Enjoy Paradise Dynasty at S Maison at the Conrad

Friends and food.  That's what happened two days ago when we tried Paradise Dynasty.  I was with mommy bloggers (turned real life friends) and we had such a wonderful time together eating and laughing.  It was as if we planned it as a day off (together), because that two hour break felt like it was a day off.  We laughed, ate a lot of #XiaoLongBao, tried new dishes and enjoyed one another's company.

Special thanks to Marj for arranging this - I can't thank you enough because I really enjoyed the taste test with friends.

Okay, so Paradise Dynasty.  I honestly knew about this restaurant when I went to Singapore early this year.  It was recommended by a friend, but we never got to try it there.  I was very happy to learn that they've opened a branch here in Manila!  Paradise Dynasty is located at the 2nd level of S Maison, the mall connected with the Conrad Hotel.  We were greeted by warm smiles and led to the main dining area - it had such a nice view of Manila Bay.

Before I go on with my *kwento* here are the food that we were served:

Drunken Chicken

This is a cold steamed chicken dish.  I liked it because I really tasted the alcohol.

I wish though that the serving was a bit bigger, but when I thought about it, it's an appetizer - so the size is *justified*

Lettuce Wraps

This is by far the prettiest presentation of lettuce - EVER!

If all salads were presented like this - I would eat and eat and eat them forever!! 

Paradise Dynasty Signature Xiao Long Bao

 Colorful and unique, each has it's own signature flavor.  You can order this to try each flavor, then when you come back - you can order all 8 pieces of the same flavor you fancy.  They are color coded as:  White (the one in the center) - orginal flavor, Green is Ginseng, Brown is Foie Gras, Black is Truffle, Yellow is Cheese, Orange is Crab Roe, Gray is Garlic, and Red is Szechuan. 

Here's my version of a flatlay.

What do you think? 

Scrambled Egg White with Fish and Conpoy

I'm a fan of any egg white anything, so this was a hit for me too!

Apparently, conpoy is a form of dried scallop.  Yummeh. 

Beef with Scallions

I soooo loved the scallions.  And the stir fry of this dish was really good.  Beef was really tender and sliced thinly but not so thin that you can't bite into it.  I swear, I almost felt I was in a different country when I tasted this dish.  I can tell by the taste of a stir fry (naks!  Yabang!) but seriously, stir fry is different here in Manila as compared to Hong Kong and Singapore.  It may be the wok, or the oil, or the chef.  Hahaha!! 

Steamed Glutinous Rice stuffed in Red Dates 

I was so surprised with this dish - this is an appetizer.  Just by looking at it, I must say - this is not something I would order.  But when Rowena said it was good, I believed her and took the plunge and tried it.  It was sooo good!  It was warm and sweet and chewy.  I loved the combination of the sweet and the chewy texture.  I had four (4) pieces of this, I had to control myself since I was with friends and they needed to have a taste.  I swear, on my next visit - I shall order one whole plate to myself.

Bwahahahahaha!!

This is the dessert spread.  We decided to order one of each dessert so we can try them all.

That's what I love about friends - we take one another's opinion and we think about our friends too.

There are three desserts missing in this image - but they all tasted lovely.  We were all full but you know what - there's always ALWAYS room for dessert!

Marj, I have to say this event is one of the most memorable I've attended this year.  It was filled with food, laughter and a most wonderful company of mommy blogger friends.  You arranged it pretty well in my book.  Good job!

Thank you Paradise Dynasty Philippines for inviting us!  Thank you for hosting our impromptu get together!  I truly enjoyed my afternoon away from the hustle and bustle of work and family life.  The view is fantastic, the food was wonderful and I think the company I was with made it more memorable.

If you're in the MOA area, do visit Paradise Dynasty, it's located at the 2nd level of S Maison at the Conrad.  Tickle your tastebuds with their special xiao long bao and enjoy the view.  

Hope to bump into you there!

So, back to my kwento.  Hahahaha!!  I invited Kaye to be my +1 for this event as my Panget said he was still at work.  Kaye, Cai and I have been meeting up often and I thought, it would be perfect to bring Kaye along.  Kaye was soooo nice to have driven us to Conrad.  I love youuuuuu, Kaye - forever and ever.  Tina hitched with us to S Maison - the travel was nice as Kaye and I were chatting, I think Tina might have been bothered by the noise, just kidding!  When we got to S Maison, the mall was fairly new - it reminded me of Pacific Place in Hong Kong.  It was spacious and very well lit, and the aircon was cold - and if you ask me, pasado!  It's just that - it's quite far.  I realized that when I am put in a situation when I cannot avoid going to MOA - I've found a place I'd like to kill time in - S Maison!

Before entering the restaurant, we met up with Cai and her friend Grace.  When we entered Paradise Dynasty, we were greeted by the staff and led to the main dining room where we met Mish!  It was such a delight to see her, since its been too long.  Shortly after, Rowena and Jackie arrived.  The table we planned to sit at was too small already, so we switched to the bigger round table.  Since everyone knew everyone - we felt really comfortable so we just sat at random seats.  I failed to introduce Kaye to our host Marj and when I did, she wondered why we weren't seated beside one another, I told Marj that the whole group already knew Kaye.  It was sort of like an impromptu get together.

We ate, we laughed, we took pictures, we ate again, laughed and took more pictures.  I had such a fun time really.  It was was de-stressing spending time with this group.  Thank you again Marj, hahahaha!! :)