Singapore-To-Go

I knew the food here could possibly be bad, but I never imagined HOW truly bad it could be.
When I walked in I was disappointed at how few options there were, and all looked pretty unappealing. You are supposed to be given a choice of 2 entrees, 1 side, and 2 dim sum pieces («CJ Express») for $ 11.03.
The two options for the sides were either fried rice or these thin brown crunchy looking noodles (I can’t believe I don’t know what they’re called… I’m a disgrace). I should have left right then because I wanted plain rice, but I continued on and ended up getting a little bit of both.
The choices for dim sum were scant… BBQ pork bun, shu mai, and few other unappetizing looking fried/​sweet things.
Choices for entrees (there were 6 I think) were overcooked and oily bok choy, fried tofu and cabbage, sweet and sour «pork» (I put it in quotes because it was far from that), some plain looking chicken dish, and something else I can’t remember.
I went with the sweet and sour «pork,» fried tofu and cabbage, and 2 bbq pork buns. AND GOOD GOD WAS EVERYTHING AWFUL!!! The sweet and sour pork… from the entire serving I received, I literally did not get any meat out of any of those pieces. IT WAS ALL super hard BONE AND TENDON, and BATTER! Luckily I bite into everything cautiously now, but if I didn’t I would have broken some teeth. I could not bite through ANY of the pieces, even after using considerable force. The cabbage in the tofu dish was disgusting, it had a weird spicy kick to it that was VERY unpleasant, like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. I can only describe the flavor as cleaning solution. The dim sum pork bun had decent filling, but the bun was way too soft and doughy, the texture was grossing me out.
And then I was charged $ 13.40 for this meal deal that was supposed to cost $ 11.03 (love how they end their price with .03). Being too nice (and dumb), I didn’t question them and just paid… but now thinking about it makes me annoyed. Why would I be charged an extra 21%? Whatever… my bad. I wouldn’t eat anything from here ever again even if it were free.

09.29.15 etc.
Yes, I came more than once. It is quite a quick option if you have limited time and need limited choices.
Two entrees plus a side is $ 11.03 all inclusive. The portions are plenty big for more than a lunch, but less than two. So I have that slightly awkward 3:00 PM break to finish.
The veggie dishes are far better than the meats. My first go was the green beans and the fried chicken. Green beans win by a mile. My second go was the bok choy and the beef and onions. Once again, the leafy greens win.
Fine if you’re in a rush and have average expectations.

The food was tasty with a very authentic flavor. It was good quality and I would have given it a higher rating but it was not warm. For the price and convenient location it is a good value.

Blah. Similar food you’d get at the cheapo Chinese take out joints in the Mission, except here you’re paying FiDi prices. Noodles, fried rice, a couple of dim sum croquettes, and a plastic-​ish fried fish dish.

Crystal Jade Jiang Nan arrived with great fanfare late last year and was savaged for its exorbitant prices and lackluster service. Local foodies were ready with daggers to punish the first US opening of a huge chain across Asia. I only tried the expansive bar there with Jamie W., and it was frankly middling enough for me to defer indefinitely the need for a return visit for a full-​fledged dinner. However, I heard their takeout operation serves hainan chicken, so I was willing to give it a go for lunch since not many places serve it. In fact, I can’t think of one place in the FiDi that’s willing to serve steamed chicken to aficionados like me. This fast food operation is located in the food alleyway between 4 Embarcadero and the Hyatt Regency.
The first sign of trouble was when I saw the Singapore Chicken Rice stacked in plastic trays above the hot food. I still went for it, and the server told me to get another item. Impulsively, I just pointed to the Broccoli Chicken, and they scooped up white rice into the tray (photo:
). The total ended up being $ 11.70, which didn’t bother me that much, although I wish the server could have explained the lunch options instead of pushing me down the line. The hainan chicken was disappointingly lukewarm, while I didn’t even want the other entrée since it was saturated in a mystery brown sauce. There was also way too much rice for one person. How unfortunate that Singapore-​To-​Go turned out to be Singapore-​Up-​And-​Went.
FOOD — 2 stars… weak rendition of a favorite dish of mine packaged like a Lee’s Deli leftover plate
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… it’s simply a takeout counter
SERVICE — 2 stars… their indifference was exhausting to me
TOTAL — 2 stars… Singapore never seemed so far away

