January 2011
It’s always pleasant to walk into a new eatery, apropos of no third party recommendations, to find that – like the discovery of an unanticipated Aladdin’s chest of treasures – it’s all you had secretly hoped for, but didn’t dare to expect.
Cue Jade Pot. Charming, intimate, and thoughtfully designed, this little gem is small enough to ensure service is just a finger crook away, but large enough to accommodate several tables with their own steamboat settings.
The sister outlet of the original Jade Pot in Old Klang Road (which also serves dim sum), this newer snazzier version has all the culinary merits of its counterpart. While the selection of steamboat ingredients yields no surprises, it’s nevertheless unquestionably fresh, from the fish balls stuffed with minced meat and tiger prawns, to the fresher than fresh prawn dumplings and the springy sotong balls stuffed with fish maw.
The soup, however, is the scene-stealer here. Jade Pot offers four versions and punters can select two – the tom yam and the salted vegetable with pork belly soup stocks are both top-notch choices. Many steamboat soups require the full symphonic assistance of all the attendant ingredients to really make them sing. The Jade Pot soups begin life already imbued with a full-bodied fragrance that makes them good enough to drink sans embellishment. This in turn makes the soup an even more perilous proposition because its evolution from gifted singer to full-throated diva works in exact reverse to the (rapidly diminishing) amount of remaining stomach space as the meal progresses. My advice? Skip the drinks and forge on. After all, it’s really only liquid, albeit some of the tastiest liquid this side of town.
Granted, I’ve a weakness for soup. But soup apart, the setting, easy accessibility, fresh ingredients and fair prices more than recommend Jade Pot as a no-brainer steamboat venue of choice for any foodie with exacting standards who just happens to have a penchant for soup, and lots of it. Fay Khoo