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From dim sum to a la carte, the posh new Taste Paradise at Ion Orchard offers fab fare.
Eats
Singapore, August 2, 2009 - Ion Orchard may boast of housing the swankiest boutiques but at the moment, it has only one upmarket restaurant. But what it may lack in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality.
Taste Paradise, which opened two weeks ago on the fourth floor of the new shopping mall, is one of the best Cantonese restaurants in town and certainly the best restaurant to have opened in Orchard Road in the past few years.
It is a new branch of the original Taste Paradise in Mosque Street and the flagship of the Paradise Group, which also owns Seafood Paradise in Defu Lane and in the Singapore Flyer, as well as several Paradise Inns that cater to a more budget-conscious crowd.
A lot of attention has been showered on the latest baby, and it shows. Compared to the Mosque Street branch, it is a lot more posh.
The chinaware and furniture are specially designed with imprints of the restaurant’s logo, and the modern Chinese interior decor boasts elements such as a stylised dragon on the ceiling and paintings of ancient emperors on the walls.
Those who are familiar with the older outlet will find all their favourite dishes here. But newbies can discover for themselves the restaurant’s signature items such as the XO carrot cake ($7.80, top), which it pioneered here three years ago and which has since been copied by several restaurants.
The version at the new outlet is just as good as the original. The soft carrot cake is pan-fried with crunchy beansprouts and egg, and has just a hint of spiciness from the XO sauce.
You can also try the dish combined with a baked rack of lamb ($24 a person), although this comes without beansprouts.
Other appetisers that are also very good include a combination of laksainfused prawn, mini kurobuta pork burger Chinese style, and cheesy bacon roll ($18 a person) as well as another combination of pan-seared foie gras, Peking duck and wasabi mayonnaise prawn ($18 a person).
Another favourite is the doubleboiled superior shark’s fin in supreme broth accompanied with crispy spring roll served in Japanese stone pot ($38.80 for 75g, above) – also a creation of the restaurant, which serves the broth in a heated stone bowl that keeps it warm to the last drop.
Generally, the cooking here is comparable to Mosque Street but one dish – braised vermicelli topped with simmered crabmeat ($22) – surpasses the original if my memory serves me right.
At lunch last week, it came at the end of a heavy meal when I was already stuffed.
But it was so good that it reawakened my appetite with the first mouthful. There was a hint of acidity in the rich gravy that gave clarity to the flavours, and the sweet slivers of crabmeat were a delight.
What is new at the Ion restaurant is that it serves dim sum at lunch.
There is an extensive selection and after tasting about 20 items over two lunches, I can’t find a single fault. At their worst, they are still decent – such as the siew mai ($4.50 for four pieces) and steamed spare rib ($3.60), which are standard fare.
But most are outstanding. The steamed custard bun ($3.60 for three), for example, is a ball of fluffy dough encasing a lava pool of delicious melted custard and salted egg yolk.
The cheong fun, which you can have wok-fried with XO sauce ($5.80) or steamed and served with sesame and seafood sauce ($4.60), is wonderfully smooth.
There are also original creations and I won’t be surprised if they are copied by other eateries soon.
One is the steamed Shanghai pork dumpling with foie gras ($4.80 for four), an inspired combination where the broth in the dumpling is enriched by the aroma of the gooseliver. It is one of the best uses of foie gras in Chinese cuisine that I’ve tasted.
Another is the century egg and pickled ginger in rice roll with wasabi mayonnaise ($4.40 for four, above). The idea is based on a classic Cantonese appetiser of century egg and ginger but packaged cleverly in a neat bundle that you can pop easily into your mouth.
The only hiccup so far is the service, which was slow at times, with some orders gone missing. But that is forgivable, considering how new the restaurant is and that it has been running full every day. Also, things have improved during each of my three visits, although the last time, I still got food that I had not ordered.
Otherwise, this is indeed a paradise for foodies and a welcome addition to Orchard Road.
TASTE PARADISE
04-07 Ion Orchard, No. 2 Orchard Turn
Tel: 6509-9660
Open: 11.30am to 2.30pm, (Mondays to Fridays), 11am to 2.30pm (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays), 5.30 to 10pm daily
Nearest MRT station: Orchard
Food: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ****
Price: Budget about $30 a person for dim sum and from $100 per person for a la carte
