METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES. Going to Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight was a straight traverse from the entrance of the Greenhills Shopping Center compound. I do not go here often but looking for it had been a breeze! Go straight through the doorway passing by the line of tiangges, go out to the courtyard where you will pass by the chapel, enter V Mall and at the back you will see then the gray facade splashed with some eye-catchy purple that complements the overall look of the establishment. I promise you, you will not miss it.

So why was I here? I was here for a reason: to try the Weekday Dinner Dimsum Buffet of Crystal Jade! Yes, you heard me right, Dimsum Buffet! For only Php 488+ you can now enjoy unlimited servings of their numerous dimsum offerings like the Xiao Long Bao (which they are very famous for!), Siew Mai, different kind of dumplings and many more! So if you are a lover of dimsums this is something to get excited for from Crystal Jade.

The buffet concept of the restaurant is unlike the others. There were no buffet tables lining up and leaning against the walls and no food trays that keep the food warm. Instead, upon securing a seat, I was immediately given a menu to scan and tick those that caught my fancy. If this is your first time to try something like it, you may opt to get one of each of all the dishes for the first round and just get succeeding orders for those that you liked. Remember, you can order as many as you like, just make sure though that you consume all before you order another round so as not to incur left overs. You know how buffet restaurants feel about left-overs and I think it is already time for us to imbibe that kind of behavior too! This is my second time to experience this kind of buffet system and I can definitely say that I like it because not only are the dishes freshly prepared but the system also allows the minimization of food wastage which proves to be very practical!

While waiting for the food, the waiter asked me what drink I would like to have. Though the buffet already comes with a choice of some free-flowing Iced Tea or Chinese Tea and I do not really order drinks when I am in a restaurant, I still could not help but see what they have to offer. The choices were abundant! There were fruit smoothies here and healthy milk shakes there which rendered me ordering in no time. I settled with Avocado Milk Shake with Sago since I want to taste what their take was with the Avocado. Surpisingly, I loved it! It was creamy and yummy and this comes from someone who is not really a fan of Avocado. I strongly recommend this! After a while the dishes then arrived one by one.

INCLUSIONS OF THE DIMSUM BUFFET

I started with some Cold Cucumber with Minced Garlic in Sesame Oil to prep up my taste buds. A rather simple fare you might say but wait till you taste the kick of the garlic which could make any garlic lover's world turn upside down. I love anything garlic, so this dish came as a nice starter for me!

The Noodle with Spring Onion Oil is perfect for any season and can be enjoyed as is or drenched in a bowl of that lovely soup peeking at the back. Both are delicious in their own right but the noodle with the soup was just perfect for me and the rainy season.

The Pork Dumpling with Hot Chili Sauce is not something new. Actually, we do this with our pork dumplings; concoct some of those hot chili sauce and drench the dumplings in it. With the Pork Dumplings with Hot Chili Sauce of Crystal Jade, there's no need to concoct a sauce of your own as the dumplings are already pre-submerged before it arrives to you. And I think it is a great thing as the sauce still had time to seep in between the crevices of the balled-up meat for a more balanced taste.

The Xiao Long Bao is the ultimate winner for me. I know there's nothing to get surprised about since this is Crystal Jade's specialty dimsum but I was still captivated the moment the soup inside the Xiao Long Bao burst and played in my mouth. The meat was also flavorful, full and compact which I greatly appreciated. The Xiao Long Bao is the best of its kind in the metro.

Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumpling with Crab Roe "Siew Mai"

The Siew Mai was something else! It was so compact that a single bite already has the capability to satisfy and satiate me. The crab roe on top definitely gave the dish some character which makes it stand out among the rest.

Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Beans Sauce

Pan-fried Carrot Cake with Dried Shrimp & Preserved Meat

I found this dish very interesting. I am used to eating cubed carrot cake mixed with some egg and then fried to perfection, which usually is addicting despite tasting a bit bland, but this is the first time that I was able to eat a mushy version of it. Moreover, the dried shrimp and preserved meat added an extra oomph to the otherwise typical carrot cake.

Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Beans Sauce

The Steamed Spare Ribs was unbelievable! I have always loved spareribs; always had and always will but not all the time do I taste something as good as this! I usually get turned off when I see a dish with bigger proportions of pork fat than lean meat but with the Spare Ribs I would prefer to see the opposite. "The more fat, the better" is my motto when it comes to Spare Ribs (and Menudo!). Some people may shy away from pork fat because they often get nauseous after eating some, but not me. Just not me!

Serving as a palate cleanser were these fluffy flour rolls that were meant to be dipped in this sweet and delicious pool of condensed milk. This was just the right meal-ender to your fulfilling experience. But wait! Don't leave too soon, we are not done yet as Crystal Jade introduces an extended surprise to all its customers!

PLUS + MANY MORE DISHES FOR ONLY PHP 100!

Just by adding Php 100 on top of the Php 488+ price of the dimsum buffet, you may now also enjoy unlimited servings of the Yang Chow Fried Rice (on the left) or the Fried Rice with Chicken & Ham (on the right) plus a half-serving of one dish (per customer) from the Chef Recommendation options below!

I could not remember anymore the taste of the Chicken with Pumpkin in Black Beans Sauce but what I do remember vividly was the good and nice feeling it left with me the moment I tasted it.

Braised Home Style Beancurd with Mushroom

The sauce poured over that big block of beancurd still haunts me. The dish was so comforting that it taste and felt like something that my mom would make me and so close to home. The crab meat was just marvelous!

Deep Fried Chicken with Dried Chili and Peanuts

Sauteed Diced String Beans with Minced Pork served with Pancake.

Wow! That's some very good value for your money, don't you think? I definitely think so! If you find yourself craving for some unlimited dimsum that are both filling and delicious after reading this post, you may head on to Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight in VMall from Mondays to Fridays, 6:00 to 9:30 PM to have your own fill of the dishes from these amazing buffet. Reserve your seats immediately as the promo only runs until the end of this month, September 30, 2014. Who knows? Maybe we'll bump into each other there!

(From L-R) Kenneth Yu, Flatter My Senses (me) and Gela Isidro full and happy as can be deduced from our mega-watt smiles. Thank you for inviting me! I had a really great time sampling all the dishes.

CRYSTAL JADE SHANGHAI DELIGHT

Address: G/F VMall, San Juan City
Phone: +632 570 5233
Flatter My Senses Recommendations: Xiao Long Bao, Siew Mai, Noodle with Spring Onion Oil, Steamed Spare Ribs and Pork Dumpling with Hot Chili Sauce

Flatter My Senses was invited and welcomed as a guest by Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight. However, all opinions written here about the dishes and the establishment are my own.