Some might find it surprising that when I have craving for Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup, I head to Crystal Jade Korean instead of a typical Korean place. All I can say is, you are seriously missing out if you have never tried this!
Other than Korean dishes like bibimbap and seafood pancake, Crystal Jade also offers a selection of very yummy a la carte barbecue. Granted it will be more expensive compared to popular korean BBQ places like 2D1N, but you get what you pay for. They had this Wagyu promotion sometime back that got us pretty excited, spend $60 and get a order of wagyu for BBQ at $19!
They rotate their side dishes but the kimchi, bean sprouts and spinach (my fave!) are always offered. These side dishes can be refilled, up to 3 times if I am not wrong!
The reason for being here, Ginseng Chicken Soup, $25 (there is a discount if you go on a Monday!). This soup, is comfort food at it’s best. The soup has enough ginseng taste but it is not overwhelming, while the whole chicken lends its prowess in the soup field to deliver a full bodied stock, complete with tiny golden dots of fragrant chicken oil but on the whole isn’t oily in your mouth. Glutinous rice is stuffed inside the chicken, and we always fight for the few chestnuts and pine nuts in the stuffing. I’ll advice to break the chicken after you have gone through half the soup, to prevent the glutinous rice from absorbing too much of it. The chicken beast can be a little dry sometimes, but the other parts are alright.
Comes with a bowl of rice, and you have a complete meal right there.
Pork Collar
Beef fillet
Wagyu Steak!
You are given the choice of being your own chef or letting their chef cook it for you. Of course you must cook it yourself! That’s the whole point of BBQ, no? The meats were excellent, tender and very well marinated though it might be too salty for some. The Wagyu wasn’t marinated, and maybe it’s my first time, but it tasted good on its own. They do give this salt-pepper-sesame dip for the wagyu.
Snow Pear Dessert, $5. Served either cold or warm, they only have limited quantities of this each day so it might be good to order it first. For me this is a light nourishing dessert to end a strong-on-flavors meal and I personally find it rather value for money!
I have been patronizing Crystal Jade Korean for many years. Not too sure about the general public but many of my friends were unaware that Crystal Jade has a Korean arm and serves a good Korean menu to boot. The Centerpoint outlet is currently undergoing renovation but there is still one at Takashimaya and a buffet-styled outlet at NEX. So there you go, and spread the word!
Crystal Jade Korean Ginseng Chicken
391 Orchard Road, #04-20 Takashimaya SC
67333229
Opening Hours
Mon–Fri: 11am–3pm, 5.30pm–11pm
Sat–Sun & PH: 11am–11pm
knockonfood. 