Dolls Brunch: Cristal Restaurant and Bar Tuesday, 13 July 2010 12:47 Written by BEVERLY!

I've been to Cristal only once before, and clearly they have massively improved this time round in terms of service and quality of food. It's more of a "nice-dining" restaurant. As in, it's not as exorbitantly priced as fine-dining, but certainly not a cheap cafe. It sits nicely in between and is actually really close to where we live, but we hadn't yet found an occasion to go again. Located on the 4th floor of a shopping mall at Nanjing West station, it's easy to miss and relatively unknown unless you've heard about the restaurant and are specifically going there for a meal. What a hidden treasure :)

Last weekend 8 of us decided to try out Cristal's Brunch set menu, which at 178 RMB (3-course) or 198 RMB (4-course) turned out to be ONE AMAZING DEAL that had all of us surprised and delighted. The quality of the ingredients was superb, the presentation was fine-dining style, the service was polite and attentive, and the menu actually underplayed the variety and quantity of food that we would be served. It was flat-out impressive and all of us were raving about the value of the brunch. I am most definitely going back and recommending visitors to go there for a relaxed, sunlit weekend brunch.

We were so surprised at how artfully presented each dish came out, and with lots of little trimmings and sides that weren't even mentioned on the menu. Their chef obviously takes pride in his work and every dish came out so beautiful looking. On top of that, the food was really good. Cooked perfectly, quality ingredients, and in very decent-sized portions. I was pleased that I was full after eating :)

A totally stunning experience - will be back for sure!

The bar area

There's outdoor dining too, but we preferred the air-conditioned interior

Salad with a very generous portion of smoked salmon

A large plate of Japanese marinated tuna carpaccio, with pear & fig chutney, pine kernel, qrugula leaves, mini wontons, and garlic ciabatta bread on the side

Duo of pan-fried foie gras (OMGGGGG!!!!!!!!!)

Cute little Vegetarian wontons

Two poached eggs served with ham, grilled smoked bacon, home made herb sausage on toasted English muffins with Hollandaise sauce, served with crispy hash browns. This was a full meal in itself!

Warm white asparagus with truffle hollandaise served with scallops relish on the Bruschetta bread and Parmigiano chips

Fresh made ravioli filled with fennel “Choucroute” served with Butterfly “Tempura” Gambas and spicy aioli on the side

Roasted atlantic salmon with mashed potatoes, green asparagus and black truffles dressing

Freshly made (Farfalle) pasta, prepared on the spot,tossed with fish fumet, spinach, parmesan cheese, parsley, finished with pan-seared shrimps, baby squid, fresh mussels. There was SO MUCH seafood in this.... more than the pasta, lol!

Pistachio creme brulee, homemade sorbet, spiked fruits

Lemon Decadence - souffle, lemon cheesecake, sorbet, jelly

Tangerine tiramisu and candied zest, soaked madeline

Spiked fruits and cream, dark chocolate brownie and mousse, choc souffle

Complimentary tea and coffees to end our meal

Comments 

 

#2 Download Cristal Brunch Menu — elena 2010-07-16 12:41

After such fantastic review I assume many Dolls would want to try out Cristal's Brunch.

You may download Cristal Clear Weekend Brunch menu here and Vegetarian Brunch menu here.

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#1 RE: Dolls Brunch: Cristal Restaurant and Bar — FlorG 2010-07-14 08:42

Like Bev said, a hidden gem. I have been a couple of time in the Lisboa restaurant in the same mall but I did not know this restaurant existed because you need to take the elevator.
Great place !!!

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