Crystal Jade, Changi Terminal 2, Singapore (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 6, Part 2)

We arrived back in Singapore from Hong Kong in the mid afternoon, and given our last meal was at 8am and that it was late for lunch time we were ravenous. Having missed out on dim sum in Disneyland and Tim Ho Wan for breakfast, we headed up the stairs in Terminal 2 for a meal at Crystal Jade. Crystal Jade is a well regarded dim sum chain founded in Singapore, which has now opened branches throughout Asia, including Hong Kong. I'd had an enjoyable meal at one of their other restaurants in Singapore, so this meal would be a safe bet. We filled out our order form and waited for our dim sum to arrive.

I'll do the usual blow by blow but in writing this post I've realised most what I want to say can be summed up fairly succinctly; for the most part if there was a direct comparison with Tim Ho Wan, Crystal Jade's dim sum was simply outclassed.

Har Gao? Crystal Jade's is larger from my recollection, but it was about the same standard as Tim Ho Wan's in terms of flavour. Both were excellent.

By now we've had Teo Chew Dumplings a few times so I feel a bit more able to comment. Crystal Jade's is good, seeming to hit every required flavour (the pork, the shrimp, the peanut etc) but the version at Tim Ho Wan did it better.

Fried Yam – I've had better in Australia. Seemed a bit too oily... maybe it had sat for far too long but its flavour was overpowered by the oiliness. This could well be our fault considering we came so late in the afternoon.

Fried Wantons – these were very good, about what I would expect from a juicy fried wanton with a generous prawn filling.

Barbecue Pork Chee Cheong Fun – lighter than the pig liver option at Tim Ho Wan. Not necessarily better or worse – an excellent chee cheong fun in its ow right.

Char Siu Bao – chalk and cheese of course, but after Tim Ho Wan pork buns I can never go back to the usual bao without feeling like I'm missing out. So yes; Tim Ho Wan did it better. In a like for like comparison to the usual char siu bao, though this was a very good example of tried and true classic.

Steamed Custard and Pine Nut Bun in Piggy Shape – Alissa liked it, mostly amused about eating a tasty pig. She can't remember the flavour as much, but it definitely was a successful dish visually.

Siu Mei – sure, this had generous slivers of shiitake mushrooms as well, but the pork and prawns didn't seem to be melded together in flavour compared to the variety at Tim Ho Wan, even seeming to separate a bit as we picked them up with chopsticks. So again, Tim Ho Wan's trumped the Crystal Jade version.

I was surprised by this chicken feet. It had an overpoweringly strong flavour of cinnamon, and while I like cinnamon this should not be the most forward flavour in chicken feet – I would argue the black bean and chilli should be closer to the fore. As with the other dishes, this was better at Tim Ho Wan.

The Verdict: Very Good

Look, I don't mean to be disparaging of Crystal Jade. The service was beyond reproach, much better than the utilitarian 'eat and leave' attitude of Hong Kong dim sum joints, including Tim Ho Wan. Crystal Jade is very good quality dim sum, no doubt about it, and getting a feed this good at an airport is something you'll find in only a few places in the world. So I'm really appreciative. However, considering the price of Crystal Jade was close to twice what we paid at the Michelin Starred Tim Ho Wan just a few days ago it simply is not at the same level, nor can it be said to be good value for money.  

Chinta Manis, Changi International (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 1, Part 2)

The most stressful flight transfer in our entire holiday happened to be on the very first day. I had never intended it to be like this; I did my research, I knew that going to a Tiger flight from Singapore Airlines meant having to go through immigration, get our bags and go back in and I had booked a connecting flight that gave us enough time to do so. What I didn't bank on was that our flight times would change significantly, and that our only option was to allow a 2 hour, 20 minute transfer at Changi. Not a dangerously tight connection, but a lot closer than I generally prefer.

