Taste Paradise 味之楼 @ ION

Taste Paradise at ION Orchard is considered a fine dining din sum place.
The service was efficient and the dining environment French Chinois “grandeur”.

The appetiser offered this time was quite different from the usual braised peanuts, pickled acar or caramelised walnuts.
These were melon strips (likely wintermelon) soaked in orange juice.
They were crunchy (not too hard so could have been par boiled) and sweet and tart from the juice.

Our lunch may not be the most healthy fare but I am pleased Paradise Group does their bit in healthy eating.

Har Gao (4 pcs) – S$5.80
Traditionally, har gao should have at least seven and preferably ten or more pleats imprinted on its wrapper.
The shrimp must be cooked through, but not overcooked.

Dumpling with Wild Fungus (3 pcs) _ S$5.80
I thought these were the Teochew-styled Dumplings and I was delighted to be wrong.
The wild fungus were moist and quite refreshing.

Siew Mai (4pcs) – S$5.80
Traditionally, the amount of meat should be generous, yet not so much that it cannot be eaten in one bite.
Here, they ignore tradition and gave us generous meaty bites which I preferred.

XLB (4 pcs) – S$4.80
Xiao Long Bao’s skin must be thin yet be sturdy enough not to break when picked up with chopsticks.
Surprisingly, the standard XLB here was better than those at Paradise Dynasty (sister company, a few doors away. See post link below).

Pork Dumpling with Foie Gras (4 pcs) – S$8.80
I can’t really taste the foie gras but it was still an interesting rendition.
Good XLB, or all steamed dumplings for that matter, must not stick to the paper, container or the other XLB in the basket.

Fried Beancurd Skin (3 pcs) – S$5.80
Ordinary tasting but these had meaty (prawn) bites.

Cheong Fun with Dough Fritter – S$4.80
The soya sauce was poured at the table when serving so as not to make the fritters soggy.
Indeed, the dough fritters were still crispy when I ate them.

X.O. Carrot Cake – S$7.80
X.O. Sauce with shrimp bits, beansprouts, scallions and scrambled eggs gave this simple carrot cake dish a delicious, crisp and chewy texture all at once.

2 BBQ Combination Roasts – S$20
I didn’t get to taste the roast pork belly at all so I gathered it must be good to be gone before I could stab at it.
The roast duck was crispy on the skin, tender and moist inside. It went very well with the plum sauce provided.

Ramen with Scallops in SS – S$10
What is SS? Special Sauce?

Ramen with Scallop, Tobiko and Bonito Flakes.
We ordered 3 portions.
The birthday boy had one all to himself since noodles represent longevity in Chinese tradition.
Vanessa and I shared one while Ryan and Valerie shared the other.
Ryan is a big fan of scallops, too bad there’s only one fat scallop in this dish.

Edamame Tofu with Crab Roe – S$26

The green colouring was from the peas (Edamame).
I’ve had standard tofu (whitish), egg tofu (yellowish), charcoal tofu (blackish grey) and now edamame tofu (green)!
What will they come up next?

Steamed Custard Buns (3 pcs) – S$5.80

Aka Liu Sar Bao, the oozing hot larva like salted egg yolk custard is what we are looking forward to each time we break into these.

Mango Pudding – S$5.

I don’t remember anyone having a steamed rice…