The staff was friendly enough, but that is where the niceties cease.
Rice with carrots and what tasted like and appeared to be canned peas, some sorta wannabe fried chicken that was mostly skin, a potsticker, a shu mai and some sorta shrimp and tofu dish… Ohhhh, and a watery lemon tea – coulda told me it was included before I got the Coke out of the fridge (actually, after tasting the lemon water, I’m glad I got the Coke!) – all for the low, low price of $ 15!
Nope, won’t be back…

From the outside it looks nice but the food is lukewarm and not tasty at all. The only plus is they give you a ton of food, if you can stomach it.

I came here because my co-worker’s cold Singaporean chicken looked really good and fresh. I thought the other dishes might be at least similar quality. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The other entrees here are just run of the mill Chinese buffet food. Why spend over $ 10 for a small portion of ma po tofu that doesn’t approach real ma po tofu? The other reviewers are right.
(There’s also no menu or signs saying what the food is, so you have to wait in line to see what the options are.)

Ok, it looks worse than it is. The Hainese chicken with chicken rice is good along with the Dim Sum (if you come early).
I have no idea why they modeled themselves on Panda Express. They could go upscale a little and do so much better. Also they close so early that they miss the take home dinner crowd.

The Hainese chicken rice is really good! Many of the reviewers said the portion of the chicken is small but I got A LOT of chicken today. Maybe give it another try?
But I would not recommend the other stuff. Worst than Panda Express. Crystal Jade should not ruin its reputation with such bad quality food.

Feels more like a generic Chinese steam table lunch joint than like the fancy and indulgent Singaporean restaurant it is attached to. For $ 10-​$ 12, I don’t really expect Chili Crab, but I’d hope to have something much better than Lee’s Deli. You do get a lot of food and there are a few highlights, so I’m comfortable giving it a 3 star.
Hainanese Chicken: The rice was so delicious, filled with chicken fatty goodness and a lot of ginger. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cold boiled chicken with limp skin, though it was nice that the fat beneath the skin seemed to have been boiled away. Liked the dark (and sticky) soy sauce to dip the chicken in, otherwise it’d be a bit bland. For a whole meal, felt kinda skimpy with only a few slices of chicken and two spears of cucumber.
Deep Fried Dumpling: Looked like a crab rangoon but ended up being more like a massive shrimp dumpling that was deep fried (after being steamed). Crunchy on the outside and soft on the outside. A good choice.
Shumai: Seemed like typical shrimp shumai, except with a little red roe on top. Average.
Shrimp & Zucchini: A lot more zucchini than shrimp. A light spicy sauce on both. Felt kinda generic Chinese steam table.
Chicken & Onion: The chicken was dark meat and the onions were partially cooked and still partially raw, which gave a nice zing. I liked.
Noodles: Thin with a mild flavor. I appreciated the chewy texture.
Fried Rice: Seemed more like steamed rice with a few veggies and eggs. Pretty bland.
Strawberry Mango Whipped Cream Mochi: Probably the highlight. Fresh chunks of strawberry and mango swimming among massive amounts of whipped cream. No bean paste. So decadent.
Mango Pudding: Pretty standard.
Egg Tarts: Nothing like Golden Gate Bakery, but that is a high bar. At least it didn’t smell funky (like at places that cook them too far in advace).

Review is for Hainan chicken only.
Just walking in, I had my doubts because aesthetically the food does not look appetizing. Vegetables look like they’ve been cooked too long and have been sitting on the steam table far longer than they should have. And that’s how they tasted. I received a meager 5 slices of chicken, and they don’t even have the ginger/​green onion sauce that usually comes with Hainan chicken. I was still hungry and had to subsist on rice and soy sauce to get full.
Comparing this to Yank Sing To-​Go (also an establishment tied to more pricey, sit-​down establishments), Yank Sing To-​Go is tastier, cheaper, and is huge! 1 order is more than enough for 1 meal.
I might come back to try the dim sum, but would avoid the main entrees.