To begin with, things were not stacked in our favour. As Singapore Airlines have two terminals, we had hoped the plane would land at Terminal 2 as its the same as Tiger. This was not to be as we were informed we'd be landing in Terminal 3. Add to this arriving a little late, being nearer to the back of the aircraft and the usual slow person who does not see the efficiency in gathering their things while we wait to disembark and then proceed to take forever to open the overhead compartment, slowly gather all their items with absolutely no consideration or awareness that other people are waiting and then walk with no urgency whatsoever to the front of the craft, and I was extremely stressed we were about to stuff up our schedule on the very day.

I had prepped Alissa for the possibility we would have to run, and run we did. Out the gate, down the escalators to the thankfully empty Immigration queues and then straight to a brief wait at baggage claim, then onward through quarantine, through to the terminal transfer train to Terminal 2, from the terminal transfer at Terminal 2 to the Arrivals Hall and to our counter for Tiger Air.

'Sir, you're both early for check in... if you want you can go to the early check in counter,' said the young man at the help desk. We'd gone so fast, and Tiger start check in so late, that we'd even beaten the check in time! Looking at the time, from the plane landing to checking in our luggage only took about half an hour. I suppose if you've got a tight transfer Changi is the place to do it. Truly impressive.

Early as we were, we decided to go downstairs for a bite to eat at Chinta Manis, a specialist in Nyonya/Peranakan cuisine. Other than a few small items cooked by my aunty, Alissa had never had Peranakan cooking before, and I thought that she would definitely appreciate their patisserie items at the very least.

But before ordering the sweets we had lunch. My initial choice was to try their sambal prawns however as it was already sold out I ordered the Chicken Rendang. The curry and rice were both very good. I particularly appreciated the extremely finely sliced fried shallots that gave a nice subtle crunch and onion flavour.

Normally I'm the one who has noodles, so it was ironic that Alissa would be the one ordering the Nyonya Mee Siam. This was her first time eating Mee Siam, and was the first time of many that she would declare the meal 'delicious'. I tried a bit myself to see how it compared to other Nyonya Mee Siams I've had. It held up well with the noodles having that chewy texture while being dry. It had that nice sour flavour without being overpoweringly acidic. We both agreed our portions sizes were good, as we were satisfied without being overly full.

For drinks we had iced kopi, very refreshing after all the running we did. With its strong and sweet flavour, we were definitely awake after drinking these.

As our gate would be open shortly we decided to get 5 of the Nyonya quehs as takeway to eat at the boarding gate.

We started on a bland note with the Ubi Ulap. I had picked it since it was topped with the orange coconut sugar I've always liked on appom. Apart from this however, we found the texture to be like a very plain potato cake. Definitely not our favourite.

Things thankfully improved with the Chendol Agar Agar that came next. I'm not usually a fan of agar agar jellies in terms of texture but this was a lot tastier that the Ubi Ulap with that fudgey chendol flavour and the red beans inside. This was a successful adaptation into jelly form.

Next was the safe bet amongst the lot – Mango Agar Agar. As is often the case when a dish is to her liking, Alissa nodded her approval. She declared this one 'classic', and I had to agree. Again, agar agar is not my favourite jelly texture but this was broken up by the softer, springier sago balls set inside. I appreciated this contrast.

Ondeh Ondeh was next. This again was very immediately likeable, being flavoured with coconut and deliciously sweet. What's not to like?

Finally, we had the queh that the staff and Chinta Manis said was their most popular – the Pulut Seri Kaya. Given how much he loves eating kaya, I could really imagine my Dad loving this one. The smooth texture of the kaya and the glutinous rice were like a sweet omelette and rice pudding cake.

The Verdict: Very Good

I'm not the biggest fan of quehs but these were of a very good standard and I was satisfied with our lunch in transit. 'Cheap and Shiok' declared an article on Chinta Manis' walls, and with our meal being both very cheap and very tasty, I couldn't help but agree.

Introduction & Dome, Perth Airport, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 1, Part 1)

As with all travelling stories in the de Souza family, it all starts with a coffee at Dome. Whenever any member of my family travels overseas we always make sure we’re at the airport with sufficient time for one last cup of coffee together, and in the ensuing years it’s become something of a family tradition. Not that the coffee at Dome is particularly special or there aren't any other options (albeit from Perth Airport’s very meager food and drink selection), but so entrenched is this familiar ritual that it just would not feel right to start a journey without it.

