This is an upmarket Singaporean restaurant in a high-end Washington area mall. The space is large and quiet and intimately lit, with good service, but I just wasn’t blown away by the food. We had a combination of starters - an underwhelming so-called “carrot cake”, six decent shrimp and a so-so chicken satay. - before moving onto the main course. Two of us had the very large and bland beef cheeks ($48 U.S. a plate) which really didn’t make it as the highlight of meal out. The menu does need spicing up.
Ruiming Yu
Great place, nice view, friendly service but normal food.Went there cause I’ve been told it’s the first Singapore fine-dining restaurant, but was disappointed as it’s not the same I tried for my four months staying in Singapore.We had the laksa and also the chili crab. Laksa was no way similar to the soup I had in Singapore. The flavor or shrimp and seafood in this soup was not strong enough so it was covered by the salt and soy sauce added to it. The chili crab was great, using the authentic garlic chili. It was fun removing the shell and trying to get the meat in the legs using a fork.Service was no doubt great, never had my cup empty, and they really discussed about the dishes you were having rather than casually asking. That day was rainy so we chose to dine inside, but the view from the balcony looked amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Sophia Xu
Good ambience with a cool interior. Food service was pretty fast, and food was generally good.Lemak chili chicken was tender, flavorful, and rich. The carrot cake was a pretty unique twist on daikon and the texture between the cooked sweet daikon with the sourness of the pickled daikon worked very well together.Nasi lemak was a bit disappointing (flavor wasn't too special mostly just salty). Lala kam heong had very small clams that just aren't worth it for the price.Overall wouldn't crave it again but would come back if looking for a more upscale Singaporean restaurant
Matthew
What a shame the service is so poor. My food was plated beautifully and just as delicious. However, the service was so poor it distracted my enjoyment of the dishes. Several times thoroughly the 1.5 hours we were there (table of 2 and only three other tables of guest) I was extremely aggravated with the lack of service.We were seated immediately-close to the open kitchen, in the most uncomfortable chairs. I had to walk around and look for the host as the person that was serving us water didn’t speak much English, the manager was busy on her cell phone texting, and the waitress was a ghost. After about 6 minutes the host reemerged. We finally moved to a table with over chairs to at had cushion backs. We sat, read the menu, drank a whole bottle of sparkling water, before the waitress showed up. Manager still texting.The appetizers came out quick-though the other three table already had their food so it shouldn’t have been a wait. Then, one of the main dishes came-and the other, after waiting 20 min I finally had to walk to the manager, who was still on her cell phone (see photo) to inquire-as we hadn’t seen the waitress again. The waitress had walked through a door that’s in the kitchen area-and didn’t return. It took another 10 minutes before the other person at my table had his main course.Then again, after he finished (I had to sit and stare as I had eaten my dinner 35 min prior and the waitress and manager were missing and couldn’t order dessert) it took 15 min with his empty plate sitting in front of him before the waitress finally re-emerged and delivered the check.Jiwa, you need a new manager-one that works with the staff and not always on her phone. You need to fire everyone on the floor and hire new-and have a weeks training-then you need to have a soft opening and make sure you’re ready to open.You have a lovely restaurant in a great location-please don’t allow these people to ruin your business.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
Emily Kim
Very nice and fancy environment to have dinner! Server was very nice and kind. Foods were amazing and I really like their crab dish with mantou. Price was high but reasonable. Recommend whenever you want some nice dinner!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chili Crab with Mantou
Lauren Fellers
