Jade Garden

Posh. A huge crystal chandelier hung above the majestic spiral staircase that led up to the second level of the restaurant. Fuwuyuans were greeting me out of every corner of the room. I could feel my wallet screaming.

IÂ’ve been here twice and I can tell you that this is not really the place youÂ’d want to be if you are expecting to fill your stomachs and keep your wallet intact. After all, it specializes in fine Shanghainese cuisine.

Ok, straight to the food. One thing you might want to try here would be the all-you-can-eat Shanghainese dim sum for around RMB75. The key word here is Shanghainese. DonÂ’t go expecting char siu pau or carrot cake or siu mai because these are all Cantonese dim sum. Instead, there is a variety of Shanghainese delicacies that are quite refreshing compared to the usual yum cha staples. The xiao long bao is pretty much up there on the scale. A Hong Kong friend of mine rates it quite high for a dim sum restaurant.

If you are thinking of having dinner here, be reminded that portions are small and you might have to order a few more dishes to make up for it. However, the dishes have a very refined taste and you can be assured that everything is of high quality. One recommendation would be the seafood crispy noodle (around RMB40). Cooked with fish, shrimp and sea cucumber, this dish has a really fresh flavour to it. Yes, fresh. Like it just came straight out from the sea. Its not just in the taste but the aroma that lingers in your nose after the first bite takes you to another level of heaven. The sauce just brings out the full flavour of the seafood and green vegetables. IÂ’m not just making this sound nice in writing. Try it for yourself.

My recommendation would be to just go for the all-you-can-eat or a light lunch with dumplings and noodles. The class dinner that I had there was an awkward few hours with everyone trying to pick a few morsels out of the tiny portions of food and me trying to look as if IÂ’ve had enough to eat.