Jade Kingdom, Heidelberg Heights by Bureaucrat

A little while ago, I had a hankering for laksa and I had wanted to go somewhere different for a change.


As we were heading into the northern burbs, we did a quick search online for a likely candidate.  We found Jade Kingdom.

Located in a small strip of shops, it didn't look like we picked a good place.  Upon entering, we were slightly reassured by the fact that it had several diners (including a big table of eight) already tucking into the food.

Inside, it's decorated like someone's home with  pinkish hued walls, daggy '80s light fittings and the seemingly surly proprietor taking charge of the place (although he was definitely chatty and friendly to the regulars there).  Cue in also, a family member as the wait staff, sticky menus and a tea-stained pot of tea that was delivered to the table.

Despite having a hankering for laksa, I ended up picking something else (quelle surprise).


I got the seafood hor fun.  The good points were that it was big, the gai lan was fresh and al dente and there were reasonable amounts of seafood and wok hei.  The negative was that it was that although it was salty (w MSG present) it was kinda bland.  I had to get a soft drink to quench the wierd salty-bland taste from my mouth.


The Lawyer got the Har Mee - hokkein and vermicelli noodles in a prawny-porky broth w char siu, prawns, egg and kangkong topped with fried shallots.  Despite the list of ingredients present, this was kinda not nice.  The broth just didn't do it for me.  It wasn't punchy in flavour, and the foamy bubbles and murky colour didn't make it look appetisizing. I didn't want to ponder how long ago since the broth was first made.  Ditto for the cha siu, which was dry in texture and a bit chewy.  The prawns were the pre-cooked ones that you'd typically find at Woolies or Coles, and I have a pet peeve at restaurants that serve up boiled eggs that have been overcooked (so that it gets the unappetising black ring around the yolk).

While we were there, we agreed that we picked the wrong dishes here.  Over at the big table, they had many dishes being brought out that looked and smelt great.

Overall
A rather 'meh' experience for us.  The food is cheap but it's not enough to entice us back.  Although, JK seems popular among the locals here.

It wasn't several weeks later that we mentioned to Big Fil that we had ventured to JK for lunch.  It turned out that Big Fil had previously reviewed this place (refer his post in July 2010) and was actually at JK the same weekend we were there.

Verdict
Food - 6.5
Ambience - 6
Service - 6.5
Price - 8

Address 
Jade Kingdom
233 Waiora Road
Heidelberg Heights 3081
Tel: (03) 9458 3188