Finally! I'm happy to report that Paradise Dynasty has reopened with a flagship 196-seater branch at Wisma Atria after closing their ION Orchard branch last year and is even more accessible now, being located at the exit of Orchard MRT. The new space has an updated and more modernised look as well and features a suite of exclusive-to-flagship new dishes which we went to try.
Their kitchens are open to viewing and you can see the making-of right there! You must know of their Specialty Dynasty Xiao Long Bao, the world's first eight-colour Xiao Long Bao: featuring original, ginseng, foie gras, black truffle, crab roe, cheese, garlic and Szechuan flavours. Each xiao long bao is a hallmark of precision that weighs 25 grams and is pleated with exactly 18 folds so as to make up the golden formula for the perfect xiao long bao.
I really liked the decor as it was bright and rosy, and the restaurant was well-ventilated despite being a Chinese restaurant. It was also surprisingly not too noisy as well.
We also had a taste of their opening special, the Collagen Xiao Long Bao that was created in partnership with another of the Paradise Group's restaurants Beauty in the Pot. It had a distinctive pink streak running through and while taste-wise wasn't too different from the original XLB, I thought it was a great idea to do a limited edition cross-over! (Not available anymore).
We also tried a whole host of other items, and many items featured this popular fish from China called the Yellow Croaker. For example, as filling inside a spring roll! The Crispy Yellow Croaker Spring Roll ($9.20/3pcs) was done quite well without being overly fishy though I really still much prefer the non-fish variety. 2.5/5
We also tried an exotic Chilled Jellyfish in Soy Sauce Vinaigrette ($12.80) dish which uses the head, if I am not wrong, of the jellyfish so it looked a lot like mushrooms instead of the usual gelatinous strips. It was nice and tangy with the vinegar and something unusual. 3/5
Apparently Paradise Dynasty covers all 8 big cuisines of China - Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang, which is why there are all these different types of dishes, including the szechuan oil-water fish (we didn't try, but looked good!) Another dish that you won't normally see, and so early on, was the Red Dates stuffed with Steamed Glutinous Rice ($7.80) that's meant as an appetiser in some regions of China. I loved it and thought it was rightly appetising, even if it was sweet! 3.5/5
And this is quite funny but one of my favourites that night turned out to be the raw Lettuce Roll with Homemade Sesame Sauce ($8.80). Your lettuce has to be of the utmost freshness and kept in chilled conditions for it to be so refreshingly clear and clean! 4/5
The Braised Tofu with Crab Roe ($22.80) might not look like much, but you can really taste the sea with the crab roe that was generously mixed into the uber soft tofu. I wished it had more spring onions in there though, or something crispy to give it more of a varied texture. Crab roe fans, this is for you. 3/5
An oldie but goodie is their Prawn and Pork Dumpling in Hot Chilli Vinaigrette ($9.80/6pcs) which was my favourite I think, after the Xiao Long Baos. The skin was so thin and the prawns were crunchily fresh, without drowning in too much chilli oil. 5/5
There's also some Stir-fried Fresh Organic Bamboo Shoot with Bacon ($14.80) which feels very authentically Chinese, but to me its just one of those filler type dishes. Everything was well mixed though and at least not too salty! 3/5
The last of the savoury dishes was their La Mian with Yellow Croaker Fish and Preserved Vegetable ($16.80) which is also cooked with pork bones. It felt a little bit like milky fish soup with mee sua at the get go. The fish was definitely fresh but in this rendition unfortunately I didn't think did it justice for it was overall quite bland. Fans of Chinese cuisine who cannot take too spicy or sour will appreciate it. I wouldn't though (otherwise what's the point!) 2/5
For desserts we tried a sweet XLB with the Yam Paste Xiao Long Bao ($8.80/6pcs) which was interesting. When the insides are filled with a sweet, dense paste however, the skin became a little thicker and harder (just a perception, I think). It lacked a lubricative element, perhaps coconut milk, or something? I liked the yam paste though and it was an innovative attempt. 2.5/5
We also tried their Charcoal bun with Custard Filling - which was a little bit too watery and oily all at once for us to really appreciate the taste. I hope they will improve on it though because it is still one of my favourite things to have at a dim sum or Cantonese restaurant.
Lastly there's some Chilled Snow Fungus with Peach Resin ($8.80) to cool us off after all the intensive eating. Peach resin is quite a 'rare' ingredient in Chinese cuisine, but I liked the combination of taste and textures in the dessert. A perfect ending! 4/5
And that's what you'll see by the way when you go down / up the escalator at Wisma to go up (I think they might have removed it already). Anyway I highly recommend for everyone to go to this flagship and have a taste of their Rainbow Xiao Long Baos, the wantons and noodles!
Paradise Dynasty
435 Orchard Road, Wisma Atria, #01-18, Singapore 238877
Operating hours: Mon to Fri 11.00am -10.00pm (Last order at 9.30pm)
Sat, Sun & PH 10.30am -10.00pm (Last order at 9.30pm)
Thanks to Paradise Dynasty and Brand Cellar for the invite!
I want to try a dumplings.
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