There's an open battle being waged, probably for centuries now, over who makes Shanghai's best xiaolongbao.
Not sure what xiaolongbao are? They're Shanghai's famous soup-filled dumplings, small steamed dumpling miracles that defy the laws of nature by having hot soup held delicately inside them, along with a fragrant mix of pork and seasonings. And Shanghai locals feel very, very passionate about their xiaolongbao and who makes the best ones.
The battle really comes down to what you, as an eater, prefer.
Do you crave authenticity or novelty?
Do you like your dumpling skins rolled or hand-flattened?
Do Shanghainese people make the best xiaolongbao? Or can anyone do it?
Paradise Dynasty challenges all these assumptions. Coming from Singapore, where they are already an established brand, they have gone straight for the jugular by opening their flagship Chinese store in Shanghai and - wait for it - calling it Paradise Dynasty: Legend of Xiaolongbao. Cheeky. That's like opening your first macaron shop in Paris, right next to Laduree, and calling it Fiona: Legend of Macarons.
Just a little bit self-indulgent, but why shouldn't you be when you have the behemoth Paradise restaurant group behind you?
Their signature dish is a basket of eight rainbow-hued
xiaolongbao (RMB 68) with novel fillings:
Foie Gras (tan)
Black truffle (black)
Crab Roe (orange)
Ginseng (green)
Mozzarella (yellow)
Garlic (grey)
Szechuan (sic) (dark pink)
Original Pork (white)
The dumpling wrappers are very fine, soft, and strong, and the eight colours looked beautiful sitting on their linen cloth inside the basket.
I tried the original steamed pork flavour first, as a true test of xiaolongbao-ness. It was good - plenty of fragrant soup, a little ginger, a smooth pork filling. The 'szechuan' dumpling was an explosion of chili and flowery Sichuan pepper, although the pepper made the filling a little gritty. The foie gras and crab roe dumplings were rich and full of flavour, the garlic and ginseng dumplings more subtle but still tasty. I wouldn't revisit the mozzarella dumpling though, with its very odd taste and texture, but my girls like it the best of all of them.
The stand out for me was the black truffle xiaolongbao, rich, dark, deeply truffley and intensely satisfying. After trying just one I ordered a whole extra basket of (RMB 65). Any flavour can be ordered separately as a basket of six or ten dumplings.
Paradise Dynasty serves other dishes too - la mian or pulled noodles, which seems odd (given that la mian originated in central China, a Hui Muslim dish, and xiaolongbao are from eastern China's Nanxiang village, now part of Shanghai). But the menu tells us that Executive Chef Ge Sheng is a specialty la mian chef, and it's the female sous chef, Yan Wei, who knows a thing or two about xiaolongbao.
While waiting for our table I watched the chefs in the kitchen making the dumplings, and was amazed to see that they weighed the filling for every single dumpling on a digital scale. That exactitude is rare and spoke of very high standards in the kitchen.
It's a shame then that the same care and attention isn't taken in the dining room - we waited 45 minutes for a table on a regular weekday lunchtime and when we did arrive at our table it was full of dirty dishes from the previous diners and took fifteen minutes to be cleared after three requests from me and one from a neighbouring diner. The restaurant is always this busy, so I'm told, so it should be staffed accordingly.
The xiaolongbao were delicious, but hard to eat without chopsticks, a spoon, a dish for vinegar, or a bowl. These arrived on request, one at a time, five minutes apart, so by the time we had all the necessary eating utensils the dumplings were cold. A great shame.
So are these Shanghai's best xiaolongbao? You'll have to decide for yourself.
Paradise Dynasty: Legend of Xiaolongbao - Details
IFC Mall, Lujiazui, Pudong
Level Three, Shop 36
Ph +86 21 58342291
Open 7 days for lunch and dinner, last orders 9.30pm.
