, duck egg and century egg. Can you imagine? It's soft, smooth, and melts in your mouth. The sauce can use some more kick for my taste, but it tasted great as it is.


If you're craving for some beef, I recommend that you try the XO Kitchen Beef Special (Php 230), which is made of premium soft beef with really tasty sauce and herbs in the dish. I also recommend that you get the Breaded Fish with Seaweed (Php 230). Although you can't really taste the seaweed in the fish (or that was just me?) this breaded fish dish is a winner. It comes with a tartar sauce to enhance the flavors.


For dessert, you can try the Black Gulaman (Php 50) or the Mantou or fried bread (Php 60) which comes with condensed milk dip. But I heard their Sesame Ball with Almond Milk is also a winner! :) The photos below are a) Mr. Sebs ordering our food b and c) interiors of the restaurant. I enjoyed my lunch, and I was very satisfied with the food. I will surely go back, maybe with friends or with my family! Nomnomnom! :)))

Breakfast at Suzhou

You can safely say that you're addicted to Chinese food when you have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Right? I fell in love with the Xiao Long Bao of Suzhou recently. So when I had the chance to eat at Suzhou for breakfast, I didn't hesitate to order my new found fave. I also ordered the Taiwan Beef Noodle, which is also yummy and filling. A can of Wang Lao Ji would add great to the meal.