I always pass by this place and planned to give it a try. Finally had the chance yesterday and I’m glad I’ve tried it but truthfully, this wouldn’t be a first option of mine. The food is average quality but with a high price tag.
I’d recommend the sweet (lemon?) Chicken as an entrée. Sweet and a bit of a tangy taste with juicy chicken. It is a bit on the sweeter side though. The skinny fried noodles were also good. Other than that, nothing better than Panda Express IMO.

Over priced basic Chinese food. They claim its «Singaporean» but the flavors are definitely not there. If you’re expecting singapore noodles then look ALOT further because this place don’t got it. Originally wanted to try the hainan chicken rice but saw that it was this dinky already prepared boxed with 3 pieces of chicken slices. I’m not even exaggerating. You’re better off going to B&M or Mings.

I really want to like this place as there aren’t many Singaporean places in the Bay Area, but my experience was pretty meh. I was also hoping that Crystal Jade would turn themselves around as the reviews for their SF location are abysmal, while their locations on Asia are supposed to be pretty good. I recently had the pleasure of eating at Crystal Jade in Saigon, and I couldn’t resist trying their Singapore To Go for lunch when I was in the area.
I tried their Hainan Chicken Rice, which was 90% rice and cabbage and 10% chicken. It’s been a few years since I had real Hainan Chicken Rice in Singapore, so I don’t quite remember how it’s supposed to be, but I think there’s supposed to be a lot more chicken and the cabbage was just plain weird. The cabbage was a lot like the corned beef and cabbage type of cabbage, which really seemed out place. In addition, the chicken was refrigerator cold, while the rice and cabbage were tepid (from sitting in the steam table for an hour). Despite seeming that it came right out of the refrigerator, the chicken tasted pretty good, but he portion size was tiny. The rice was OK — it tasted like it was cooked in fatty chicken stock. And as I mentioned earlier, the cabbage was weird.
I have not yet tried the Crystal Jade restaurant upstairs, but judging from their Singapore To-​Go outlet downstairs, it looks like they have lots of problems. Hopefully they’ll figure it out soon.

Just no…
2 entrée & 1 side was $ 8.90, then adding regular tax and SF mandate tax, my lunch came out to be $ 10. Ok fine regular price around FiDi anyways.
Had noodles as the side, sweet and sour chicken and broccoli beef as my 2 entrees. The noodles were spicy and not that good… The sweet and sour chicken tasted ok and about standard taste. The broccoli beef was just horrible. The broccoli was fine but the beef… You really didn’t need teeth to eat it. It breaks apart in your mouth. And the taste was just blehhh…
No thanks, won’t be coming back here. It’s expensive and not good. Maybe the restaurant upstairs is better.

Missed the mark, obviously. I really wanted to think that the reviews were wrong because my co-​worker went and said it was pretty good. And it’s sooooo close to me.
Oh wells, there’s better out there.
The lunch menu:
2 entrée & 1 side $ 8.90
3 entrée & 1 side $ 9.90
CJ Express (2 entrée, 1 side, 2 dim sum) $ 10.90
There’s a few more but those are the ones that I had focused one.
The «sides» were a choice of fried rice, singapore noodles, or brown rice. I chose the singapore noodles (recommended by my coworker).
The «dim sum» choices were a steamed pork bun, a pork/​shrimp sui mai, a sweet sticky bun with sesame inside, or an egg roll. Let’s just say this wasn’t the typical dim sum choices you expect.
The «entrees» were made up of kung pao chicken, green beans with shrimp, vegetables, bok choy in oyster sauce, and a medley of veggies with tofu.
The choices of food are underwhelming and everything ended up leaving me feeling really greasy. The kung pao chicken was super sweet, which I don’t like. The green beans and shrimp were soaked in oil. The singapore noodles were actually pretty decent, they had a little kick to it, but honestly… I could make better. There wasn’t anything special about this meal.
The egg rolls and shu mai were the better part of the meal, but it’s only a small component. Plus you only get them if you get the CJ express, or you can opt to go a la carte, or do only a dim sum platter (but with the choices, it doesn’t seem worth the effort).
Greasy, greasy, greasy! If I knew, I would have just gone to 77 Chinese & Hawaii BBQ, where the food isn’t as greasy and you get more choices for less the price. At least now my curiosity is satisfied and I can say «never again».
Also, they need to get their ish together. One of the ladies was super nice and moved quickly, the other was only doing the register and said it froze up. She called the manager in a panic, which surprisingly he came really fast. But seriously, I waited a couple weeks before trying it out and you can’t get an assembly line in order? Scoop, Scoop, Scoop, Ring. Can’t be that difficult right?

