For appetizer we had Szechuan style cow offals. The sauce is just chili oil with Szechuan peppercorns, which is boring. I expected a more complex flavor, perhaps from cinnamon or ginger.
The la mian also lacks flavor. Since the stock is presumably made from pig knuckles, I expected it to be very rich like the stock for ramen. Maybe they didn't use as much pork knuckles, though, as I found a lot of undissolved pork skin in my bowl, which thickens the stock but doesn't add much flavor. The pork and egg are delicious, but the stock could've used more seasoning. Also, the la mian doesn't have enough protein content. Instead of being chewy, the noodles are extremely soft without any bite. Jade Imperial serves better la mian at 2/3 the price.
Cooking tip: if you want perfectly boiled eggs, the trick is to not boil the eggs. Eggs aren't meant to reach 100 degrees Celsius; they're already fully cooked at an internal temperature of roughly 70 degrees. However, most of us don't have the luxury of controlled-temperature water baths. You can place your eggs in a pot of water, bring it to a boil, and then immediately turn the stove off. Let the eggs rest for 10-12 minutes for soft-boiled and about 15 minutes for hard-boiled. The eggs will never be overcooked because the water will have cooled off sufficiently once the entire egg is the same temperature as the water.
This is the famous 8-flavor xiao long bao. The dumplings are full of soup but contain almost no meat. The cheese dumpling is surprisingly the tastiest. The ginseng flavor is quite strong, so your reaction depends on whether you like ginseng or not. The other "flavors" are gimmicky; I doubt they put enough truffle, crab roe, or foie gras to make a difference, if any. For about 10k apiece, this is hardly worth it. The xiao long bao at Depot 3.6.9. is better since it contains more meat and is therefore more filling, and they're sold at 1/3 the price!
The sweet and sour pork have a nice crunch but the batter is somewhat hard. My main gripe is that the batter is thicker than the meat. Overall a delicious dish.
The fried chicken has been brined beforehand, so the meat is very tender and juicy--as good as it can get. The outside is very crunchy, something that Indonesians will certainly love. The dipping sauce is just plain mayo, though, so there's not a whole lot of flavor except for the succulent meat. If they can come up with a tastier sauce, I would definitely come to eat this regularly.
Cooking tip: brine refers to a solution of salt and sugar. There are many variations, but I use Alton Brown's recipe for brine: 1 gallon of chicken broth, 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of salt, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Brining unfurls proteins, preventing meat fibers from coagulating unevenly. The meat will also retain more moisture when cooked. If you want to "brine" beef, you can sprinkle a big chunk of beef with salt and leave it for one hour, then wipe the salt with paper towel.
In conclusion, Paradise Dynasty offers many tasty dishes, but some need improvements. You should come here if you just want good food and don't care about the price. I would label this as excellent if the prices were a little lower, but currently it's just not good value for your money. When you eat here, try the xiao long bao and decide for yourself whether you like it or not; avoid the la mian.
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