If you thought grabbing a Singapore-Malaysia World Cup qualifier ticket was hard, try getting a table at Paradise Dynasty (no reservations are taken). Weekends? Forget it. Weeknights? Better odds, but still be prepared to wait an inordinate length of time (we’re talking polyclinic standard). And it’s been like this for months. Turn up, take a number and cross your fingers, as tables are assigned not on a first-come-first-serve basis but on seat availability based on group size. We finally snagged a seat for an early lunch one weekday and were itching to see what the fuss was all about.
Its décor is pretty standard as far as Chinese restaurants go, with a prevailing red and gold color scheme. We started with their star Shanghainese attraction, the Signature Dynasty Dumplings ($13.80)—or xiao long bao, as you might know them better. An octet of brightly hued pork dumplings with flavors ranging from black truffle to crab roe to foie gras. This was a bit of a hit-and-miss; some were significantly more flavorful than others. But our main gripe here was that the baos didn’t taste all that different from one another.
Next up, we had a pair of well-portioned noodle mains (the bowls are big enough to bathe a chow chow in). The la mian with pan-fried chicken chop ($9.80) came with tasteless pork bone soup, but the chicken was fried to perfection.
On the other hand, the la mian in hot and sour soup ($8.50) with bits of shredded tofu, mushrooms and pork was stunning, with its appropriately sour kick.
In between all that, there was a forgettable serving of kai lan ($12). With its wide-ranging menu, you’ll find some gems here for a token sum.
But if you can’t be bothered to wait immoderately long for a table here, best to give it a miss.
Can’t get enough Chinese food? Here are our favorite Chinese restaurants in Singapore.
