I had a big craving for dim sum the other day, and a friend recommended Crystal Jade, saying they had a pretty good buffet. I’m always up for a good buffet, so I decided to check it out.
First, I looked them up online to see what the deal was. Turns out, Crystal Jade is a pretty big name in Chinese food, and they have a bunch of different restaurants. The one I went to was called “Crystal Jade Dining IN,” and they’re known for their Cantonese dishes. I also saw that this place has a Michelin star, which, you know, sounds pretty fancy.
I called them up to make a reservation. I figured it might be busy, especially since it was a weekend. The person on the phone said they serve the dim sum buffet every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 8:30 to 10:30 in the morning. Perfect for a weekend brunch, I thought.
So, I gathered a few friends, and we headed over there on a Saturday morning. When we arrived, the place was already buzzing. We got seated pretty quickly, and the first thing we noticed was the carts. These carts are wheeled around, stacked high with all sorts of dim sum goodies. The whole “pick what you want from the cart” thing made it super easy and fun. No need to mess around with menus!
We dove right in. I remember grabbing some har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings), and some of those fluffy char siu bao (barbecue pork buns). Everything was hot and fresh. The variety was awesome. I think they had nearly 40 different dishes to choose from. The fried yam with meat puff and the ee fu noodle are two of my favorites, I’m pretty sure I had at least three servings of each. It’s a good thing it was a buffet because we definitely ate our fill.
The service was decent. Our empty plates were cleared pretty regularly, and the staff was always bringing around new carts of food. It was a bit chaotic with all the carts moving around, but that’s part of the dim sum experience, right?
At the end of the meal, we were all stuffed. We ended up paying around $200 for the seven of us, which isn’t too bad for a dim sum feast, I would say. I mean, we ate a lot, and everything was really tasty.
My final thoughts:
- Food: Really good. The dim sum was fresh, flavorful, and there was a ton of variety.
- Service: Pretty good, our table is always cleaned.
- Price: Not bad for a buffet, especially considering the quality and the amount of food we ate.
- Atmosphere: Lively and bustling, typical dim sum vibe.
Overall, I’d say Crystal Jade’s dim sum buffet is worth checking out. If you’re a dim sum lover like me, you’ll definitely enjoy it. I’ll probably go back again sometime, maybe to try their regular menu items. I heard their Cantonese dishes are pretty good, too.