The Phenomenal Mama: Paradise Dynasty Philippines

Paradise Dynasty dishes up an affordable selection of northern and southern Chinese cuisine at seven restaurants in Singapore, with overseas presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

Paradise Dynasty is a casual dining concept by Paradise Group that recently opened in the 2nd level of S Maison at the Conrad Hotel, right beside SM MOA.

My friends and I were invited to sample its delectable array of dishes a few weeks ago. Of course, I said yes right away because I have heard so many good reviews about the place; and, of course who could pass up an afternoon chika session with friends!

It's so much fun to get -together with this bunch of mamas!

An Innovative Array of Xiao Long Bao

Pushing the envelope on culinary creativity and innovation in Chinese cuisine, Paradise Dynasty is proud to present eight first-of-its-kind types of xiao long bao such as black truffle, foie gras, garlic, ginseng, cheese, Szechuan and crab roe.

Not your typical run-of-the-mill varieties, these inventive flavours are created by a team of chefs after many rounds of tasting and testing. Customers can enjoy these eight tantalising flavours in a specialty 8-piece sampling basket.

1. Original. Enjoy these traditional xiao long bao featuring fresh pork filling in a sweet soup broth.

2. Ginseng. Relish the soothing herbal goodness of this ginseng and pork soup dumpling *green

3. Foie Gras. A touch of French luxury is married perfectly with this traditional Chinese delicacy *brown

4. Black Truffle. Feast on the unmistakable plush aroma and taste of black truffle in this luxurious treat *black

5. Cheese. A novel combination that features the silkiness of cheese – a sure hit with all ages *yellow

6. Crab Roe. These morsels are infused with pork and delicate crab roe *orange

7. Garlic. A simple twist on the traditional xiao long bao by just adding fragrant garlic *grey

8. Szechuan. Spice up your palate with the subtle heat from a touch of chilli oil and peppercorns *red

My table mates and I were really impressed with two of the flavors that we ordered 2 more baskets of each flavor.

Foie Gras Xiao Long Bao, Php 330 (6 pieces) and Php 540 (10 pieces)

Black Truffle Xiao Long Bao, Php 330 (6 pieces) and Php 540 (10 pieces)

After the xiao long bao fest, we were served a dizzying line-up of their specialties. I will let the photos do all the talking.

Drunken Chicken, Php 230

Steamed Sliced Fish in Chinese Wine Sauce, Php 328

Stir-fried Beef with Scallion, Php 388

Sweet and Sour Fish, Php 328

Stir-fried Spinach with Minced Garlic, Php 238

Chilled Black Fungus in Peppercorn Vinaigrette, Php 230

Chilled Slice Pork with Minced Garlic and Soya Sauce, Php 230

Lotus Paste Bun with Salted Egg Yolk, Php 138

That's just the first wave of food that we feasted on. A lot more plates followed after in quick succession.

In the meantime, in case you're curious on what really goes down when bloggers sit down together for a meal...

everyone takes a good photo first before we all dig in.

Of course, the requisite flat-lay shot is a MUST!

Lettuce Roll with Homemade Sesame Sauce, Php 180

La Mian with Minced Meat and Mushroom Sauce (dry), Php 230

Chilled Jellyfish and Seafood in Vinaigrette, Php 250

Yang Zhou Double-boiled Meat Ball with Crab Roe Soup, Php 238

Glutinous Rice Stuffed in Red Beans

Shanghai Fried Rice, Php 238

Make sure to leave room for their desserts like pan-fried pancake with red bean paste and glutinous rice dumpling in fermented rice wine. But my favorite was this chilled aloe vera.