Paradise Dynasty 乐天皇朝 @ T3

A quick lunch before I fly off from Changi Terminal 3, and at the upper level is an excellent Chinese restaurant.

Paradise Dynasty offers an array of exquisite dim sum from Northern and Southern China and classic Sichuan and Shanghainese dishes. And over the years, they have consistently offer good food at affordable prices.

Japanese Cucumber with Minced Garlic 蒜青青瓜

This is a very refreshing and simple appetiser, and usually the Japanese cucumber is smashed into pieces with a cleaver rather than cut into equal sizes. Smashing it also creates irregular edges to incorporate the flavours better.

Poached Chicken In Szechuan Style 成都口水鸡

It was originally translated as “saliva chicken” and it freaked the hella of foreigners visiting China for the first time. But it didn’t leave the tastebuds salivating with the numbing and pulsating spiciness and complexity in flavours. This was a simplified version with less spiciness.

Stir-fried French Bean with Minced Pork and Preserved Olive Vegetable 肉碎榄菜干煸四季豆

This homey classic is also known as 乱棍打死猪八戒. And this version was really delicious and full of wokhei.

Stir-fried Shrimp In Shanghai Style 上海清炒虾仁

They used sea shrimps instead of river shrimps, and the shrimps were reddish when cooked and quite different from the Shanghai version. Not quite the lightness and sweetness I was expecting. Wouldn’t recommend this.

Signature Original Xiaolongbao 原味小笼包

They were not famous of xiaolongbao in the first place, but as a latecomer, they improved the formula and came up with a really strong contender for the best xiaolongbao in the Singapore.

Every one of their xiaolongbao is filled with 25g of US imported minced pork. The delicate skin has exactly 18 folds, and filled with lots of pork broth. How did it compare with Dintaifeng? IMHO, I find their xiaolongbao to be tastier and juicier than the famous one.

8 Treasure Xiaolongbao 皇朝八色小笼包

Touted as a world’s first, the flavoured xiaolongbao came in never-tried-before flavours like crab roe, cheese, garlic, Korean kimchi, Szechuan and the uberluxe foie gras and black truffle.

Colours of the xiaolongbao are extracted from natural ingredients. Like this one was extracted from beetroot juice. I thought it was kimchi, but it turned out to be crab roe xiaolongbao.

Among the flavoured ones, my favourite would be the kimchi-flavoured xiaolongbao. The slightly pickled cabbage with the kimchi spiciness balanced the porky flavour of the xiaolongbao. There’s no need to even dip into the vinegar. Just didn’t it to come in green colour.

Red Bean Pancake 豆沙锅饼

When I first tried this Chinese dessert derived from the Shanghainese original about thirty years ago for the first time at Tung Lok, I was blown away with the crispiness of the skin (which was made from popiah skin instead of pancake skin) and sweetness of the red bean paste. But ever since, I have yet to find another one that was comparable. This was really close, with a generous filling of red bean paste, but there was not sesame sprinkling on the skin.

They used to have a store in CWP which we frequented. These days they are only in the more popular malls. The service in this airport outlet is prompt and efficient making it a really good eat before flight.

Paradise Dynasty 樂天皇朝
65 Airport Boulevard #03-32, Departure Hall, Changi Terminal 3, Singapore 819663
Tel : +65 6242 4372

Visited Jun 2024