Saturday, December 05, 2009

Instant noodle with imperial pretension

The new Imperial Treasure chain of restaurants competes head-on with those of Crystal Jade, offering similar food choices, price and ambience.

I tried out the Imperial Treasure La Mian Xiao Long Bao (a mouthful of fancy names which basically mean ramen noodle and swee-kow) at Marina Square.

I started with la mian and double boiled chicken. The soup and chicken have a “healthy” taste but the la mian was really bland. I ended up having to add lots of vinegar just to feel that I wasn’t shoving flour down my throat.

My friends, who ordered pork chop with their la mian, said the meat was oily and tasty, which balanced well with the bland noodle.

We also ordered Beijing shui jiao, supposedly one of the star items. While decent, the shui jiao were unremarkable and were nothing compared with those of Crystal Jade. At $16 a head, our meals cost about the same as what we could eat at Crystal Jade.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Imperial Treasure La Mian Xiao Long Bao
6 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square #02-138J
Tel: 63382212
Mon-Sun: 11.30am-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm