Paradise Dynasty, a globally expanding Chinese restaurant best known for its colorful assortment of xiao long bao soup dumplings, is listed among the "Current & Upcoming Brands at RaDD" in recently circulated merchandising materials for IQHQ's Research and Development District. The documents place the restaurant within the Alley portion of the six-block waterfront complex, adding another significant dining tenant to a project that has increasingly evolved into a high-profile hospitality, retail and lifestyle destination. The forthcoming restaurant would mark Paradise Dynasty's first San Diego location and continue the Singapore-based brand's relatively recent expansion into the United States.
Paradise Dynasty is part of Paradise Group, a Singapore restaurant company founded by Eldwin Chua that has grown into an international hospitality business with restaurants throughout Asia and a growing presence in Southern California. The company opened its first U.S. Paradise Dynasty at Costa Mesa's South Coast Plaza in 2021 and expanded to The Americana at Brand in Glendale in November 2025.
The restaurant's calling card is its visually distinctive "Specialty Dynasty Xiao Long Bao," an assortment of colorful soup dumplings featuring flavors that have included original Kurobuta pork, black truffle, crab roe, cheese, garlic, Szechuan, kimchi and barbecue pulled pork. The dumpling wrappers derive their colors from ingredients including beet, carrot and spinach rather than simply relying on artificial coloring.
While the rainbow-hued dumplings have become Paradise Dynasty's social-media-friendly signature, the menu extends well beyond xiao long bao. Its Southern California restaurants serve an expansive collection of Chinese dishes including pan-fried noodles, fried rice, hot and sour soup, vegetable dishes, pork and seafood preparations, handmade dumplings, buns and appetizers.
The concept has inevitably drawn comparisons with Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese restaurant empire that helped turn soup dumplings into a mainstream American dining obsession. Paradise Dynasty has even repeatedly opened near - and competed directly with - Din Tai Fung. Its first U.S. restaurant debuted at South Coast Plaza, where Din Tai Fung also operates, while its Glendale branch moved directly into Din Tai Fung's former space at The Americana after the Taiwanese chain relocated across the street to Glendale Galleria.
The San Diego restaurant would introduce that competition to another major Southern California market. Din Tai Fung already operates a hugely popular location at Westfield UTC in La Jolla, while Paradise Dynasty's arrival downtown would give San Diegans another internationally recognized destination centered around xiao long bao.
Paradise Dynasty is also the latest surprise to emerge from updated plans for RaDD. SanDiegoVille recently reported that the same leasing materials identify Los Angeles nightlife impresario Brent Bolthouse's The Bungalow as another incoming tenant. The popular indoor-outdoor bar and lounge concept had actually announced plans for a massive San Diego location at Westfield UTC back in 2018, but that project never materialized. Its appearance at RaDD signals that The Bungalow is finally preparing to enter the San Diego market nearly eight years later.
The two newly revealed concepts join a roster that demonstrates how dramatically the waterfront project's identity has evolved. Other current or planned RaDD tenants include luxury fitness club Equinox, electric vehicle maker Rivian, San Diego-born sandwich chain Board & Brew, Philz Coffee, upscale Mexican restaurant Javier's Finest Food of Mexico and home furnishings retailer The Shade Store.
Paradise Dynasty's arrival is particularly interesting because SanDiegoVille previously reported that Paradise Group was planning to bring a different concept, Le Shrimp Noodle Bar, to RaDD. The Singapore-based noodle restaurant was expected to open in the Alley portion of the development after making its U.S. debut in Orange County. However, Le Shrimp no longer appears among the brands identified in the latest RaDD merchandising materials, while Paradise Dynasty is now prominently listed instead.
It is presently unclear whether Paradise Group replaced the planned Le Shrimp with Paradise Dynasty or whether Le Shrimp could still be involved elsewhere in the development. Either way, the updated materials indicate Paradise Dynasty is now part of RaDD's planned restaurant lineup.
The restaurant adds further momentum to the public-facing portion of a development whose original purpose has faced substantial challenges. IQHQ envisioned the approximately 1.7-million-square-foot RaDD as a transformative urban life-science campus when it began redeveloping the former Navy Broadway Complex along San Diego Bay. The project spans six city blocks near the USS Midway Museum and InterContinental San Diego and includes laboratories and offices alongside restaurants, retail, public spaces and waterfront amenities.
Demand for the project's enormous amount of life-science space proved far weaker than initially anticipated, leaving much of the campus without the biotech tenants that were supposed to anchor it. In contrast, RaDD's retail, restaurant and lifestyle components have steadily gained traction, potentially transforming what was conceived primarily as a workplace into a destination in its own right.
The addition of Paradise Dynasty and The Bungalow could accelerate that transition considerably. Rather than relying exclusively on office workers to activate the property, both concepts have the potential to attract customers specifically to the waterfront - one through its internationally recognized soup dumplings and the other through its established nightlife following.
No opening date has yet been announced for Paradise Dynasty at RaDD, and the company has not publicly detailed the size, menu or design of its San Diego restaurant.
Paradise Dynasty is planned for IQHQ's RaDD development along San Diego's downtown waterfront. For more information about Paradise Dynasty, visit paradisegp.com.
Originally published on August 26, 2026.
The concept has inevitably drawn comparisons with Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese restaurant empire that helped turn soup dumplings into a mainstream American dining obsession. Paradise Dynasty has even repeatedly opened near - and competed directly with - Din Tai Fung. Its first U.S. restaurant debuted at South Coast Plaza, where Din Tai Fung also operates, while its Glendale branch moved directly into Din Tai Fung's former space at The Americana after the Taiwanese chain relocated across the street to Glendale Galleria.
The San Diego restaurant would introduce that competition to another major Southern California market. Din Tai Fung already operates a hugely popular location at Westfield UTC in La Jolla, while Paradise Dynasty's arrival downtown would give San Diegans another internationally recognized destination centered around xiao long bao.
Paradise Dynasty is also the latest surprise to emerge from updated plans for RaDD. SanDiegoVille recently reported that the same leasing materials identify Los Angeles nightlife impresario Brent Bolthouse's The Bungalow as another incoming tenant. The popular indoor-outdoor bar and lounge concept had actually announced plans for a massive San Diego location at Westfield UTC back in 2018, but that project never materialized. Its appearance at RaDD signals that The Bungalow is finally preparing to enter the San Diego market nearly eight years later.
The two newly revealed concepts join a roster that demonstrates how dramatically the waterfront project's identity has evolved. Other current or planned RaDD tenants include luxury fitness club Equinox, electric vehicle maker Rivian, San Diego-born sandwich chain Board & Brew, Philz Coffee, upscale Mexican restaurant Javier's Finest Food of Mexico and home furnishings retailer The Shade Store.
Paradise Dynasty's arrival is particularly interesting because SanDiegoVille previously reported that Paradise Group was planning to bring a different concept, Le Shrimp Noodle Bar, to RaDD. The Singapore-based noodle restaurant was expected to open in the Alley portion of the development after making its U.S. debut in Orange County. However, Le Shrimp no longer appears among the brands identified in the latest RaDD merchandising materials, while Paradise Dynasty is now prominently listed instead.
It is presently unclear whether Paradise Group replaced the planned Le Shrimp with Paradise Dynasty or whether Le Shrimp could still be involved elsewhere in the development. Either way, the updated materials indicate Paradise Dynasty is now part of RaDD's planned restaurant lineup.
The restaurant adds further momentum to the public-facing portion of a development whose original purpose has faced substantial challenges. IQHQ envisioned the approximately 1.7-million-square-foot RaDD as a transformative urban life-science campus when it began redeveloping the former Navy Broadway Complex along San Diego Bay. The project spans six city blocks near the USS Midway Museum and InterContinental San Diego and includes laboratories and offices alongside restaurants, retail, public spaces and waterfront amenities.
Demand for the project's enormous amount of life-science space proved far weaker than initially anticipated, leaving much of the campus without the biotech tenants that were supposed to anchor it. In contrast, RaDD's retail, restaurant and lifestyle components have steadily gained traction, potentially transforming what was conceived primarily as a workplace into a destination in its own right.
The addition of Paradise Dynasty and The Bungalow could accelerate that transition considerably. Rather than relying exclusively on office workers to activate the property, both concepts have the potential to attract customers specifically to the waterfront - one through its internationally recognized soup dumplings and the other through its established nightlife following.
No opening date has yet been announced for Paradise Dynasty at RaDD, and the company has not publicly detailed the size, menu or design of its San Diego restaurant.
Paradise Dynasty is planned for IQHQ's RaDD development along San Diego's downtown waterfront. For more information about Paradise Dynasty, visit paradisegp.com.
Originally published on August 26, 2026.
