Hong Kong: Crystal Jade, Wan Chai & Tsim Sha Tsui

My family are a fan of Crystal Jade and their widely popular Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) so I actually visited this restaurant twice (although at different branches in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui).

Their menus include a rather detailed explanation into their culinary concept and the types of La Mian (拉面), which is basically hand-pulled noodles, available for selection. Who even knew there were at least 8 (?!) different types of La Mian:

Culinary Concept at Crystal Jade

Culinary Concept at Crystal Jade

Eight Types of "La Mian" (拉面)

Eight Types of "La Mian" (拉面)

Our trek to Crystal Jade wouldn't be complete if we didn't order their Xiao Long Bao:

Above: Description About Their Famous Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) Top Right: Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) Bottom Right: Glutinous Rice Cake with Shredded Pork and Preserved Vegetables

Above: Description About Their Famous Xiao Long Bao (小笼包)
Top Right: Xiao Long Bao (小笼包)
Bottom Right: Glutinous Rice Cake with Shredded Pork and Preserved Vegetables

I have a personal preference for pan-fried pork buns (生煎包) over Xiao Long Bao so to me, the Xiao Long Bao was good but just didn't blow my mind - it had a very thin outer pastry surrounding the juicy pork interior, which is similar to the fare at top Shanghainese restaurants in Sydney like Din Tai Fung or Chef's Gallery. The glutinous rice cake was cut up into random-shaped pieces - looked like it was part of a plating disaster - and rather salty, especially in comparison to the La Mian (served in a bland M.S.G. broth, topped with parsley and spring onions) with fried pork chop that we ordered on the day:

From Top Left, Clockwise: "La Mian" with Fried Pork Chop; "La Mian" with Hot and Sour Soup;
Shrimp and Vegetable Fried Rice; Fried Noodle with Eel

The Hot and Sour Soup is not for the faint-hearted as it's rated with two chillis - it was too spicy for me - and you get a large serving of the soup, which is filled with ham, dried bean curd and dried fungi. The fried noodle and fried rice were just the typical Shanghainese fanfare - topped sparingly with miniature eel and shrimp respectively.

Crystal Jade is by far not the cheapest eat in Hong Kong and does nothing out the ordinary but if you're in for a Shanghainese food indulgence, this is a place to check out. However, please note that a lot of their dishes contain chilli so order with care (check for their chilli rating), especially if you can't stand spicy/hot food.

Both the restaurants in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui have window booth seats overlooking Victoria Harbour, however the views aren't as great as they used to be. Hong Kong is rife with constant re-development and extension/expansion of land area (a.k.a. "reclaimed land") into the harbour so what used to be a 'water' view is now becoming 'land' view =( . 

Links to Open Rice:

• Crystal Jade, Wan Chai 
• Crystal Jade, Tsim Sha Tsui