We went to The Podium mall just to differ from the views we regularly see in the usual places we visit. We roamed around the area from the basement parking to the top floor and saw a variety of new establishments to see. One of which is this staple food place that made its name offering this legendary product.
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| 8 flavors of Xiao Long Bao |
Paradise Dynasty is a Chinese restaurant that offers authentic Chinese cuisines for everyone to enjoy. It is located on the 2nd floor of the mall and its entrance facade would most likely stand out from your view because of its aesthetics.
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| entrance |
Everything around is glittering gold in color which makes one feel very classy. The smell inside is very foreign which is a compliment and a good indication that we are in for something different. We visited on a Sunday (lunchtime) so almost all the tables were filled. There were many people checking the place from the outside and they are assisted accordingly by the present staff once they decide to dine in.
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| inside Paradise Dynasty |
When we were settled, of course, we ordered food including their famous 8-flavored Xiao Long Bao. Their back kitchen is open to see how fresh, clean, and orderly every food is prepared.
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| back kitchen (open) |
With how busy the environment and how pleasing the vibe is inside, our ordered food came just at the right time. We ordered the following items on their menu.
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| hot chicken soup |
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| spicy beef soup |
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| pan-fried pork dumplings |
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| Yang Zhou fried rice |
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| Kung Pao chicken |
The chicken soup was served differently as the soup and the chicken parts were inside the little kettle, separately presented with the noodles. Their Kung Pao chicken is seasoned and was dominantly spicy which mom found a little bit too much (but was just the right kick for me and dad). Their Yang Zhou fried rice was quite authentic. The shrimp on top was bare including the whole thing which was I think how the real thing was originally made so I kind of understood it.
We don't know how to properly eat the Xia Long Bao so we Googled and even asked some of the attendants there how to, lol. Xiao Long Bao is a tiny Chinese bun steamed using a Xiaolong (bamboo steaming basket). They are usually referred to as a kind of dumpling with a twist. Each one contains a seasoned pork filling and a flavorful soup so eating it the right way must be done to fully enjoy the experience.
- How to eat a Xia Long Bao -
Simply poke/bite a hole (usually done on the tip) then sip the flavorful soup inside. Then, you have the option to dip it in on a vinegar soy sauce with ginger before eating the whole thing.. You can actually dip it first before poking a hole which depends on how you want to eat it BUT don't forget that it contains hot soup inside. I accidentally bit my second mouthful where the soup burst into my mouth including some on my hand and of course, myself.. lesson learned.
Personally, it is like a combination of eating balut, siomai, and hakaw (shrimp dumpling). It has the outer skin texture of a hakaw, flavorful soup inside like a balut, and seasoned pork filling inside of a siomai. A 3-in-1 eating experience that actually tastes great. What separates Paradise Dynasty's version is that they serve them in 8 different colors with 8 different flavors.
White - Original
Red - Szechuan's version
Gray - Garlic
Yellow - Cheese
Green - Ginseng
Orange - Crab Roe
Flesh - Foie Gras (duck liver)
Black - Black Truffle
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| 8 flavors of Xiao Long Bao |
I only ate two (a yellow and another one) and both tasted really well. I think I need to have a round 2 in order to differentiate the different flavors from one another but this one got a thumbs up from everyone in our group at that time so good job with this Paradise Dynasty. It's really something to be excited about and visit for especially for those who are looking for something new just like us..
The other foods were at par and priced accordingly so this is still a great choice if you do not know where to eat next and you are just around the area. Though one of our orders was mistakenly left out upon ordering and was served late, we can slide that one off as it was one of the peak hours of their traffic. But hopefully, they can improve on that area next time.
If you would like to have an idea about their pricing and see their menu, feel free to check out the links below for their other online presence.
Address: 2F The Podium, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila
Contact no.: 28 828 8333
Operating hours: 10:00AM to 10:00PM daily
Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/paradisedynastyph
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/paradisedynastyph/
Paradise Dynasty's Xiao Long Bao at The Podium
Reviewed by Michael
on
October 01, 2022
Rating:
Reviewed by Michael
on
October 01, 2022
Rating:
Must visit ang sasarap ng mga ganitong foods 🤤❤️
ReplyDeleteSo delicious 😋 nakakatakam naman po iyan.ang cuteee nung Xiao long bao iba iba ang kulay at ang sarap♥️Ang ganda ang place ,must visit!!
ReplyDeleteNice place nice food Ang ganda Ng kulay Ng Xiao long BAO talagang mukang masasarap must try😋
ReplyDeleteNice review sir very interesting matikam ang lasa ng Xiao Long bao.
ReplyDelete-ivie.jenn 🥰
I thought this was the one in BGC when I saw it on Facebook. It looks really elegant. And it does look like there are a lot of people waiting in line to try. The house is full and it looks really large. I've always loved Chinese food but haven't tried this.
ReplyDeleteI've had the 8 flavor xiao long bao there before and let me tell you- i fell in love with the garlic and black truffle flavors! Very rich and intense sila
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving me insight of a different country. Although the Chinese is much like ours,some I had not heard of
ReplyDeleteThey also have branch in SM MOA, right? It is quite funny that I haven't tried dining at Paradise Dynasty even though I knew they already exist! Glad you had an awesome dining experience.
ReplyDeletesobrang favorite ko yung salted egg prawn nila, tapos recent order ko din yung beef with scallion yata ang tawag, ayyy nakoo!!!
ReplyDeletenatawa ako when you wrote you even had to google and asked the staff how to eat some of the food:-0... that was a nice experience, though.
ReplyDelete