I went on a date night, and we were excited to try a type of food that was new to us, but unfortunately it didn't live up to our hopes. Service was slow, despite the restaurant being almost empty. The dishes were also paced weirdly - we both ordered an appetizer and a main dish each at the same time, but they all came out individually some time apart (ie I would be served my main dish and we would wait a while for the second main dish to come out, etc.). All of that would have been fine, but the food itself wasn't flavorful. We had the sweet and sour pork, the skate, the lemak chili chicken, and the kampung fried rice. The pork and the fried rice were the best in terms of taste, but they weren't outstanding, just passable. The other dishes were very bland (honestly, the lemak chili chicken just tasted like watery coconut - I didn't get chili at all), and I just can't believe that that's intentional. The sambal was a bit disappointing as well. We were hoping for something that would be delicious or surprising, given how the restaurant is marketed, but none of the food stood out. The portion sizes were fine and the decorations inside are pretty, but for the high price (honestly, for any price) the quality just wasn't there, and combined with the service it's hard to recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Saminda Wijegunawardena
Uneven quality of high-priced dishes combined with uneven service from our primary waiter made this a disappointing experience. The elegant decor and collaborative support from other staff could not offset these major gaps, Jiwa Singapura falls short.We started with the Roti Prata (hand-folded bread, curry sauce) and it was incredibly bland. The curry sauce had an odd flavor, neither my wife or I enjoyed it.Next it was the Popiah (fresh spring roll with shitake, vegan mushroom XO sauce) and these were quite good, remarkably distinct flavors and beautiful presentation.Our last small plate was the Salted Egg Shrimp (sauteed shrimps, salted duck egg, chili, curry leaves) and this was also very good, tasty savory flavor in the sauce and succulent shrimp.Onto the large plates, and the much-hyped Char Kway Teow (wok-fried flat rice noodles, squid, shrimp, and chinese sausage) was at best middling in flavor, a disappointment.Next was the Vegetable Fried Rice (wok-fried rice, market vegetables, chili, burnt onion) and while quite simple, it was well executed again with some distinctive flavor.Our main item was the Chili Crab (snow crab, chili sauce, mantou buns) and while I enjoyed all the touches and the bold presentation, the sauce itself was lackluster and didn't meet the freshness of the snow crab. The buns were a nice treat however.Our desserts were excellent and salvaged the disappointments in the prior courses. The Sago Gula Melaka (young coconut sorbet, coconut ice, sago, gula melaka syrup, nata de coco) is brimming with tropical flavors, and beautifully served; probably the only must try on the menu. The Pandan Semifreddo (plum sorbet, coconut basil cream, coconut toasted rice powder) earned points for presentation and creativity, one of the most unique desserts I've ever tried and also recommended.Our server was nice and well intentioned but left us stranded between courses multiple times, forgot to bring out an item that was requested to accompany our food, and seemed a bit overwhelmed. In contrast, the other staff was almost always there to offer help when they saw us waiting.Beautiful decor, with a lovely center piece floating above a seating arrangement that radiates out from the core.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Salted Egg Shrimps, Spring Roll
wsherman
Let's start with the good part: Nice and accommodating staff. The bar tenders were great, helpful and nice to talk to. You get to try complimentary small dishes. Good be better, the menu was limited (we were told it changes often) some of the dishes we tried were very good, few were okay.
Dave Robertson
As others have detailed in their reviews, I hardly think that the price that you pay is worth what you actually receive. I have eaten higher quality food at the cheesecake factory, and paid half the price. Also, they will close the restaurant to reservations only without any advanced notice. I know this because it has happened to me before.
Debra R
So happy to have a restaurant of this caliber in Tysons Corner. Our party of three were very happy with the ambience and dining room. The curves in the architecture evoked memories of Singapore for me. The service was remarkably good, actually really good and the food and drinks delicious. Five stars all the way around from us. Highly recommended and can't wait to return.
