Paradise Dynasty at Ciputra World, Surabaya

I've been a regular customer of Paradise Dynasty ever since my first months staying in Surabaya. I usually eat at this particular Chinese restaurant whenever I have money. If not, I probably stayed at home and fried some tempeh. The thing about Paradise Dynasty is that they serve very very delicious and flavorful Chinese cuisine, and the fact that we are allowed to smoke if we sit on the outer part of the restaurant adds a plus point.

My share of Deep-fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk

During my first visit, I was having such a stressful day. I decided to head out to a nice mall and treat myself to a movie and good food. Paradise Dynasty was the restaurant I chose to binge at. It took a while for me to scan the whole menu because they offer various kinds of dishes. Thank God the locals in Surabaya are mostly Chinese, so pork is available on the menu.

One of the dishes that caught my attention was this Baymax Red Bean Bun. I immediately ordered myself one set, consisting of three palm-sized Baymax, that costed me Rp32.000,00. Not a single regret. Then, I got myself this cold dish named Chilled Sliced Pork in Minced Garlic and Soya Sauce, which I don't need to explain what that is judging from the name of the dish itself. And, last but not least, was a plate of Deep-fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk. They all looked amazing on the menu, I couldn't help myself!

I love Baymax!

The Baymax buns really cheered me up that night. I love how the buns were so soft and fluffy, yet chewy when you bite it. The red bean filling was very generous and it was stuffed inside Baymax's tummy. I enjoyed every bite even though I was hesitant to eat it at first because it was just so adorable! I mean, look at that face and that fluffy tummy!

This was a very nice appetizer, despite that those Baymax buns suit more as a dessert.

Then I had the chilled pork. One of the waitress took the liberty to enlighten me about the dish being cold. Maybe she was afraid that I didn't know, hence complaining about why the food is not hot. The reason why I ordered this dish is because I was just curious about how it would taste.

Turns out, it tasted fine, but I had come to a realization that cold pork is just not my thing. The pork was savory (and cold. I need to say it over and over again because of how odd it is being cold.) while the cucumber wrapped inside it was just fresh and juicy. I like how the chilly sauce gave another flavor into the dish. The garlic was very distinguish, as if it was saying "Bro, I'm here. Enjoy my presence!". I'm not complaining, but in my opinion, the flavor would be a lot more balanced if they put less garlic. I couldn't taste the soya though. Or, maybe it was there, but I'm not quite familiar with how soya sauce tasted like.

The sight of the Chilled Sliced Pork in Minced Garlic and Soya Sauce.

Look at them adorable faces!

The final dish was the Deep-fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk. Needless to say that the dish was very delicious. The prawns were deep-fried to perfection and they were coated with a generous amount of salted egg yolk. Very crispy, very flavorful, and it had a kick in every bite. The salted egg didn't dominate the flavor of the prawn, every ingredients combined work well with one another, making it deserved a standing ovation.

But, I do have to say that the dish was very heavy and it upset my stomach when I over eat it. One portion of the prawn contained lots of prawns, I bullshit you not. I would recommend if you share this dish with another two people just so that it wouldn't go to waste. I couldn't finish it, so I requested one of the waitress to wrap it up for me to take home with. Nonetheless, it was still very enjoyable.

You may think that I'm currently sitting on my bed as I'm writing this blog post. No! You are definitely wrong. I, in fact, am updating my blog at Paradise Dynasty. Plot twist!

I was from the gym, survived a session of upper hand training my personal trainer. I was going to watch a movie at the mall where my gym is located after my work out, but to my surprise the cinema is closed for good. I quickly decided to head to Ciputra World, so that I can enjoy a nice cinema for my quality time with the Nun and got me some good food before the movie.

I was so hungry (again), I ordered another three dishes for myself: the Xiao Long Bao Dynasty, a set of Pan-fried Shanghai Pork Bun, and some Stir-fried French Bean with Minced Pork. Praise the Lord!

I've been wanting to try the Xiao Long Bao Dynasty because I was attracted to their rainbow colored dumplings. One set, that costed Rp88.000,00, is filled with eight kinds of dumplings, each has different colors and filled with different fillings. It didn't take long for my order to be served on the table, and the first dish that arrived was this babies.

