Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bau

• Tweet
• Sharebar

• Tweet

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bau is part of a chain restaurant by Crystal Jade, situated at The Gardens, Mid Valley. Truth be told, I never noticed the presence of this restaurant, probably because I never really went to that corner of Gardens usually. But now, there’s a reason for me to go there!

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bau table settings

We had the opportunity to witness the preparation of La Mian and Xiao Long Bao from their open kitchen.

The open kitchen

The chefs demonstrated the creation of la mian first. La Mian, which also means ‘hand-pulled noodles’ is created by the tedious process of repeated pulling from top quality bread flour dough into a serving of noodles. The chef pulls the dough to about a meter in length and folds it into half, hence doubling the number of noodle strands. This same process is repeated until the noodles are fine enough or to the level of thickness required.

Top quality bread flour with 10:4:5 portion of water is used to prepare the dough in approximately 20 minutes. For a normal bowl serving of noodles, it is pulled 7 times and approximately 10 seconds to cook.

Skillful chef pulling la mian

The final product of la mian is smooth, loose and doesn’t lump together. Good job!

The final product

Next, we were shown the ways to create Xiao Long Bao, which are also known as Steamed Soupy Pork Dumplings.

The preparation process includes:
1) Whisking 4 grams of high protein flour with 2 grams of cold water.
2) Knead dough weighing around 6 grams for 30 seconds.
3) Roll out the dough.
4) Put ingredients consisting 22 grams of 70% lean pork meat and 30% fat pork meat from pork’s neck or belly area with little seasoning.
5) Make 18-20 folds, each xiao long bao should weigh around 28 grams.
6) Bring the water to boil and steam xiao long bao using a basket steamer for approximately 6 minutes.

What do you think? Easy? Well, the completed and steamed xiao long bao was served to us in no time.

Crystal Jade’s Xiao Long Bao (RM8.80)

I loved how the skin was thin but firm and strong. Saucer and I like to test a Xiao Long Bao by picking it by its head and lifting it off the plate to see whether it could withstand the strain without breaking. This one passed the test with flying colours!

Strong Xiao Long Bao

Not only that, the meat fillings were delicious and the soup was refreshing. It was one of the better Xiao Long Bau that I have tasted. A recommended dish here.

Next up, we had the Black Fungus with Shredded celery in Sesame Oil. This turned out to be a light appetizer which was also healthy. I loved munching the celery away.

Black Fungus with Shredded celery in Sesame Oil (RM9.80)

The Pork Dumpling with Chilli Sauce may look a tad oily and spicy, but trust me, they’re not. Their skin was super smooth, you could almost slurp them in.

Pork Dumpling with Chilli Sauce (RM10)

Then, we had the Pan-fried Pork Dumpling which was not too bad, though I found the skin to be thicker than desired. Probably those thin-skinned Xiao Long Bao earlier had refined my taste buds. *LOL*

Pan-fried Pork Dumpling (RM7.00)

Oh, the next dish deserves a special mention, the Stewed La Mian with Spicy Shredded Chicken. It’s probably one of the best La Mian dishes that I’ve tried before. Looks are certainly deceiving for this dish, for it is actually cold, instead of hot. And it is super yummy! The chicken slices were smooth and well-marinated, the gravy of the la mian was not too spicy and very flavourful. In fact, it really did open up my appetite and I almost wanted to finish this plate all by myself.

Stewed La Mian with Spicy Shredded Chicken (RM13)

Another La Mian dish was Soup La Mian with Dried Shrimp & Peanut in Spicy Sauce, which is something more typical in a la mian restaurant. The soup was full of nutty flavour and fragrant with the smell of dried shrimps. Also, I loved the texture of the noodles, smooth and firm. This is the case when you make your own noodles, yes?

Soup La Mian with Dried Shrimp & Peanut in Spicy Sauce (RM12.00)

My second best favourite that day: Fried Pan-cake with Scallion & Pork Floss! Fried pan cake! Pork Floss! What’s not to like? This gem is truly delicious. Think roti canai, but 10x nicer! The texture is almost similar to roti canai, but it’s more flavourful and fragrant. Also, the addition of pork floss there makes it all the more oriental and savoury that you can’t stop yourself from eating this over and over again.

Fried Pan-cake with Scallion & Pork Floss (RM10)

I loved it so much that I had to take a picture with it.

witch with her favourite

Last but not least, dessert was Chilled Water Chestnut Cream with Pomelo, which was refreshing and sweet. Something to counter all the savoury, fried and spicy food that we had that day.

Chilled Water Chestnut Cream with Pomelo (RM7)

I would definitely return to this restaurant again, if only to eat their Xiao Long Bao, La Mian and Fried pan cake again! *salivates*

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao at The Gardens

Group pictures (with Ah Bok & Ah Yatz)

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Lot T209, Third floor,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra, KL.

Tel :03 2283 3129

Popularity: 7%