Really delicious food. Went for the first time during restaurant week and got the lunch special (nasi padang) and the 8-course tasting menu. Would definitely recommend and go back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
wendy roscoe
Just celebrated my birthday with my family. They were able to accommodate our large ish party fairly last minute but also a weekday. We all enjoyed the food. I have to concur with one of the previous reviews mentioning it being bland. There was flavor but no where near as potent as in Singapore or other countries I've had laksa. The portions are smaller ish and a little pricey but it's also an upscale atmosphere. They also provide a box with a fancy cloth bib and rubber gloves to eat the chili crab with which is awesome. The service was probably the most impressive part. Very professional and friendly. Our server was Nathaniel who was very knowledgeable of the menu and reciting the restaurant week tasting menu. And it was nice they wrote me a birthday card and gave ube cake with ice cream. It was a very pleasant birthday dinner celebration so thanks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
MrMister
Wanted to love this place but walked out very dissatisfied. Ordered two main and two share plates and was very underwhelmed with quality especially with the inflated price.Worst experience was our chicken and rice (hainanese). I've had them in Singapore and had them in restaurants and eateries here in the states. Never had them so undercooked with such an odd sauce as presented here.When I asked why the chicken looked undercooked, I was told it was via sous vide thus the velvet texture. Crazy...I've had sous vide and this ain't it. This chicken was undercooked and unsafe and my bad experiences post meal that evening was evidence.Service safety taste and overall price point will keep me away from this place.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Chris75058
I was really looking forward to dinner at Jiwa Singapura as the menu looked wonderful & I'm a huge fan of Singaporean food. The decor was beautiful,the ambient lighting was great & the wait staff were very nice but it's hard to find a positive word about the meal. For a starter, I had the roti prata with curry sauce. Note to chef: maybe a small piece of chicken wouldn't have gone amiss in the curry. The main course was nasi lemak. The rice didn't even have a faint smell of coconut or pandan so that was very disappointing. The mini Merlion on the terrace was a nice touch but really sorry to say that this is not somewhere I'd go back to for Singaporean food.
Daniella Kyei
This place was hard to book when they first opened but we were able to get a weekday reservation for the evening. The ambiance and decor was really nice, staff and service was also really good. My only negative really was the lighting, it was a bit too dim for me— but that’s certainly just personal preference.We ordered just about everything on the menu and the food was rich in flavors and textures.The carrot cake was especially good. And the spring rolls! If you are a fan is sweet and sour, the sweet and sour pork is one of the best I’ve had. The sauce was good but the pork itself was cooked to perfection. Not dry but moist and almost melted in your mouth.I would recommend it to anyone looking to try something different than the usual!
This is an upmarket Singaporean restaurant in a high-end Washington area mall. The space is large and quiet and intimately lit, with good service, but I just wasn’t blown away by the food. We had a combination of starters - an underwhelming so-called “carrot cake”, six decent shrimp and a so-so chicken satay. - before moving onto the main course. Two of us had the very large and bland beef cheeks ($48 U.S. a plate) which really didn’t make it as the highlight of meal out. The menu does need spicing up.
Great place, nice view, friendly service but normal food.Went there cause I’ve been told it’s the first Singapore fine-dining restaurant, but was disappointed as it’s not the same I tried for my four months staying in Singapore.We had the laksa and also the chili crab. Laksa was no way similar to the soup I had in Singapore. The flavor or shrimp and seafood in this soup was not strong enough so it was covered by the salt and soy sauce added to it. The chili crab was great, using the authentic garlic chili. It was fun removing the shell and trying to get the meat in the legs using a fork.Service was no doubt great, never had my cup empty, and they really discussed about the dishes you were having rather than casually asking. That day was rainy so we chose to dine inside, but the view from the balcony looked amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Good ambience with a cool interior. Food service was pretty fast, and food was generally good.Lemak chili chicken was tender, flavorful, and rich. The carrot cake was a pretty unique twist on daikon and the texture between the cooked sweet daikon with the sourness of the pickled daikon worked very well together.Nasi lemak was a bit disappointing (flavor wasn't too special mostly just salty). Lala kam heong had very small clams that just aren't worth it for the price.Overall wouldn't crave it again but would come back if looking for a more upscale Singaporean restaurant
