Moral support was needed in my sister's confrontation with the staff of California Fitness at Novena Square; this was before the unfortunate news kicked in with the gym's immediate closure. After she was done, hunger kicked in and we decided on a xiaolongbao meal after much deliberation!
Place; Ju Hao Xiao Long Bao - a collaboration with MOF. Nowadays, i made it a point to ask if i could take photographs and in this instance, permission was granted.
Strangely, i was stopped abruptly by the waitress after i took the above signboard at the entrance. Her stand was that taking food would be fine but other than that, the others would not be permitted.
Hence, i think it's fair for me to indicate right here that if MOF / the restaurant is uncomfortable with the photos i have uploaded to this post, please feel free to contact me at a6729@singnet.com. In the meantime, let's proceed with the dishes we had. :)
Juicy Steamed Pork Dumplings - there were two options; five pieces or eight pieces. As my sister, my mom and i are mindful of our weight yet greedy to try the salted egg dumplings, deferring to the lower quantity sounded favourable.
Chockful of sinfully oily meat juice, i didn't find the xiaolongbao exceptional and felt that the taste was generally flat without any surprising element that had the effect to wow us.
Steamed Salted Egg Dumplings - identified by the yellow tip on one of the dumplings, this was better flavoured than the steamed pork dumplings. The only issue was that with all the fad surrounding salted egg, these didn't give us the right off impression it was salted egg. Put it simply, it was just saltier than the normal xiaolongbao.
Wanton with Vinegar & Chilli Oil - the redness wasn't glaring enough and the taste didn't meet up to the expectation of the similar-named dish at Crystal Jade. However, the chef was extremely generous with the diced up garlic and they made the wantons very appetising! It might not as good as Crystal Jade version but honestly delicious in a class of its own.
Prawn Fried Rice - The similarity to the famous one at Din Tai Fung stopped at the appearance (and the name); it was rather bland and the rice had a harder texture. No, it didn't break our teeth although we can find the difference.
Red Bean Pancake - Aside from the thick crust which resulted in a less than satisfying bite, i must say the spread of roasted sesame seeds played an important role in enhancing the aroma and the chef didn't scrimp on the red bean paste! Those who are afraid it would be cloyingly sweet, i call you it wasn't.
Osmanthus Jelly Cake - now, this was so pretty; i initially didn't have the heart to eat it. Served cold, the texture was soft enough for me to pop one right into the mouth so that i can slowly savour it and wait for the burst of fragrance from the osmanthus flowers and Chinese wolfberries! Yummy!
=====
Location
10 Sinaran Drive, Novena Square 2,
#01-47/48/51-53, Singapore 307506
Map
As above.
Order List
As above. The pricing was clearly indicated so i am not going to put down the pricing i paid for each dish (fact is, i lost the receipt). Anyway, the bill is subject to GST and service charge.