Paradise Dynasty is known for their flavorful and colorful Xiao Long Baos and spicy Szechuan dishes, some of which I reviewed here. While the colorful xiao long baos and the charcoal custard lava bun are my favorite orders at Paradise Dynasty, there are some new dishes to explore.
NEW CHEF’S RECOMMENDATIONS AT PARADISE DYNASTY
They have recently come up with four new Chef’s Recommendations, and last week, I visited Paradise Dynasty again to try the four new dishes on the menu.
The new Chef’s Recommendations are:
- Shanghai-Style Braised Pork Belly (P588)
Hands-down the favorite dish of everyone at the table! Tender but not mushy pork cubes in a thick, sweet sauce. Flavors of soy sauce, sugar, Chinese wine, very light warm spices like star anise. The fat just melts in your mouth.
- Deep-Fried Duck with Steamed Bun (P1,288)
This is a half duck that has been marinated, then deep-fried. It is served with steamed buns and matchstick cuts of cucumber and leeks, julienned basil, and hoisin sauce. The duck meat is shredded by the server (or you can do it yourself if you wish). To eat this, you assemble your little steam bun pocket with your choice of filling combinations – you place some shredded duck meat into the bun, then top that with leeks, cucumbers, basil and then drizzle with hoisin sauce.
The duck they use for this dish is a smaller breed with tenderer meat. I’m just happy that duck is becoming more accessible to local diners. Duck is one of my favorite meats!
- Grouper with Pine Nuts and Fruits (P1,288)
This is a sweet & sour fried lapu-lapu, but with pine nuts and fruits (pineapples, etc…). I enjoyed this more than the typical sweet & sour dish that has loads of bell peppers and carrots. The sweet and sour sauce is pretty good, typical of a good Chinese restaurant. If you like sweet & sour fish but are not into bell peppers and carrots, try this instead. There are still some bell peppers here, but not as much as a typical sweet & sour has.
- Grilled Grouper with Tofu in Mapo Tofu Style (P1,288)
I like the fried tofu – they used soft tofu and the tofu were very smooth. Slightly spicy from black peppers and Szechuan peppercorns, but not spicy hot from chilis.
OTHER DISHES
Of course, we could not miss having some Xiao Long Bao again, as well as my favorite Charcoal Custard Lava Bun!
View this post on Instagram
I also really liked the Poached Sliced Fish in Szechuan Chili Oil (less spicy version, P788). While I found this really delicious, I could only finish one small bowl of it before it became too hot for me. I don’t think I could finish an entire order by myself, so it’s best shared among the whole table 🙂 Less spicy is just right for me – I found it whetting my tastebuds, tantalizing them with mild heat and slight numbness from the Szechuan peppercorns, and then revealing a creeping chili flavor. I honestly do not know if my tolerance for hot spice has increased or if people in general have very low tolerance for heat. This dish really started out just mildly spicy for me and it wasn’t until I was finishing my small bowl of soup before the heat had accumulated to the point where it was too spicy.
For dessert, we had Steamed Glutinous Rice Stuffed in Red Dates (P238) – it’s a simple dish, but not very commonly available, and it’s nostalgic for us who had grandmas who made this kind of food 🙂
If you’re looking for something new to try at Paradise Dynasty, check out the new Chef’s Recommendations!