I shop in the Embarcadero Center quite frequently during lunch and I’ve made several mental notes to check out Singapore To Go a few times as I’ve exited the nearby LOFT store.
I popped in around 12:45 during the lunch rush. The wait was tolerable. The menu was hard to read and didn’t describe the dishes at all. Also, the menu’s pricing options were very confusing to me. I basically planned on picking out a few things and planning on receiving around a $ 10 takeout lunch, which I totally accomplished. The ordering process is similar to a Panda Express or Chipotle.
The Singapore noodle dish was pretty much gone when I ordered as the man in front of me got the second-​to-​last scoop. The server explained that she called to the chef to bring out more noodles but he didn’t confirm that more were coming. She agreed to give me extra brown rice and to pick 2 more sides to fill up the takeout container. I still couldn’t tell what any dish was, so I just pointed at a veggie dish and a pork-​sauce dish to complete my lunch. The veggie dish was interesting and contained squid (or at least I think it was squid), and the pork dish was pretty good, but in a greasy Asian food kind of way. The brown rice sprouted and soaked up the sauce from the pork dish nicely. (see my photo)
I think the foundation of a decent grab-​and-​go lunch destination is here. However, the mysterious menu, confusing pricing system, and unlabeled dishes are just too much for me to look past for now. The food itself was decent.
Perhaps I will give Singapore To Go a few months to work out the kinks before I return. Until then, I will stick to my billion other Asian lunch offerings in Fidi

This establishment makes Panda Express seem gourmet.
For $ 10 I received the:
–Signature Cardboard-​Dry Noodles –1
–Oil Soaked Lettuce that had more oil than the totality of the Gulf of Mexico –1
–Fish Balls. They looked and had the texture of bouncy balls. -.5
Price -.5
Sold out of half the sides –1
Nice lady working there. +1 star for her.
Although the food was quite awful, I believe this place has potential. I will try this place again in a couple of months.

I want to love this place and I will be back again. I feel like the devoted cheerleader cheering for her team even through other people are frustrated that they keep inconsistently winning. GO CRYSTAL JADE! I love the upstairs restaurant and personally had no problems with it at all. I also know the steam table lunch place at Crystal Jade just opened. I will be coming back in a few weeks to re-​visit this review however:
1) Service was awful. A steam table with 5 people behind the counter. Yet only one person was serving. There was one person in front of me and it took 10 mintues to get my food. Manager finally stepped in to help, but gave me much smaller potions than the lady in front of me. The lady in front of me got 2 large scoops of each side and 2 heaping tong-​fulls of noodle. I got one small tong full, one scoop of squid, and ½ a scoop of tofu (I had to ask for the 2 bigger pieces shown in my picture, otherwise it would be just some scrap pieces).
2) They were out of 3 of the 6 slots for sides. And it was only 12:30pm.
3) The food had great ingredients and really satisfied my Southeast Asian flavors cravings. None of it was overly greasy which is a big plus! I got a braised tofu (nice flavor and great quality tofu), Stir fried squid with veggies (squid was large good quality, cooked to perfection), and the Singaporean noodle dish (perfect noodle type, great spicy/​tomato /​sweet/​pork flavor and generous amounts of high quality fish cake)…HOWEVER…
4) I found a HUGE BLACK HAIR in my noddles just under the surface of the dish. I immediately had to stop eating my noodles. Sadness because the «CJ Express» plate (2 Entrée, 1 Side) was $ 10 including tax. Plates range from $ 8.90 to $ 12.90 without tax. Entrees shift around (according to the one server chatting forever with the one person in front of me), but they always have the noodle, fried rice, brown rice, and white rice for the sides.
5) The only plus was that the flavors and preparation of the dishes were really great and different than your typical American-​Chinese food.
I really hope they get it together soon! I want good Singaporean food available at lunch! YOU CAN DO IT SINGAPORE-​TO-​GO! I know you can! Please clean things up so I can write a good updated review!