Paradise Dynasty - Singaporean XLB chain headed to LA

Indo-Malaysian, for the most part. As for SoCal, well, I usually just ask my Singaporean friends to bring some with them on the plane. I have seen similar types of things here and there, but they’ve never tasted as good as I’ve hoped them to taste–certainly I haven’t found anything as high quality as Bengawan Solo.

My particular favorites are the folded Love Letters, particularly if they have the durian ones, the Macadamia Sugee cookies, the Kueh Bangkit cookies, the Mini Shrimp Roll crackers, the Pandan Chiffon cake, and the Kueh Salat (like a pandan custard steamed on top of coconut rice).

@bulavinaka - If you can track down some of those shops’ names, I’d greatly appreciate it! I miss some of these flavors :anguished:

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I think it’s Tip Top Mart in San Gabriel. I don’t recall the others in that general area around Duarte/ West Covina area.

Pomona/Redlands area has some very good Indonesian and Singaporean eateries as well. Unfortunately, I’m not out that way very often.

I think 3rd St. Promenade is a weird and fickle beast.

Maybe. It gets foot traffic though.

you might want to think about why they have a chain in bali, where 80% of their industry is tourism. that tourism also make bali residents among the wealthiest in indonesia - but not the types i’d expect to see eating at paradise dynasty. so is bali unique, or is paradise dynasty more like a hard rock cafe? this is what prompts the question.

because…?

You do realize Paradise Dynasty is a Chinese restaurant chain originating from Indonesia’s neighbor Singapore (closest point being 20 miles apart) and majority of Chinese Indonesians have bank accounts in Singapore… and there’s probably a ton of Chinese tourists in Bali… and majority of Balinese are not Muslim and therefore pork is not an issue and Chinese food is after all the most ubiquitous cuisine in the world… Curious how you arrived at your conclusion on the peculiarities of opening in Bali and the assumption it serves crap food like HRC. Btw there is also a large concentration of luxe resorts in Bali, perhaps that might also be a target market.

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Must be from his frequent visits to Singapore.

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Totally agree with your observations. For those not familiar with this region, Singaporeans love traveling around Southeast Asia because of the favorable currency exchange rate. Batam is a super cheap and quick trip from Singapore. Bali for Singaporean tourists is a simple and short trip as well - about 2 1/2 hours. Lots of Aussies visit as well.

The food scene around Singapore has changed so much over the past 25 years. Back in the 90s, one would be hard pressed to find decent representations of European cuisines. Now, it seems all the major chefs owning food empires have elbowed into the island - similar to Vegas. And because this country has been a major hub for finance and commerce, its international draw has obviously influenced “traditional” foods like these xlb. Think about the moon cakes from here as well.

But this region has always been very accepting of borrowing, mixing and blending various ingredients and cuisines from any and all cultures that have been here over the centuries or were just passing through. My wife’s family’s roots are in Malacca, Malaysia - very close to Singapore. Its history goes back to at least the 15th century as a Malay sultanate. The Chinese arrived there centuries ago, and many intermixed with the Malays (Nyonya). The Portuguese, Dutch, British and Japanese have each also set down their hats there as well. For most, the intentions were mainly trade. And along with trade came spices and foods. So what is considered traditional can evolve or have off-shoots that may seem odd to some. But for many people in this region, it’s just a fun way to expand horizons.

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you said it yourself - tourists. thank you for making my point.

You forgot the “Chinese” part.

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They have a chain location in Bali for the same reason they are a chain in the first place–the business model was successful enough from Store 1 to warrant continued expansion.

With all due respect, I think in this case maybe you are conflating your personal dietary preferences with the “Chinese palate.” Exhibit A: Sun Nong Dan and their torch-fired cheese atop the Galbi Jjim. They’ve expanded into San Gabriel and Rowland Heights due to the K-Town originals popularity with the Chinese Fuerdai. 27 reviews on Yelp for the San Gabriel location mention ordering the cheese. Exhibit B: the youngest daughter in my Singaporean friends’ family is grossly lactose intolerant, but she loves her cheese anyway while the rest of us have to suffer when she doesn’t take her Lactaid. :mask:

Regardless, it looks like there’s 7 other kinds of XLB without cheese, so hopefully there’s something for everyone :wink:

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