What a shame the service is so poor. My food was plated beautifully and just as delicious. However, the service was so poor it distracted my enjoyment of the dishes. Several times thoroughly the 1.5 hours we were there (table of 2 and only three other tables of guest) I was extremely aggravated with the lack of service.We were seated immediately-close to the open kitchen, in the most uncomfortable chairs. I had to walk around and look for the host as the person that was serving us water didn’t speak much English, the manager was busy on her cell phone texting, and the waitress was a ghost. After about 6 minutes the host reemerged. We finally moved to a table with over chairs to at had cushion backs. We sat, read the menu, drank a whole bottle of sparkling water, before the waitress showed up. Manager still texting.The appetizers came out quick-though the other three table already had their food so it shouldn’t have been a wait. Then, one of the main dishes came-and the other, after waiting 20 min I finally had to walk to the manager, who was still on her cell phone (see photo) to inquire-as we hadn’t seen the waitress again. The waitress had walked through a door that’s in the kitchen area-and didn’t return. It took another 10 minutes before the other person at my table had his main course.Then again, after he finished (I had to sit and stare as I had eaten my dinner 35 min prior and the waitress and manager were missing and couldn’t order dessert) it took 15 min with his empty plate sitting in front of him before the waitress finally re-emerged and delivered the check.Jiwa, you need a new manager-one that works with the staff and not always on her phone. You need to fire everyone on the floor and hire new-and have a weeks training-then you need to have a soft opening and make sure you’re ready to open.You have a lovely restaurant in a great location-please don’t allow these people to ruin your business.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
Very nice and fancy environment to have dinner! Server was very nice and kind. Foods were amazing and I really like their crab dish with mantou. Price was high but reasonable. Recommend whenever you want some nice dinner!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chili Crab with Mantou
I went on a date night, and we were excited to try a type of food that was new to us, but unfortunately it didn't live up to our hopes. Service was slow, despite the restaurant being almost empty. The dishes were also paced weirdly - we both ordered an appetizer and a main dish each at the same time, but they all came out individually some time apart (ie I would be served my main dish and we would wait a while for the second main dish to come out, etc.). All of that would have been fine, but the food itself wasn't flavorful. We had the sweet and sour pork, the skate, the lemak chili chicken, and the kampung fried rice. The pork and the fried rice were the best in terms of taste, but they weren't outstanding, just passable. The other dishes were very bland (honestly, the lemak chili chicken just tasted like watery coconut - I didn't get chili at all), and I just can't believe that that's intentional. The sambal was a bit disappointing as well. We were hoping for something that would be delicious or surprising, given how the restaurant is marketed, but none of the food stood out. The portion sizes were fine and the decorations inside are pretty, but for the high price (honestly, for any price) the quality just wasn't there, and combined with the service it's hard to recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Uneven quality of high-priced dishes combined with uneven service from our primary waiter made this a disappointing experience. The elegant decor and collaborative support from other staff could not offset these major gaps, Jiwa Singapura falls short.We started with the Roti Prata (hand-folded bread, curry sauce) and it was incredibly bland. The curry sauce had an odd flavor, neither my wife or I enjoyed it.Next it was the Popiah (fresh spring roll with shitake, vegan mushroom XO sauce) and these were quite good, remarkably distinct flavors and beautiful presentation.Our last small plate was the Salted Egg Shrimp (sauteed shrimps, salted duck egg, chili, curry leaves) and this was also very good, tasty savory flavor in the sauce and succulent shrimp.Onto the large plates, and the much-hyped Char Kway Teow (wok-fried flat rice noodles, squid, shrimp, and chinese sausage) was at best middling in flavor, a disappointment.Next was the Vegetable Fried Rice (wok-fried rice, market vegetables, chili, burnt onion) and while quite simple, it was well executed again with some distinctive flavor.Our main item was the Chili Crab (snow crab, chili sauce, mantou buns) and while I enjoyed all the touches and the bold presentation, the sauce itself was lackluster and didn't meet the freshness of the snow crab. The buns were a nice treat however.Our desserts were excellent and salvaged the disappointments in the prior courses. The Sago Gula Melaka (young coconut sorbet, coconut ice, sago, gula melaka syrup, nata de coco) is brimming with tropical flavors, and beautifully served; probably the only must try on the menu. The Pandan Semifreddo (plum sorbet, coconut basil cream, coconut toasted rice powder) earned points for presentation and creativity, one of the most unique desserts I've ever tried and also recommended.Our server was nice and well intentioned but left us stranded between courses multiple times, forgot to bring out an item that was requested to accompany our food, and seemed a bit overwhelmed. In contrast, the other staff was almost always there to offer help when they saw us waiting.Beautiful decor, with a lovely center piece floating above a seating arrangement that radiates out from the core.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Salted Egg Shrimps, Spring Roll
Let's start with the good part: Nice and accommodating staff. The bar tenders were great, helpful and nice to talk to. You get to try complimentary small dishes. Good be better, the menu was limited (we were told it changes often) some of the dishes we tried were very good, few were okay.
