REVIEW: Affordable fine dining at Singapore's newest Chinese restaurant, Crystal Jade Prestige

A romantic night out at a Chinese restaurant may seem like a contradictory idea, but the exquisite presentations and fine dining-esque creations at the new Crystal Jade Prestige readily set the mood for an intimate dinner with the Hubby. 

This latest addition to the Crystal Jade Group portfolio is actually the chain's first restaurant in the financial district. Its Marina Bay Financial Centre address may be right in the heart of CBD, but the floor-to-ceiling windows enjoy a surprisingly relaxed view of the Promontory and Marina Bay, with skyscrapers twinkling into the night. 

While the menu largely stays rooted to Cantonese favourites, Crystal Jade Prestige also paints bold, modernist strokes with intriguing combinations like Pan-Fried Siew Mai with Foie Gras Sauce ($12.80), and Roasted Suckling Pig Rolled with Black Truffle Pearl Rice ($20/piece, min 5 pieces; $168/half; $328 whole). 

The latter has the crackling shaped into a roulade and stuffed with truffle-infused Japanese rice ─ crisp, unctuous and earthy qualities coming together in beautifully lacquered rings. And don't mistake the side of Thai-inspired apple salad for mere garnish. Its feisty counterbalance of sweet, spicy and sour notes lends vigour to an otherwise too-rich dish. 

Before you balk at the price for the Lobster And Seafood Thick Soup Served in Coconut ($28), know that the portion runs large, just right for cosying together to share the soup. The tomato soup, steamed in a coconut shell for aroma, is generous with the seafood too; it's chockful of lobster meat, prawns and scallops, with morsels of chopped asparagus thrown in for crunch. 

But the pièce de resistance is the Tea-Smoked Roasted Duck ($40/half; $78/whole), which arrives to the table perfumed with premium pu-er. Each duck takes a whopping 30 hours of marinating, air drying, smoking and roasting to get that indulgent combination of crisp skin and thin slivers of fats. It's mesmerising to watch the servers carve up the duck table-side and wrap up dainty parcels with housemade crepes. 

Pan-Fried Beancurd ($8.80) sounds unsexy, even with the promise of black truffle sauce, but save the judgement till you've actually tried the dish. The silken tofu is made in-house with squid ink and a kombu-based broth, as evident by its greyish hue and the wispy flecks of kombu. Textural contrast comes from its breadcrumbed exterior and a smattering of hon shimeji mushrooms. Laid in black truffle sauce, this homely-seeming dish is sumptuously umami. 

Similarly, the Baked Crispy Glutinous Rice with Scallop ($12) is no plain jane either. It sits elegantly on a scallop shell, golden with a crust of puffed rice. Every bite is party in the mouth, with dried scallops, dried shrimp, Chinese mushrooms, salted egg, and those addictively crunchy rice pops. 

The dessert choices largely tread the familiar path with items like Chilled Mango Puree with Pomelo & Sago ($6.50), and Almond Cream with Snow Lotus ($6.50), but if you have a fondness for the thorny King of Fruits, share the Deep-Fried Durian ice Cream with Mango Puree ($8.50) with Hubby for the finale. It's almost like durian-meets-mango sago: A hefty scoop of durian ice cream, battered and deep-fried, and swathed in a luscious "soup" of mango puree. 

Crystal Jade Prestige

#02-01 Marina Bay Financial Centre (Ground Plaza), 8A Marina Boulevard, tel: 6509-9493. Open Mon-Fri, 11.30am-3pm; 6-10.30pm; Sat & Sun, 11am-3.30pm, 6-10.30pm. crystaljade.com/crystal-jade-prestige