Hello food lovers! Happy Chinese New Year for you who celebrate it ♥♥ May all of us are blessed with joy, prosperity, health, and luck through this Rooster-year. You can see my CNY outfit here.

On CNY, I went to Jia Dining resto, located inside Shangri-la Hotel. From the lobby, you could see a duck statue holding dim sum, written ‘Jia’ on the dim sum’s bamboo bowl. From that statue, just go to the elevator to the basement, turn left (the right side is Satoo restaurant), and here comes Jia.

Introducing JIA, the new signature Chinese restaurant in Shangri-la, formerly known as Shang Palace. In Chinese, JIA (Jiǎ) means first, strong bonding, family and home, a place to share great dining moments with friends and family. At that moment, I realize that this is a right place for me and my family to dine in for Chinese New Year 🙂

First step in and you will be awe with their lounge. The lounge interior was very elegant, a contemporary Chinese-inspired interior, but with modern touch. You can wait in the lounge while waiting your name called on their waiting list.

For me, I love the interior and can’t help to stop my self from taking photos along the aisle =p Sorry for spamming the photos, but you can see how beautiful the interior is. Beautiful, classic, and elegant. There are many private rooms (spacious enough for 15 to 20 people).

Looking inside the resto was just too elegant and classic! You would say ‘Wow!’ and stand in awe. The guests could see the cooking process from a love open-oven station at the right side of the resto. The ingredient used must be fresh and for the premium dish, they serve the best ingredient, such as Abalone.

JIA serves tasty dim sums, luscious roasted menu and well-loved celebrated Chinese dishes. Their Executive Chinese Chef aims to serve the best of Chinese cuisine through his delicious dishes which are taken from traditional recipes with modern twist. Their signature dish is Peking-Style Roasted Duck and la mian noodles served in big bowls, as well as their fresh home-made dim sum.

We order the dim sum (Chinese New Year must eat buns!It’s my family tradition). Here we go for the dim sum, main course, and dessert.

DIM SUM

Steamed Pork Siew Mai 32k

The siew mai tasted good. The pork meat was tender and chewy. The shrimp was quiet fresh and tender (garing). Not oily, clean, and tempting. One of the compulsory dim sum menus you had to order.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (Hakau) 38k

The dumpling’s skin was soft and the shrimp was tender. I like the taste, well-cooked with the seasonings. One of the compulsory dim sum menus you had to order.

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns 36k

Tasted like any other pork buns. Sweet, savoury, BBQ aroma, and soft. I like the buns better than the pork sincethe meat was not well-seasoned.

Steamed Soup Pork Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao) 32k 

I love the presentation! So unique. The xiao long bao was steamed on a small wooden crock. A slice of carrot was placed on the bottom of the dumplings. For the taste, it was good, but it’s better to add ginger. The skin of dumpling was too thick.

Steamed Custard Buns with Salted Egg Yolk 32k

This is my favorite dish. Cute and delicioussss. Squeezee it and the salted egg custard will come out from the ‘mouth’. The salted egg custard was so tasty! The bun was soft and fluffly. I suggest you to order it more than one. One is never enough!

Deep Fried Spring Rolls with Assorted Mushrooms (30k)

The spring rolls were crispy and good. One thing that I like : they were not oily. The mushrooms was tender and well-seasoned.

MAIN COURSE

Signature Peking Duck (Whole: 398k / Half 218k)

Meet the Peking Duck, the signature dish of Jia. The cooker directly brought the duck in front of our table and started to slice the duck. The skin was very crispy (you can hear ‘crack’ sound when he sliced it) and the meat was so tender. No bloody-like aroma like any other ducks in other restaurants. The aroma was good, hoisin sauce combined with the roasted-burnt aroma from the meat. The Executive Chef told us that the duck was roasted in a special oven for 45 minutes (slow-cooking) to bring out the aroma and taste. So delicious!

Wok Fried Vermicelli with Shrimp and BBQ Pork “Singapore style” 75k

It is called “Singapore Fried bee Hoon” or “Xia Men Mee Fun” in other chinese restaurants. The taste was like fried vermicelli with the curry leaf aroma. The taste was good and the portion was big. Could be eaten for 4-5 persons for 1 portion. Quiet big enough, eh?

La Mian Noodle Soup with Shredded Pork  and Sichuan Preserved Vegetables 58k

So disappointed! The la mian was good, chewy, soft, and the texture was perfect. The pork was cooked well with the soy sauce and hoison sauce. However, the soup was very very salty! Trust me! I don’t know the soup was like this at the original or the chef was to busy (the resto was so crowded, though) and he put the salt twice. Better to improve the quality of the soup.

Braised Homemade Bean Curd with Brown Fungus and Ginko Nuts 98k

I love the tofu! So soft, but firm (not like any other tofu which was easy to be smashed into pieces). The mushrooms was well-cooked with the seasonings and the ginko nuts was tender. No meat at all, but tasted good!

DESSERT

Deep Fried Swan with Almond Sauce 32k

Too cute to be eaten ♥♥ I was eager to order this one since I saw it from the Instagram photos. The swan sweet dumplings were 3 pieces in a small plate. Surprisingly, the taste was not sweet, better to improve the taste to be sweeter. Indeed, the outer part was crispy enough. Inside was almond custard. What I like was the custard was not sweet. The sweetness was just fine and not too sweet. Although many people showed disappointment with them, I love these swan tarts so much and so do my family.

Mini Egg Tarts 32k

My mom’s favorite dessert. She loves egg tarts and so does she when she bite this one. The tart was crispy and the inside was so soft like pudding. Chinese egg tart is always simple and tasty. Not too sweet and I love it.

Overall, Jia serves the best peking duck and dim sum in Jakarta. Good news: Jia also serves vegetarian dishes as well! Besides, the place was very elegant, beautiful, luxurious, and spacious. The private rooms are available for private event and closed celebration. Better to reserve the table 2-3 days ahead since it’s full booked on weekends. The dim sum was good, although it was quiet overpriced as compared to other chinese restaurants at mall. However, the price was affordable as compared to any other hotels’ restaurants. Both me and my family love this place and will dine in Jia again.

Happy Eating Foodies ♥

Jia Dining at Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta