chinese: i strongly recommend PARADISE DYNASTY

PARADISE DYNASTY  樂天皇朝

No.68, ZhongXiao E. Road, Sec. 5, 4FL

110台北市信義區忠孝東路五段68號4F 
(02)2772-6545

MRT: Taipei City Hall (exit #3)

Website: Paradise Dynasty Taipei's FB page

Hours: 11AM - 9:30PM / Thurs- Sat 11AM - 10PM

Visit reviewed: 1/18/2016

I first spotted Paradise Dynasty's colorful dumplings on Instagram before I had even heard of it, when Breeze Xinyi first opened and a flood of people started posting the newest food blogger eye candy. Then I did a walk through Breeze Xinyi's restaurant floor when I went to Crate and Barrel there, and it was pretty busy even mid afternoon. So I was excited to try it last week when a friend wanted to lunch there, and somehow managed to snag the private room they have in the back. (Later on I found out why, because there's a steep NT$8000 minimum for 8 people for the private room reservation, which is actually difficult to do because their menu is affordable).

Paradise Dynasty's signature xiao long baos are different colors because they are different flavors, though you can order individual flavors by the basket too. It is  Besides xiao long bao, they also have a full menu of Szechuan and Cantonese dishes from rice, dumplings and noodles, to seafood and vegetables to dim sum and dessert.

I also quite liked the "la mian" or hand pulled noodles -- the dan dan noodles with spicy sesame and peanut sauce (NT$130) and the dry noodles with dried shrimp and scallion oil (which was like a fragrant pork bone broth to spoon into the noodles). 

The Dan Dan noodles here were more spicy and less peanut flavored than versions I've had elsewhere, but I really enjoyed the noodles themselves. Other options for the noodles included double boiled chicken soup, minced meat and mushroom, dumpling with chili sauce, Szechuan hot and sour seafood, or spiced beef.

Looks plain, but surprisingly good. The noodles are smooth and not too soft and the broth is so slurpable.

Paradise Dynasty's most instagrammed dish is their photogenic 8 treasures xiao long bao (NT$320). The flavors are distinguished by their colors- from the center- original (white), garlic (gray), Mala (red), ginseng (green), foie gras (brown), truffle (black), cheese (yellow) and crab roe (Orange). I thought the flavors were good, but the skins broke easily, spilling out the precious "soup" and the pork is better at DTF. Between the truffle xlb here and DTF, I might have to give an edge to Din Tai Fung since DTF's is more aromatic and just peppered with truffle bits. You can also order baskets of a single flavor. 

If you're not sure what the flavors are and the server doesn't give it you, you can request a little placard that states the flavors, as well as lists the order that they recommend you try the xiao long bao from original flavor counter clockwise to the spiciest red mala dumpling.

Cheese soup dumpling 

Truffle xiao long bao 

Scramble Egg white with Fish and Conpoy (NT$240) 

Stewed bamboo shoots in oyster sauce (NT$90)

Pork dumpling with hot chili oil vinaigrette (NT$120 for 6)

Massive bowl of poached beef in Szechuan chili oil (NT$450) with mushrooms, bean sprouts and glass noodles. I accidentally bit into one of the chilis and my whole mouth went numb and tears streamed from my eyes. Had to eat a sweet stuffed red date to counteract it!! This dish is good for spicy lovers- one of my friends drank the soup like it was ramen broth! Lol! I thought the price of this was quite reasonable for the size, though most of the bowl is the chili oil broth. It's hard to capture how huge this bowl was in the photo, I'd say you'd have to hold it with two hands.

Poached chicken in Szechuan Style (NT$280) 

Stir fried la main with pork and black fungus

Crispy garlic pork ribs (NT$280) 

Radish pastry (NT$100 for 3) 

Pan fried Shanghai Pork Bun (NT$90 for 2) This was one of the few things on the menu that I didn't like. I didn't feel like the bottom was crispy enough- save room for other things and get your pan fried pork buns at the night market for less. 

Lotus paste bun with salted egg yolk (NT$80 for 2 pieces)

All in all, I really liked Paradise Dynasty. I had no expectations coming in, didn't know that it was a popular Chinese restaurant from Singapore , opened by a restaurant conglomerate there. Once you get past the gimmick of the rainbow dumplings, there's actually a broad spectrum of Chinese cuisines and  reasonably priced dishes to choose from, to share family style or to even order if you are dining alone. In a weird way, it sort of reminded me of Chinese restaurants back in LA, with the fried crispy pork ribs and the soy sauce covered stir fried noodles. The menu was clear and beautifully photographed and the food we got mostly looked liked the photos in the menu. I can see why the restaurant got an early start with the crowds and lines in Taipei- not an easy feat to accomplish in a city already full of Chinese restaurants.

mall/chinese: i still strongly recommend TAIPEI 101

Happy holidays from Taipei! 

If you haven't been to Taipei 101 food court recently you might be surprised to find a sleeker, glossier version since a remodel a few months ago. I definitely was- all the signage has been streamlined and made shiny, there's glassware chandeliers hanging above the new black and gold seating. 

i was so surprised to see the revamp

There's a few new Japanese restaurants with its own seating in the corner near KFC where the pho and Indian place used to be. Things have been moved around a little, including the do hua shop Xiao Nan Men to the back and the addition of a new Hi Sushi and Baskin Robbins and Laetitia. Subway is gone. I guess it's appropriate as 2013 is almost here- out with the old, in with the new.

i thought my fave taiwanese dessert was gone, but it's just relocated in the back

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year. With all the craziness happiening recently and even though it might not feel like Christmas in Taipei, use the holidays to connect with those you care about, spread a little holiday cheer and kindness, hug your loved ones and yes, treat yourself to some good food.

i love that even Din Tai Fung is getting in on the holiday spirit, making its xiao long bao mascot even cuter.

CLOSED! chinese/dessert: i strongly recommend SAN YUAN CHINESE CUISINE

SAN YUAN CHINESE CUISINE 三源
(closed and moved to Neihu, renamed Dancing Chili)
at ATT4FUN
No. 12, Song Shou Rd, 5FL
台北市松壽路12號4F
(02) 7737-5088

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: www.ace168.com.tw (Chinese only)

hours: 11 AM - 11 PM

$$ (about NT$400/person)

Kid friendliness: high chairs and kid dinnerware available. lots of kid friendly items on menu

Visit reviewed: 1/29/2012

Whenever I feel like eating out last minute on a weekend, it's kind of a pain. Most places are booked in advance or have crazy lines not worth waiting in. So on a recent weekend, my friends and I figured we'd head to ATT4Fun and walk around until we saw something without too long of a wait. On the 5th floor there's plenty to choose from and we picked the first one that could seat 8 people without a wait. A few doors down, the ramen place had a line of at least ten people, so we vowed to come back to try it out at a less busy time.

With the modern purple touch, Sanjin looks like it might be too fancy or expensive to eat at, but their menu of xiao long bao, dumplings, noodles and other Chinese food are affordable and surprisingly tasty. I'd previously spotted another branch at Bellavita's food court and heard about their chocolate dumplings. Yep, you heard me say CHOCOLATE!

dinner with a view of Taipei 101

Menus is both in English and Chinese thankfully, though a few descriptions still need further explanations. There are a few unique items besides the chocolate dumplings, like spicy oil fried hand cut noodles, or rice cake with kimchi, or handmade steamed buns that look like porcupines. San Yuan's house specialties are marked with a gold character on the left of the items on the menu, and we ended up ordering quite a few of them.

super hot xiao long bao anyone?

The waiter brings appetizer dishes for us to choose from- I think the group settled on edamame, taro and fried tiny fish.

The kitchen works fairly quickly and dishes start arriving- stir fried cabbage...

ketchup fried rice (NT$ which seemed to be more popular with the adults than the kids, contrary to expectations with the sweet tang...

squishy stir fried rice cakes, cooked to the right chewy-ness...

The steamed pork xiao long baos(NT$160) arrive and disappear quickly, one per person with 8 in a basket, so we end up having to add a few baskets... Hot and juicy, it is a crowd pleaser as much as Din Tai Fung.

We also try the house specialty Lee Xue mild spicy xiao long bao (NT$320), but they look exactly the same on the outside as the regular ones. On the inside, the pork is dotted with what seems like super finely diced chilies and a nice kick. There's a "super hot" one with three chilies pictures as well as a "superb xiao long bao" at NT$520.

The other dumplings are just as good... steamed vegetable and pork (NT$160)...

shrimp and pork shumai (NT$180) which floats a shrimp above a juicy pork dumpling (unlike the ones filled with sticky rice at Din Tai Fung)...

Don't miss the handmade steamed small bun (NT$90 for 3), which doesn't describe how adorable these buns are. 

Up close, I admire the handiwork and wonder how they make all the little spikes.

We weren't full, so we ended up adding the Lee Xue spicy oil fried handmade noodle(NT$200). The pan fried knife cut noodles were thick and chewy and had a nice flavor. A bowl for one would make a nice meal.

Be sure to order the steamed chocolate bun (NT$220 for 5) ahead of time and save room. Bite sized, these are like fat mochi dumplings filled with warm, melted chocolate. Try not to fight over them, or order extra.

chocolate + dumpling = mmmmmm

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by San Yuan. Even though we ordered some of the pricier things on the menu, sharing it allowed everyone a taste and it ended up being affordable at about NT$400 a person. IS a good family style restaurant with speedy service and a nice setting, and most importantly, delicious enough to make a mental bookmark to consider another trip back, before it's as packed as the other restaurants in the area.

OTHER LOCATION

Bellavita, B2
28 Songren Rd
台北市松仁路28號B2
(02) 8729-2739