As others have detailed in their reviews, I hardly think that the price that you pay is worth what you actually receive. I have eaten higher quality food at the cheesecake factory, and paid half the price. Also, they will close the restaurant to reservations only without any advanced notice. I know this because it has happened to me before.
So happy to have a restaurant of this caliber in Tysons Corner. Our party of three were very happy with the ambience and dining room. The curves in the architecture evoked memories of Singapore for me. The service was remarkably good, actually really good and the food and drinks delicious. Five stars all the way around from us. Highly recommended and can't wait to return.
Restaurantji Recommends
Really delicious food. Went for the first time during restaurant week and got the lunch special (nasi padang) and the 8-course tasting menu. Would definitely recommend and go back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Just celebrated my birthday with my family. They were able to accommodate our large ish party fairly last minute but also a weekday. We all enjoyed the food. I have to concur with one of the previous reviews mentioning it being bland. There was flavor but no where near as potent as in Singapore or other countries I've had laksa. The portions are smaller ish and a little pricey but it's also an upscale atmosphere. They also provide a box with a fancy cloth bib and rubber gloves to eat the chili crab with which is awesome. The service was probably the most impressive part. Very professional and friendly. Our server was Nathaniel who was very knowledgeable of the menu and reciting the restaurant week tasting menu. And it was nice they wrote me a birthday card and gave ube cake with ice cream. It was a very pleasant birthday dinner celebration so thanks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wanted to love this place but walked out very dissatisfied. Ordered two main and two share plates and was very underwhelmed with quality especially with the inflated price.Worst experience was our chicken and rice (hainanese). I've had them in Singapore and had them in restaurants and eateries here in the states. Never had them so undercooked with such an odd sauce as presented here.When I asked why the chicken looked undercooked, I was told it was via sous vide thus the velvet texture. Crazy...I've had sous vide and this ain't it. This chicken was undercooked and unsafe and my bad experiences post meal that evening was evidence.Service safety taste and overall price point will keep me away from this place.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
I was really looking forward to dinner at Jiwa Singapura as the menu looked wonderful & I'm a huge fan of Singaporean food. The decor was beautiful,the ambient lighting was great & the wait staff were very nice but it's hard to find a positive word about the meal. For a starter, I had the roti prata with curry sauce. Note to chef: maybe a small piece of chicken wouldn't have gone amiss in the curry. The main course was nasi lemak. The rice didn't even have a faint smell of coconut or pandan so that was very disappointing. The mini Merlion on the terrace was a nice touch but really sorry to say that this is not somewhere I'd go back to for Singaporean food.
This place was hard to book when they first opened but we were able to get a weekday reservation for the evening. The ambiance and decor was really nice, staff and service was also really good. My only negative really was the lighting, it was a bit too dim for me— but that’s certainly just personal preference.We ordered just about everything on the menu and the food was rich in flavors and textures.The carrot cake was especially good. And the spring rolls! If you are a fan is sweet and sour, the sweet and sour pork is one of the best I’ve had. The sauce was good but the pork itself was cooked to perfection. Not dry but moist and almost melted in your mouth.I would recommend it to anyone looking to try something different than the usual!
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