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Hong Kong’s acclaimed Chinese fine dining destination for classic Jiangnan cuisine, Crystal Jade Jiang Nan, is presenting a new menu of ‘heartwarming’ autumn specialties from the ‘Land of Fish and Rice’ at its sister restaurants in Wanchai and Yuen Long.Traditional ‘comfort food’ to keep out the cold and crab dishes in peak season headline seasonal favourites from the southern region of the Yangtze Delta.

The gourmet heritage of China’s eastern coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu – embracing Shanghai and one of the ‘Four Great Traditions’, Huaiyang cuisine – is one of China’s best-kept food secrets, famed for its exceptional delicacy and complex cooking techniques in harmony with the region’s abundant seasonal ingredients. Marrying ‘colour, aroma and taste’ of quality ingredients with subtle seasonings and ‘feelgood’ flavours, Jiangnan cuisine is known for its gentleness, or qing dan, a word combining the characters for pure and light, expressing tastes that comfort and refresh.

Among new autumn specialties celebrating the peak season for crab, Fried Crab with Glutinous Rice (Special Offer: HK$398 – originally priced HK$498) infuses warming glutinous ‘sticky’ rice with the flavour of crab. Steamed Crab in Huadiao Wine (HK$398 each) is classically seasoned according to a traditional Shanghainese recipe, steamed in rich chicken fat, with the Chinese wine made from cereal grains such as rice, sorghum, millet or wheat balancing fragrancy; while Braised Crab and Rice Flour Cakes with Bean Paste (HK$428 each) is a traditional Shanghai specialty, using the red-braising technique to braise crab with light soy sauce and sugar, and rice flour cakes made of glutinous rice flour, creating a compact texture that seals the subtle, fragrant taste of crab from the sauce.

Double-boiled soups are a firm favourite in cooler weather, with Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Fish Maw (HK$88/person) most famously renowned for keeping warm against the winter cold.  Fish maw, which is the swim bladder, is an excellent source of collagen, believed to enrich the skin, and for pregnant women, the skin of their babies. Double-boiled Duck Soup with Handmade Fish Balls (HK$480/whole; HK$248/half) uses “rice duck” (rice-fed duck) and Jinhua ham for boiling the soup base – along with soft, homemade fish balls. Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Yunnan Ham, Pork Knuckle, Pigeon Eggs and Cabbage (HK$1,380/whole; HK$698/half) is another popular winter dish, a soup of premium vegetables and meat double-boiled for at least four hours. Shanghai Wild Vegetable & Dried Bean Curd (HK$62) underlines Jiangnan cuisine’s reputation for obscure ingredients: in this case a wild vegetable called Indian aster. Its young leaves and stems are considered a regional delicacy for flavouring bland-tasting bean curd – as well as being rich in healthy calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C and more. Likewise, Sautéed Shredded Mandarin Fish with Chinese Celery (HK$198) is loaded with essential minerals and vitamins.

No authentic Jiangnan dining experience is complete without pork, slowly simmered and braised with soy sauce, rice wine and sugar until sleek and seductively sweet. Two variations beloved across China are main course finales of this menu: Braised Pork Tendon (HK$168), with a choice of scallion or shrimp roe braising for a dish high in collagen, said to support tendons, ligaments and skin elasticity; and Braised Pork Belly with Dried Mushrooms (HK$118), a popular combination in China with sweet, sticky, pork belly and dried mushrooms good for anti-aging, and also balancing pork belly cholesterol.

To complete the exquisite dining experience, a special promotion is on prized Chikurin sake from Okayama brewery Marumoto Shuzo. Chikurin Karoyaka Junmai Ginjo is reduced from HK$270 to HK$188 (300ml) for a light, easy-drinking sake pasteurised once instead of the usual twice for a vibrant flavor of mild fruits, ideal to pair with appetisers.

Chikurin Fukamari Junmai is also on promotion for HK$128, down from HK$180 (300ml) for a rich, full-flavoured brew blended with a small amount of aged sake, perfectly balancing the elegant cuisine.

Crystal Jade Jiang Nan has attracted rave reviews since its Hong Kong debut in 2016, specialising in Jiang-Nan cuisine from the southern region of the Yangtze Delta with premium quality cuisine comparable to the brand’s acclaimed Singapore flagship, Crystal Jade Golden Palace.

While Crystal Jade Jiang Nan pays tribute to prized delicacies, its sister Shanghai bistro chain Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao has also earnedwidespread public and critical acclaim – including ‘Bib Gourmand’ recognition for quality, excellent value for money in the Hong Kong & Macau MICHELIN Guide. Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao has so far grown to 13 shopping malls from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon to the New Territories and Hong Kong International Airport.

Crystal Jade Jiang Nan’s flagship, opened in 2016, is located at Shop 310, 3/F, Tai Yau Plaza, 181 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

Crystal Jade Jiang Nan in YOHO Mall is at Shop 2045, Level 2, YOHO MALL, 8-9 Long Yat Road & 9 Yuen Lung Street, Yuen Long.

Both outlets open from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 pm daily.  For enquiries or reservations, please visit http://hk.crystaljade.com/, or call : +852-2455-1828 (YOHO) or +852-2573-8844 (Wanchai).