Paradise Dynasty: Be there for colourful xiao long bao!

I've been to Taste Paradise, Paradise Pavilion and Seafood Paradise, this time I'm at Paradise Dynasty to try out the super-famous xiao long bao. I've heard so much about the creative xiao long bao and had been wanting to visit. I finally made it!

We reached the restaurant that's located at ION Orchard at about 6.30pm on a weekday, and there was already a short queue forming outside. We waited for about 15 minutes before getting a seat at the al fresco area (Because they don't have seats in the indoor area... no wait, actually they do, but they decided not to give it to us because another group of diners was kicking up a mini fuss about not wanting to sit outdoors. And being the easy-going diner that I am, I pretended that I didn't know the swapped the seats that I "deserve" with someone else's.)

We both ordered a bowl of la mian each. My companion had a beef la mian:

And I had a pork belly la mian. This is probably the best Chinese la mian I've ever tried before. The pork belly is so well-prepared that it really MELTS in your mouth. Yummilicious. The soup was good too.

To have a sample of all the flavours, we ordered this:

The alternative is to order one set of one particular flavour. After sampling all of them, my favourites are cheese and ginseng. My companion likes the garlic one. Least favourite? Probably truffle and foie gras - because I can't even tell the difference.

We finished the meal with desserts - red bean pancakes!

And they taste really good too!

Gosh, what's not to like about Paradise Dynasty? I don't know man! I can't nit-pick! And I'm sure I'll be back again :)

Mooncakes to get: From Paradise Group

Remember Seafood Paradise, where I had the most awesome crab ever? The parent company, Paradise Group, is celebrating mid-Autumn Festival with an array of mini snow skin mooncakes with interesting fillings and traditional classics.

The mooncakes are created and handmade by Executive Pastry Chef Fung Wing Sang and the dedicated team of chefs at Paradise Group. From 15 August to 12 September 2011, these Paradise mooncakes will be available at all Paradise Group outlets islandwide.

So what are some cool mooncakes you can look forward to?

Chocolate-lovers, check out the Dark Chocolate with Black Truffle, and White Chocolate with White Truffle Petite Snow Skin Mooncakes (8 pc per box, S$43). These are super decadent, comes with an alluring scent and has a melt-in-your-mouth texture. A sprinkle of gold dust is sprinkled on top of the mooncakes for extra indulgence.

Truffles goodness!

Fruit-lovers, you'd love the Apple White Chocolate, and Mango White Chocolate Petite Snow Skin Mooncakes (8 pc per box, S$39). If you find mooncakes too "filling", these can make digestion seem easier with the refreshing taste and sweet fragrance. They also come with molten centres, making it great to bite into.

Alcoholics, check out Macadamia Kahlua Dark Chocolate Petite Snow Skin Mooncakes (8 pc per box, S$39). This, I suspect, might be my favourite because I LOVE alcoholic anything! Kahlua, macadamia and chocolate are great complements!

Champagne will go well with this :)

Besides these novel creations, remember to get the traditional mooncakes (4 pc per box, S$45 to S$52) for your parents, parents-in-law, senior colleagues! The baked selection includes White Lotus Paste Mooncake, White Lotus Paste Mooncake with Egg Yolk/s, White Lotus Paste with Assorted Nut and White Lotus Paste with Single Yolk Baked Skin Mooncake.

Timeless selections!

PROMOTIONS

15 August to 21 August 2011
- 25% early bird discount for credit cardholders (from UOB, Citibank, HSBC and OCBC) and Paradise Gourmet card members

22 August to 12 September 2011
- 15% discount for credit cardholders from UOB, Citibank, HSBC and OCBC
- 20% for Paradise Gourmet card members

15 August to 12 September 2011
- 25% discount for bulk purchase of minimum 30 boxes and above

If you can't get enough of mooncake-related news, check out the ones from Szechuan Court too!

Paradise Pavilion at Marina Bay Financial Centre

Any dim sum lovers here?

My hand goes right up. Out of all types of Chinese cuisine, my favourite has to be dim sum. They're great for sharing and are so yummy.

I attended the media tasting for Paradise Pavilion some time ago and here are some of the fare that I tried:

The words "Bo Luo" actually means "pineapple", but most bo luo bao doesn't come with pineapples. These ones do though! Pineapples, bacon and peking duck fills the fluffy and lightly-salted buns.

Bo Luo Bao

What the restaurant is really known for is its super authentic Peking Duck. This is also one of the best that I've tried since the last time I ate the dish in Beijing. Eat it while it's hot individually or by wrapping it and feel the duck skin literally melt in your mouth while the fragrance fill the palate.

Peking Duck

The siew mai skewers are also something that I found interesting at the restaurant. Cantonese food with Japanese styled cooking.

Siew Mai skewers

Desserts wise, the crispy man tou goes very well with the vanilla ice-cream. Think of it as a "Chinese" version of the brownie with ice-cream - the brownie is replaced with the man tou.

Crispy Custard Man Tou with Vanilla ice-cream

Paradise Pavilion is located at #02-01 Marina Bay Financial Centre. Call 6509-9308 or visit www.paradisegroup.com.sg for more information.

Opening Hours:
Lunch: 11.30am – 3pm (Monday to Friday) / 11.00am – 3.30pm (Weekends and Public Holidays)
Dinner: 6pm – 11pm daily

What's your favourite dim sum?