Xiao Long Bao is the Chinese term for dumplings.

A simple, yet breathtaking, presentation of the dumplings.

As I waited for my other dishes to be serve, I occupied myself with them rainbow dumplings. I studied all the different colors and their fillings, then devour them one by one in less than ten minutes. Pardon the beast inside my belly.

1st dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Black Truffle Pork Dumpling

The filling was a combination of black truffle and pork, which tasted mostly like pork but with a mushroom aftertaste. It was delicious and it was a good start for the rainbow dumpling. On to the remaining seven.

2nd dumpling:  Steamed Shanghai Foie Grass Pork Dumpling

I could taste a creamy substance mixed in the filling. There was definitely a flavor which I'm not familiar with and I'm guessing it was the foie grass. It tasted okay, but not my favorite. 

3rd dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Ginseng Pork Dumpling

Tasted a bit herby and sour, but still good. It was okay for me. 

4th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Garlic Pork Dumpling

The garlic immediately kicked in on the first bite. Very savory and porky, and the amount of garlic was on point for my taste. 

This is what it looked like.

5th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Crab Roe Pork Dumpling

Definitely one of my favorite among the seven. I could taste the crab roe bursting with fishy flavor (in a good way) as I chew the whole thing in one bite. 

6th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Sechuan Pork Dumpling

I actually had a lot of expectation regarding this particular dumpling. I've been obsessing with whatever dish that has "sechuan" in its' name, including this one, merely because I watched Rick and Morty and I don't know how sechuan sauce tasted like (yes, that famous Mulan sechuan sauce). This dumpling was slightly spicy and had a kick of pepper in it. Delicious, but kind of a let down and definitely not my favorite.

7th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumpling

One word: basic

8th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Cheese Dumpling

A cheese-filed dumpling? Never heard that one before! I saved the best (merely because it had cheese in it) for the last and I was not wrong. The pork filling was same like the other dumplings, very savory and delicious. But, the stretchy cheese made the dish tasted unique, but worked out well in the end. This is my favorite!

There was an instruction on how to indulge the xiao long bao. I followed the instruction thoroughly, even added the vinegar and ginger to add more flavor. True, it added a burst of flavor to the already well-flavored dumpling, but it was not meant for my tastebud because I'm not into ginger that much. The vinegar was okay, though.

All of the dumplings had a chewy and perfect skin: not too thick, yet not too thin as well. One bite into the dumpling and the juice squirted out immediately, dripping from my spoon to the table. Hell, I wasted lots of dumpling juice today, but it was okay since each dumplings had lots of juice in it.

After the dumplings were gone, I was left with my final two dishes: the Stir-fried French Bean with Minced Pork and the Pan-fried Shanghai Pork Bun.

Some veggies for your tummy.

The vegetable with minced meat was savory and slightly spicy. It had a lot of oil in it, which I don't like, but I managed to finished it. They sure used a lot of minced pork because I was left with some spoonful of it after I finish my beans.

Fluffy buns!

Nicely shaped, aren't they?

Last, but not least, the Pan-fried Shanghai Pork Bun which didn't exceed my expectation. One set had three buns filled with minced pork that costed me Rp35.000,00. The bottom part of the bun was fried, while the whole bun itself was steamed beforehand. I was expecting a crunchy and chewy texture, but I was wrong. The buns were just soft and chewy. That's it.

The sight of the buns' fillings.

The fillings, on the other hand, was not like how I expected it would be in a good way. Shaped in a ball and not sticking to the inner surface of the steamed bun, the fillings had a strong umami flavor and very juicy. I ripped open one bun and the juicy was just dripping down my hand I got a panic attack. Still delicious, but I was quite disappointed by the texture. Maybe I should get myself some Deep-fried Chinese Bun with Condensed Milk?


Paradise Dynasty
Mall Ciputra World, 3rd Floor
Jl. Mayjen Sungkono, No. 87-89
Gunungsari, Kota Surabaya
Jawa Timur 60224

Opening Hours:
SUN - THU: 10AM - 10PM
FRI - SAT: 10 AM - 12AM

Contact:
(+62) 31 5120 0155

Dad's Lunch

Dad is back at Doha, Qatar. 
God bless those who created Whatsapp and Face Time.

