hungry in milwaukee

We rushed off to the airport before dinner and when we arrived, I was hungry.  We still had some time before our flight to Singapore and since Grace’s parents were with us we opted for Crystal Jade over Popeye’s Fried Chicken (though I have been to the one in the HK airport before and it is not quite the same… not enough fat?).

Crystal Jade is a restaurant group that I am very familiar with.  It started in Singapore and and has a whole host of restaurants across Asia.  When my father first moved to Singapore, the Crystal Jade in Takashimaya was one of the first places he ate.  My father belongs to the if-it-aint-broke school of dining and probably eats at some form of Crystal Jade once or twice a week.

The Hong Kong Airport Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao is in terminal 1 in the arrivals meeters and greeters hall. They serve Chinese regional specialties including hand-pulled noodles (la mian) and xiao long bao. We ordered: xiao long bao, roasted squab, dan dan noodles, stir fried rice cakes with pork, cellophane noodle (fen pi) with cucumbers, and (shrimp) fried rice.

The dan dan noodles were very good.  The noodles were thin and chewy while the broth was spicy and had a savory nuttiness.

The cellophane noodles were crisp and refreshing.  The noodles were smooth with a snappy bite.

The stir fried rice cakes were very good.  The cakes were soft and the pork with minced vegetable made for a light and tasty noodle dish.

I really enjoyed the ham and crispy skin with sweet and sour sauce.  The ham and crispy skin comes with cucumber and it call gets placed in a steamed bun to make a crunchy, salty sweet sandwich.

What is most remarkable is the level of food at the airport.  Fresh noodles pulled in front of you at an airport?  The level of food would be good even if it weren’t in an airport, but particularly so given that it is.  And the food came out fast.  There are airports across the US that struggle to get out bad hamburgers and cold chili.