Paradise Dynasty’s Eight-Color Xiaolongbao are Nirvana for Budding Influencers

I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like xiaolongbao (once they’ve mastered eating them, at least) but have you ever wished they were a little bit more photogenic? Well, the people behind the new Kerry Centre restaurant Paradise Dynasty clearly have, because their eight-colored xiaolongbao is designed with cameras as well as stomachs in mind.

Taking over the space formerly occupied by Bellagio, Paradise Dynasty is part of Singapore-based Paradise Group, which operates a number of different brands all across Asia. Despite being underground, the restaurant still manages to feel light and airy thanks to a distinctly Millenial pink and rose gold color scheme. 

Paradise Dynasty serves a sort of pan-Chinese cuisine that takes in everything from Cantonese dim sum to spicy Sichuan dishes. However, their signature (and certainly the dish you’ll find yourself Instagramming) is xiaolongbao, which includes both the classic variety (RMB 58/8) and the creative new colored versions (RMB 69/8) they have come up with. Each of the eight colors has a different filling, with wrappers colored with all-natural ingredients such as spinach, wolfberries, or cuttlefish ink. The foie gras and black truffle flavored xiaolongbao (light brown and black, respectively) were very tasty, but to be honest, we would stick with the classic version, which was well seasoned and brimming with plenty of porky soup.

Soup dumplings aside, the other star of the menu is the pork and prawn dumplings in hot chili vinaigrette (RMB 48/6), really more like wontons, and among the best we've had in Beijing for a while, with at least one juicy prawn in every dumpling. In fact, all of the Sichuan-style dishes were well-executed, just spicy enough to get your nose running but not so spicy as to overwhelm the ingredients. You can even choose the spice level of some of the dishes, such as the poached sliced fish in Sichuan chili oil (RMB 115), which is first cooked in pork bone broth to make it lighter and then finished with chili oil.

You may ask if it's really necessary to add different colors to xiaolongbao and you’d probably be right, but we nonetheless felt a little spark of joy when these beauties hit the table, and in 2020 that really does count for something.

Paradise Dynasty
Daily 11am-9.30pm. B24, B1/F, Beijing Kerry Centre Shopping Mall, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (8595 9268)
乐忻皇朝汇：朝阳区光华路1号北京嘉里中心地下一层B24

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Images: courtesy of Paradise Dynasty, Dazhong Dianping, Robynne Tindall