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2014-06-06
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It is hard to miss Paradise Dynasty's arrival in Hong Kong, what with posters of its signature colourful xiaolongbao plastered everywhere. They were giving out fans depicting a basket of xiaolongbao outside Lee Theatre this afternoon, a clever marketing material that would-be customers is bound to gratefully receive in this weather. What's more, the xiaolongbao looked enticingly plump and delectable in the picture, and the fan entitled customers to a free basket of 8 assorted xiaolongbao (88 HKD
Like Din Tai Feng and Crystal Jade, Paradise Dynasty has favoured transparency in the process of xiaolongbao-making. Normally I'd find it entertaining if the kitchen can actually be seen from outside the restaurant, especially if I were to be waiting in line for a table. However one would only see this upon entering the restaurant itself. Food beckoned. I did not linger.
Our table of three ordered a few items to share:Dan dan mian (48 HKD)
My Hong Kong colleagues exclaimed that it was way too spicy. I have Singaporean tastebuds, so the level of spice did not daunt me. The soup was a tad oily and too thin. As expected, it did not taste very much of peanut. It just didn't have the right consistency that would give it the intense nutty flavour that I expect my dan dan mian to have. It came with an insignificant sprinkling of peanuts and minced meat, both of which were superfluous.Xiaolongbao (88 HKD per basket of 8 assorted xiaolongbaos)
The xiaolongbao arrived shortly, just in time to potentially redeem its dan dan mian compatriot. The jewel coloured dumplings looked glorious. Flavours from the top, clockwise were black truffle, cheese, crab roe, garlic, Szechuan, ginseng and foie gras. The white one in the middle was the original flavour. The original. I was keen to see how it stacked up against the competition. The skin was thin and springy, and it had an adequate amount of flavourful broth within. The pork filling was savoury and complemented very well with a slight dipping in vinegar.
The black truffle. It tasted more like dried Chinese mushrooms. Perhaps they might have marketed it as such and I wouldn't have been disappointed. There wasn't a truffle aroma as one would expect from a dish that contains truffle.
The Szechuan. This had bits of peppercorn in it and was pleasantly aromatic and mildly numbing. The meaty broth within was imbued with numbing spiciness, reminiscent of my favourite Chongqing noodle broth. This was my favourite of the lot.
The foie gras. Tasted like pork liver. I don't think foie gras should be wasted chopped up and mixed in a xiaolongbao filling. It doesn't do the foie gras justice, and it doesn't add anything to the xiaolongbao experience.
The crab roe. Disappointing. I couldn't tell what flavour it was by looking at the filling (no orange crab roe evident), or tasting the broth. I could only tell it was meant to be the crab roe upon biting into it and was overwhelmed by fishiness (by the process of elimination - none of the other xiaolongbaos were meant to be fishy!)
I didn't try the rest but my colleagues mentioned that the ginseng xiaolongbao tasted of ginseng. I was warned to avoid the cheese. I don't like garlic in a steamed context, so kindly let the others have it.
Lettuce rolls (48 HKD)
The lettuce greens were bounded a tad sloppily with zucchini so tended to come apart when dipped in the accompanying sesame sauce. They were refreshing and crunchy. But sides like these do not redeem a meal.Guo tie / pan fried dumplings (32 HKD)
These came in a weird shape and my colleagues asked me if they were "Singapore-shaped". I assured them that these were just poorly shaped and therefore poorly fried. Obviously the colour of the three dumplings were inconsistent. The oiliness of the skin was evident. The skin was too thick. This was a fail. Egg souffle with sweet red bean paste
I thought this was again way too oily, and the egg white was weighed down by the oil. My colleagues enjoyed these though.The restaurant is cavernous and dimly lit, which gave it a cool, dark vibe that is common in these modern Chinese cuisine places these days. While the place was fairly packed during lunch, it was less noisy and chaotic than your average dim sum restaurant. Service staff tended to be pretty clueless on product offerings that were not on the order form (specifically, the desserts). They were also confused with our orders and had to check back three times. But I guess those are teething problems.
I think they'd have to improve the quality of their food for me to want to come again. If not for their funky xiaolongbao flavours, which I honestly wouldn't crave as much as a properly made traditional xiaolong bao, one is better off at their nearest competitor in CWB, Din Tai Feng, which does everything else consistently well.
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