Crystal Jade

Shanghai-Style Crystal Jade Delights Seoulites

noodle soup with dried shrimp and spicy peanut sauce
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

If you're a frequent traveler around Asia, the name Crystal Jade may sound familiar. After all, it has a chain of 80 Chinese dining places, bakeries, dimsum places and even Korean ginseng chicken and barbeque restaurants in 11 Asian cities.

In Seoul, the Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant has already been serving upscale Cantonese dishes at the Grand InterContinental Hotel for a few years, but its prices lean towards the high-end.

Now, a more affordable option can be found at the Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight restaurant, which recently opened on the 5th floor of the Hyundai Department Store in Apgujeong. Expectations are high for the restaurant, especially since the Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight outlet in Hong Kong recently won the ``Michelin BIB Gourmand'' 2009 award.

As the name implies, the restaurant serves Shanghai-style dishes, including dumplings, noodle soups and vegetable and meat dishes at affordable prices.

One of the favorites is ``xiao long bao,'' or steamed soupy pork dumplings (5,000 won), which are made fresh every day. The trick to eating the soupy dumpling is to place the dumpling on a spoon. Gently tear the thin wrapper to be able to sip the hot soup inside. Then, dip the dumpling into soy sauce and enjoy the tasty meaty flavor.

We tried the red date with snow fungus drink (5,000 won). It may sound weird, but it's a refreshingly cool drink. Snow fungus is actually a thin, jelly-like white mushroom that helps keep one's skin moisturized.

For the main dish, we chose the sauteed chicken with dried chili and cashew nuts (12,000 won) and the stewed pork belly (11,000 won). The stewed pork belly was so soft that the meat practically melts in your mouth. The pork is imported from Chile because the Korean pork is not fatty enough.

As for the sauteed chicken, the meat was tender and filled with a slightly sweet but spicy flavor. The cashew nuts added a bit of crunch to the dish.

For noodle lovers, try the noodle soup with dried shrimp and spicy peanut sauce (6,000 won). The soup looks a bit red and oily at first, but the combination of the peanut and spicy sauce is addictive.

To cap off the meal, Crystal Jade has a selection of Chinese desserts such as glutinous rice dumplings in hot ginger soup and cold almond jelly. The glutinous rice dumpling with grated nut and sesame (5,000 won) was a yummy treat with its hot, sticky filling.

But the real delight is the steamed milk custard dumpling (4,000 won). It was the first time we encountered this dessert dumpling in Seoul, but it was a real delight. The thick, hot custard filling is sweet but not cloying.

Despite being crowded and busy during lunch, service at Crystal Jade was quick and efficient, as waitresses constantly refill your cups with hot tea.

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight is open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Call (02) 3449-5864.

cathy@koreatimes.co.kr