A few hours ago, during lunch time at Doha, Dad IM me through Whatsapp. For those who are not familiar with this peculiar communication tool, Whatsapp is an instant messaging application that can be used by iPhone users. He sent me pictures of what he ate for lunch today. Two pictures were sent from his iPhone, waiting to be downloaded. "What did you have for lunch," I asked my Dad. "We had Tapsilog," replied me Dad, referring to himself and his Indonesian-Japanese room mate. "We had Tapsilog, chicken spring roll, and Capcay. I'm full," he continued. 

I've been to Qatar and I've ate this particular dish before. Dad bought this at a Philippine restaurant, the one that specialized delivery order. Tapsilog is a dish which originated from the Philippines. It consist of garlic rice, fried egg, and some meat. I love the meat the most because it tasted sweet, more or less like beef Teriyaki without the sweet sauce. The rice is savory and delightfully tangy because of the garlic, which goes well with some fried eggs. This dish is usually eaten by Filipinos for breakfast, but as for Dad, he either eat it during lunch, or during dinner. 

A bowl of Tapsilog for Dad's lunch at Doha, Qatar

Some vegetables and fried food as side dishes

(Both pictures were taken by my Dad)

Fancy Lunch à la Mom

What is Sunday without a little quality time with your family, especially after a long week of chaotic examination at school? It's good to be back after, almost, a week of hiatus. Today, Mom decided to cook fancy and five-star-restaurant-like dishes, such as Chicken Cordon Blue and German-style Fried potatoes. What I thought was a great Sunday turned out to be an awesome Sunday instead.

Mom, being a splendid cooker she is, made a an-full of German-style Fried Potatoes that tasted like how a genuine German cuisine would taste like. Boiling the potatoes and chilling them overnight makes it easy for Mom to slice them. With some onions, olive oil, and seasonings, Mom can easily turn a regular potato into something that might only exists in another part of the continents. She did such a great job with the potatoes, not to mention she added some bacons into the dish generously.

Mom's German-style Fried Potatoes on progress

This family of mine has a thing for semi-burnt dish, you see, as in the food has crunchy edges and is dark gold-ish brown in color. mom took the advantage to cook the potatoes longer than how it should be, so that the crispy and crunchy edges would form, which made the dish taste even more delicious. My Dad and I were full of anticipation.

Would you resist such food that would make your tongue goes, "Oh la la"
and your tummy goes,  "More! More! More!" ?

The sight of the perfectly cooked potatoes that the family loves the
most, crunchy edges and dark gold-ish brown in color

The second dish was mom's homemade Chicken Cordon Blue. This smoked beef and cheese filled chicken breast file is not that hard to make, as I tried to cook one before at school during cooking lesson. By slicing the middle part of the chicken file horizontally, and inserting a generous amount of smoked beef and cheese, you can leisurely enjoy this European dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Chicken Cordon Blue à la Mom is served!

When the chicken is well-filled with your own personal choice of fillings, as for me I'm good with the old smoked beef and cheese fillings, you dip the chicken into a bowl of battered eggs, and then dip it in a separate bowl full of bread crumbs, and fry it until it is golden brown in color. You can tell that you have made a wonderful Chicken Cordon Blue if the chicken meat is well cooked, as well as the smoked beef, and the cheese is perfectly melted inside. I bet your saliva is going to drip any second now. 

Just look at those cheese, melting in such appealing way,
as if they were suffocating and came out for some fresh air

Stir-fried vegetables is also one of the dish that was included in today's Five-star Lunch Menu. With a handful of broccoli and green beans, along with some slices of onion, and melted butter, mom is one step closer on making someone who hates vegetable turned into a vegetarian. This plate of stir-fries vegetables share the same aroma as buttered popcorns, as Mom used butter instead of olive oil to fry the vegetables.

I couldn't even resist on not drooling over
the smell of melting butter 

Vegetables aren't that bad, especially when they are cooked with butter

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day by indulging healthy
green vegetables for lunch

In the end, the whole family had an exquisite lunch, and of course, Dad has to take pictures with the food using his signature pose. I'm up for another gleeful Sunday next week!

My first serving of today's lunch, followed by another
couple of servings later on

Dad, proudly present "My Wife is Awesome"
dish with his signature pose, the peace sign