{"id":48550,"date":"2018-03-26T07:17:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-25T23:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/?p=48550"},"modified":"2026-01-13T01:18:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:18:00","slug":"taste-paradise-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2018\/03\/26\/taste-paradise-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Taste Paradise, Ion Orchard: Popular Restaurant but Not As Good As Eight Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Taste Paradise at Ion Orchard <\/strong>is one of the cornerstones (read: most atas concept) of the Paradise Group which arose from humble beginnings. The Group started as a kopitiam at Defu Lane in 2002. Now, it has 11 concepts across 9 countries, with more than 30 restaurants in Singapore and 60 restaurants worldwide. Their concepts include the wildly popular Beauty in the Pot<\/a>, Canton Paradise<\/a>, Seafood Paradise<\/a>, and the now defunct Paradise Inn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not to be confused with Paradise Dynasty serving xiao long bao and Sichuan food on the same floor in the same building , Taste Paradise specialises in Cantonese cuisine<\/strong>. Actually, we had been to Taste Paradise when it was still in Chinatown 8 years ago<\/a>, but there have been great changes and I’m afraid these changes aren’t good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Their five signature dishes are sharks fin in stone bowl, XO carrot cake, char siew, char grilled spare ribs with sweet plum sauce, and lobster ramen with XO sauce<\/strong> ($38 per pax). When we were there on the 16th day of CNY–which officially ends on the 15th day–they didn’t have set menus and the price was still inflated. They had yet to bring the price down to normal, a sign of how expensive and complicated preparing big meals can be, making Pen Cai Delivery<\/a> a popular choice for stress-free festive dining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So for example, we paid $98 for the Peking duck<\/strong>, which was $78 before. The Peking duck itself is excellent. The skin is crispy with a naturally smoky sweetness. The sauce is super sweet in a good way. But unfortunately, when eight years ago, they used egg crepe to wrap duck skin, now they wrap it with a popiah-like skin that is too thick and has powdery residue (flour?). The texture of the wrap ruins the dish for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We requested the meat from the Peking duck to be stir-fried with a noodle and they used ee mian. <\/strong>It is outstanding: aromatic with wok hei<\/em> with enough oil to be moist but not greasy on the lips. Very tasty. But strangely, they didn’t serve us this dish towards the end of the meal, which is customary; they served us as and when they had cooked it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Each cube of the XO carrot cake <\/strong>($14.80) is coated with a egg-flour mixture, which, along with the big size, gives a great mouthfeed. But their famed XO sauce isn’t fragrant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My picky ten year-old nephew said, “The char siew <\/strong>($26) tastes expensive,” and proceeded to finish it, leaving only a slice or two each to us adults. It is nice. They use belly so it’s tender with a strip of fat running through it. But I think the marinade is too sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’ve been dreading to talk about the sharks fin. When I posted it on my insta-story, someone messaged me, “How dare you?” Some people can be self -righteous like vegans. \ud83d\ude1d\ud83d\ude1d\ud83d\ude1d But here goes: they have ten varieties of sharks fin soup<\/strong> and they are famous for their shark fins in stone pot, <\/strong>which comes in three grades: supreme<\/strong> ($138 per serving, 75g), superior<\/strong> ($58 per serving), or (off-the-menu) one piece <\/strong>($138 \/ $148 \/ $158).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We ordered the $158 version to share between 5 adults. It was enough for us but perhaps it’s better to share between 4. The showmanship of the dish is magnificent. The shark cartilage broth comes sizzling in two stone pots. A large white plate, as big as my fat face, carries to the brim a whole piece of pale yellow, nacreous fin. To witness it plop into the broth is akin to seeing an iceberg collapse: a terrible beauty. See the youtube video below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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