Seeking a slice of paradise

After a whole day out at the shops, dinner was not simply for the hungry. 

It was for the weary.

Taste paradise seems always to have a ridiculously long queue and the fact that they close in between lunch and dinner service brings the rest of the crowds over to Paradise Dynasty.

And before you start to think this restaurant is nothing but a second best,

I'll have you think again by the end of this post.

I've tried the colorful xiao long baos once too many a time, 

I now only stick by the originals.

These little intricately wrapped parcels of minced meat and juicy soup goodness.

Goes perfectly with a dab of vinegar topped with fresh ginger slices.

There is a recommended way of enjoying this.

First, bite off the dumpling skin on top.

Let the steam escape.

Before you slurp up the soup.

And devour the rest.

At the risk of a burnt tongue,

I let the steamer sit for a bit before I attempt to take a delicate parcel

and pop the whole parcel in. 

Let the juices explode in my mouth.

That.

Is a slice of paradise reached :)

Spicy minced meat noodles is the Chinese answer to the bolognaise I'd like to think.

Firm pulled flour noodles boiled and drained before being topped with a generous amount of spicy minced meat sauce.

Does that not make a bolognaise?

I love them both. Chinese or Italian.

This bowl comes covered with generous greens of refreshing cucumber slices and freshly chopped spring onions.

This may get a little bit too oily for one.

Which is why I always opt to share.

So that I could add another item to the order list.

Now this.

The same firm pulled flour noodles.

With shabu thin slices of pork and chopped seaweed.

This time with a healthier and no less hearty soup base.

A signature milky pork bone broth.

I could never get enough.

Who said anything about second best?

And it just gets better with their weekday promotions. :)

WEEKDAY TREATS BY PARADISE DYNASTY

Enjoy $8 Signature Dynasty Xiao Long Bao with every order of 2 La Mian
*Valid Mon to Fri from 11am to 3pm, excluding eves of PH and PH. Other terms and conditions apply.

Signature Dynasty Xiao Long Bao + Choice of 1 Shanghai Dim Sum @ $15
*Valid Mon to Fri from 3pm to 5.30pm, excluding eves of PH and PH. Other terms and conditions apply.

To find out more, visit PARADISE DYNASTY at ION Orchard, #04-12A

http://ion.com.sg/en/ion-dining/758-paradise-dynasty

The Eastern Restaurant @ The Centrepoint

The Eastern Restaurant is obviously a case in point for locality considerations when opening a restaurant.

Tucked into the deep recesses of The Centrepoint at Orchard,

diners would not even walk there to consider it as a possible dining outlet.

It doesn't help matters when there's a chinese restaurant situated nearer to the escalators.

And this hongkong restaurant has a HK chef from Mak's Noodles at its helm.

So yes, all that contributed to its less than stellar diner count everytime I walk pass the restaurant.

Walk pass. Never into.

Till this bloggers tasting fiesta came about.

For a restaurant that's been around for ten years, they are still coming up with new dishes from time to time to add on to the menu.

Hits and misses, I hope the ones that don't see too many orders get removed from the menu after awhile.

The sausage salad lite bites was a miss with a tough breaded crust and terribly boring sausage.

While the tofu dish was a simple but well executed dish.

It didn't conjure up the poetic justice that should have been with its name by its looks but it did have a very pleasant surprise of a fresh shrimp encased within each tofu piece.

Fried noodles with a generous amount of bean sprouts and sliced carrots and spring onions that added the much needed colour to this otherwise brown gravy coated dish.

Solid la mian noodles of a good doneness with generous slices of fish.

It was just too bad that the sauce was a tad too salty, it overpowered everything else.

And no, I couldn't manage to finish it if I wasn't planning on drowning myself in chinese tea to quench my thirst as an aftermath.

The fried rice was a better bet. Fragrant and resplendent with fresh shrimp and ham and a smattering of floss and scallions. This was a makeover for any leftover rice to die for. And that not an exaggeration. This would actually make me choose rice over noodles anytime. At this restaurant anyway. I don't usually take rice if I had a choice. Hmm.

So this dinner was really supposed to be about the xiao long baos.

Just by coincidence, I had din tai feng just the day before for lunch.

I don't know if it's just the branch at Bishan but those had awfully thick skins and it didn't help that the air conditioner was blasting such that our steamer of xlb was cold within moments of arriving at our table.

Suffice to stay, i didn't enjoy it much.

These however, had a thinner skin by comparison but still kept the soup within safe when picked up with chopsticks and hot for a while yet.

While it could do with a bit more soup, it was well flavoured and very enjoyable xlbs indeed! :)

Brand name and fusion cooking aside, if you're looking for the authentic type xlb with nothing more than just the traditional pork filling, this is where it's at.

Then it was time for desserts. The design on these babies brought images of shuttlecocks and golf balls to our minds. But really, they were simply molten salted egg yolk buns. I took a bite and held it out for a picture. It's not flowing! I was disappointed and left it on the plate while I kept the camera away. The next time I checked, it WAS flowing! Not that this flowing thing is a mark of a good liu sha bao but I quickly picked it up and took another bite. This was good! A salty sweet medley that was well balanced for its savoury and sweet notes. While not comparing it with the better ones out there, this was better than the ones at Imperial Treasure at Ngee Ann City. :)

 This is a dessert of choice for me where available. Easily shared and more often than not, a crowd pleaser for most dinners. The proportions were good on this. Ample red bean filling wrapped within a layered filo pastry.

I'd be back for a few of these :)