Crystal Jade

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Crystal Jade

7255 W. Cedar Street., Omaha, NE

Where we went:

Eric was feeling in the mood for Asian food tonight. One of the first places he thought of was Crystal Jade, a restaurant right along busy 72nd street here in Omaha that Kyle had never been to before. Crystal Jade has been in this location for many years, however, their website still says “Located in the old Village Inn.” When you arrive at the restaurant, you can sure see the old school Village Inn style architecture.

What we Eat:

Eric wanted to try something different for this visit, so he ordered the Seven Flavor Chicken, with steamed rice. Kyle also wanted something he can’t get at every Asian restaurant, so he ordered the seafood platter, also with steamed rice. Eric paired his chicken with a Mai Tai. Kyle couldn't help himself, and ordered an appetizer of Crab Rangoon.

The Food:

Eric’s Seven Flavor Chicken had a wonderful variety of spices in it, including lemongrass, ginger, and a five other spices that Eric can’t recall, but were very good. The sauce was very very delicious. Eric just wished that the dish had come with some vegetables or something to go along with the chicken. Kyle really enjoyed his seafood platter which included including shrimp, crab and scallops. Fresh seafood isn’t always on the menu in the middle of the country, so Kyle tries to have it whenever he can. His only complaint is that the mixed vegetables featured a lot of celery, something Kyle isn’t a big fan of. The warm Crab Rangoon totally made up for it though.

The Atmosphere:

Even though Crystal Jade is in an old Village Inn, it has a very unique look and feel to it. Most of this is due to the unique chairs that sit at each table that almost look like they are upside down. You really can look around and picture the Village Inn that used to occupy the building. However, the furniture has a distinct upgrade from it’s breakfast dinnery roots. The tables are all a sleek black marble, and the seats a pale green (like Jade!) that go really well together.

The Service:

For the most part the service was good, the staff were very nice and the food came out fast. However, our waitress had some small issues with our order. Kyle ordered steamed rice, but got fried rice, not a big deal for him. The funniest thing happened to Eric. He had ordered his Mai Tai, when it came the first thing Kyle said after the waitress walked away was, “that doesn’t look like a Mai Tai”, after he tried it Eric responded, “yeah, it sure doesn’t taste like a Mai Tai either, I think it's some kind of flavored Iced Tea” but neither one of us were sure, so Eric kept drinking it. After a minute we overheard two waitresses say something about Iced Tea, look over at us, and start laughing. Then our waitress returned with a real Mai Tai and apologized for the mix up. They had accidentally bought a Chai Iced Tea. There is nothing wrong with this, it was just kind of funny.

In the End:

Crystal Jade has a wide variety of asian cuisine, from typical Chinese and Japanese, but also including Korean, Thai, and even Indian foods, so it’s great to visit if you’re with a group that is craving a variety of ethnic foods. The kind, enthusiastic staff always try really hard to make your visit comfortable, even with the occasional language barrier. And best of all, they’re open on Christmas! So if you ever get sick of family gatherings and are too lazy to fend for yourself, Crystal Jade has you covered!

BONUS!

Kyle had been carving ice cream all day, so after dinner we stopped off at Freddie’s for some Frozen Custard. Kyle got his usual Turtle Sunday and Eric got his favorite PBC&B (PeanutButterCup&Banana) made with chocolate custard! It was FAR more food then we should have eaten that night, but it was totally worth it!