Restaurant: Paradise Dynasty
Location: 3/F, 8 Shiji Dadao, near Lujiazui Huan Lu 世纪大道8号3楼, 近陆家嘴环路
Date: August 8, 2018
Cuisine: Shanghai Chinese
Rating: Great XLB, everything else is just ok
We got in late to Shanghai and so we just popped over from our hotel into the IFC mall…
Which is like a giant high end Beverly Center, in search of dumplings!
Fortunately for us, the mall’s many restaurants include Paradise Dynasty, which is like Din Tai Fung’s more colorful cousin.
See what I mean?
Big contemporary space.
And a glassed in kitchen.
Salad rolls. Yeah, some kind of spinach-like green rolled up — you dip it in the sesame dressing!
Plain noodles for Mr. Picky.
Steamed baby shrimp. The Shanghai classic, a bit bland.
Vinegar, ginger, and chili sauce for the dumplings.
Paradise special mixed flavor Xao Lao Bao (XLB). These were fabulous with very thin skins and eight different flavors.
You can see these listed below. My favorites were original, garlic, crab roe and Szechuan.
Steamed garlic greens.
Pork noodles. A lot like ramen.
Vegetable potstickers. Not the most exiting.
Steamed vegetable buns. Breadier versions.
Crispy vegetable spring rolls. Quite light and crispy. Delicious.
Pan fried Shanghai pork soup dumplings. Heavier than the XLB. Still delicious, but I prefer the light-weight classic XLB.
Wontons in chili sauce. Not particularly hot but delicious.
Pork pot stickers. Just fine. Not nearly as good as the XLB.
Crispy fried red bean pancakes.
Deep fried buns. Just Chinese buns, fried.
Mysterious light Asian fruity jelly. Loved it. I always like this stuff. Might have been like hyacinth and lychee.
Sesame mochi balls in syrup. A lot of the kids (and many of the adults) love this dessert.
Rolled mochi dough with red beans and peanut dust.
Overall, the XLB here at Paradise Dynasty were really good. I enjoyed the different flavors and the light wrappers were great. The other items, also pretty similar to Din Tai Fung were just fine.
For my catalog of Chinese restaurant reviews in China, click here.
