The best part about the holidays is definitely the time you get to spend with family, but at a close second comes all the holiday food. Well, I think it’s more apt to say that these two go hand-in-hand. Let’s face it, no decent gathering ever happens without good food!

Whether you’re the type that prefers to throw Christmas party potlucks, or the type that takes painstaking effort in picking which restaurant to take the whole barangay to, the goal is the same: to make sure everyone has a good time! For those who like to hold their parties in restaurants especially, I think Crystal Jade Dining-In has you covered.

Now I happen to think the best way to enjoy good food is if you have the best company, so when Crystal Jade Dining-In invited my family and I for a holiday meal last Sunday, I already predicted that we were going to have a blast. We’re a pretty tight-knit bunch after all so it was easy to have a good time, but with the food we had here at Crystal Jade, the experience was made even better tenfold. Here we are with Crystal Jade Dining-In’s restaurant manager, Ms. Aida Velsaco (at the center), who so graciously took good care of us while we were here. 🙂

After getting a sample of what Crystal Jade Dining-In has to offer this holiday season, I can honestly say that bringing your family here for a Christmas feast is a good idea. Let me just give you a peek into one of the sets on the 2015 Christmas Menu at Crystal Jade Dining-In BGC!

So this set we got to sample is actually their Set C on the holiday menu, which is good for 6 people and priced at Php 8,800++. I really like that Crystal Jade is continuously innovating these special menus for each important season, and by my experience dining here, you can expect to get a good mixture of classics and unique dishes I’ve personally never seen before. This time I thought the food was even more interesting than usual.

Combination of Crispy Duck Sandwich with Shredded Duck Fruit Salad

Everything on this plate was sublime. Maybe not the healthiest, but hey it’s Christmas! I’ve mentioned before that my choice of “guilt-food” is actually pecking duck, so this was a definite plate of happiness for me!

Traditionally, the skin of the pecking duck is wrapped in thin white wrappers with spring onions and hoisin sauce. In this ingenious version, the crispy skin sits on top of multiple layers of yumminess– duck meat, hoisin, tomato, cucumber. To help balance out the crispy top is a layer of fried wanton wrapper at the bottom.

All I can say is that I’m glad there are just six pieces on this plate so there’s just exactly one serving for each person, otherwise I would’ve eaten so many!

As for the shredded duck component, we’ve got juicy and tasty duck meat slathered with mayonnaise. To bind all the flavours together is a mixture of mangoes and sweet fruits. We all really enjoyed this combination!

Fresh Shrimp Wanton in Almond Soup

By far the most interesting dish on this menu. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read the name of this dish the first time, but I was pretty excited. Typically almond flavourings are used for desserts, but for a savoury soup? Hmm…

Surprisingly, this soup was quite enjoyable! It was very different, at the same time the texture of the soup reminded me of cream of mushroom in that it’s thick. The almond flavour isn’t extreme, but it comes out right at the very end of each slurp. The shrimp wantons were juicy and delicious too, just the way I like them!

Everyone enjoyed this soup so much the table went quiet. They say that silence is a pretty good indication that the food is great, and I tend to agree! 😉

Golden Baked Stuffed Crab Shells

This had so many flavours, but most dominant among them was that of mushroom. There seemed to be a hint of truffle too. Every bite was a creamy explosion of savoury goodness, and you can definitely see that the crabs are stuffed to the brim. This is one of the things I love about this restaurant; they definitely do not scrimp on ingredients. And you can taste it in every dish!

Pan-fried Minced Pork with Salted Fish

One of my favourites for sure. It looks so incredibly unassuming in this patty form, but once you take your first bite, say hello to the explosively juicy pork! I’m not even kidding. I know you eat this with some sweet chilli sauce for a bit of spicy sweetness, but the addition of a slight salty kick from the salted fish element in this dish really rounds out the flavours.

Braised Fresh Mushroom with Dried Scallop

This dish leans more towards the classics. It’s pretty straightforward actually, and a perfect accompaniment to the fried rice I’m about to mention in a bit. The sweet cabbage provided a crunch that was a nice contrast against the chewy mushrooms. Of course the sauce was very rich in flavour thanks to the dried scallops too!

Fried Rice with Scallop, Crab Meat, & Crab Roe

The thing that sets this fried rice apart is that stone pot it’s in. It reminds me a lot of bibimbap in that once it’s served it continues to cook inside the hot stone pot, making the rice a little toastier than usual. The rice is fluffy and toasty at the same time, and it’s not short on flavour at all. In fact there’s so much seafood in here you can literally eat this on its own. (But since the restaurant’s got so much good food why on earth would you?!)

Baked Creamy Custard in Tapioca Pudding

This dessert smells divine. The scent of sweet custard can be caught from a mile away! Being a fan of custard my mouth was already watering when I smelled this. This dish was served to us freshly baked and super hot. Can you see the steam drifting off the spoonful I’ve got here?

I love how thick and melt-in-the-mouth this was, even though it was a little too sweet for my taste. And I was really happy about the addition of tapioca, because these kinds of spoon-desserts definitely benefit from those clear orbs. It just adds a pop of texture that cuts through the creamy richness in a good way!

So there you have it! I seriously hope I made you hungry hahaha! Remember that this is just one set from Crystal Jade Dining-In’s holiday menu, so there’s more yumminess in store for you depending on which set you choose. I know that the restaurant carries a bit of a premium, but the quality of the food is just topnotch. I seriously want another piece of that Crispy Duck Sandwich right now!

Thank you so much to Crystal Jade Dining-In for this wonderfully delicious gift for me and my family! And I must say, I really love the gorgeous and classy decorations they have in the restaurant for Christmas!