For most of these cups of coffee Dome was as far as I was going. This was my parents’ travelling story, and my role in the adventure ended with goodbyes at the departure gate. Sometimes I went with them too - in 2009 and 2011 I joined my parents on their then-biennial voyages to India. But this trip is different. For the first time it is my parents staying behind in Perth. For the first time this travelling story belongs to me – and my favourite dining partner.

Friday 25^th October, 2011 was the last time I went through those departure gates, travelling with my parents for a food odyssey to Hong Kong, Mumbai, Udaipur, Munnar and Singapore. This was an exciting trip that I’d been looking forward to for months; however a part of me didn’t want to go. See, just 5 days before departure I’d met a girl. Or rather, it wasn’t that I met her (we’d been friends of friends), but that we’d started seeing each other. And I liked her, and felt immediately that I’d found someone truly special. With the bad timing of my departure we chatted online just about every night I was away, and though we’d only been on two dates beforehand I felt even then that I wished she had been there with me for all of it.

6 months later we were engaged, with November 23^rd, 2013 being our wedding day. And now exactly 2 years after I left for my last overseas holiday, I’m correcting the wrong of that last trip by taking Alissa to all the cities I told her about every night I was overseas. With meals booked at 5 of San Pellegrino’s Top 50 Restaurants in Asia - 2 of which also boast 3 Michelin Stars – and 5 weeks of amazing meals planned it seems only fitting to open the Ministry of Gluttony with our first travelling story – Alissa and Don Eat Asia.

Alissa and I have talked about ratings for food. With food varying from 3 Star Michelin to a simple temple meal, how does one rate a meal on its own merits? Additionally, as people who enjoy eating we probably find most food is at least passable, therefore its probably more important to distinguish between varying levels of good. Rather than allocating a star rating of giving a score, we've come up with a rating system for our blog that we feel better reflects our experiences in a straightforward manner:

Poor - Food that is of an unacceptably low quality. Best avoided
Okay - Passable food of acceptable taste and quality. Not bad but not exactly 'good' food.

Good - Worth a try; a satisfying meal if not exactly mindblowing.

Very Good - Recommended food to eat if you are in the area; a satisfying meal +

Fxcellent - A very satisfying meal; food that you should eat if you are visiting this place.

Exceptional - The very best food of its class. Food and/or a food experience so good that you should make travel plans to eat here!

So with this in mind... back to Dome. Alissa and I ordered long macchiattos (a strong or double shot latte in correct terms) with Alissa eating a chicken wrap and a ham and cheese croissant for myself.

The coffee was okay. Not a bad or a particularly excellent coffee. It served its purpose of waking us up after getting out of bed for 3:15am. What wasn't so good though was the paper cup - I'm fairly certain that in the past we've been given proper cups at Dome, so someone made the unenvironmentally friendly decision to switch to disposable since our last trip. 

My croissant was not very good. The pastry had obviously been given the microwave reheat treatment and was lacking the crisp flakiness I associate with a good croissant. The filling was very poorly spaced out - so much so I basically ate half of my croissant before I even got to the ham and cheese, and then it felt as if they'd put way too much in this half as it seemed overly generous. I would have preferred a more evenly spread out filling, and I finished my meal wishing I had ordered something else, like Alissa's chicken wrap.

Alissa's order looked a lot more appetizing, and had clearly been seared in a sandwich toaster, making me wish mine had had a similar treatment. I had a bite and appreciated the well-seasoned chicken. Thankfully I hadn't taken a large enough bite to have noticed something Alissa later pointed out as a fault - as the wrap had been microwaved to reheat, the thickly sliced cucumber had become warm and semi-cooked with a weird texture. As someone who doesn't like thickly sliced cucumber, perhaps the ham and cheese croissant was not such a bad choice after all.

The Verdict: Okay
Its a family tradition, so we'll keep coming back. However, as the food is only of a passable standard I cannot exactly recommend it as a place of interest.