Pacific Seafood BBQ House, South Yarra by Big Fil

Pacific Seafood BBQ House provides Hong Kong style Chinese food in what until a few years ago was a wasteland for reasonably priced eating, Toorak Road near Chapel Street. Its somewhere I was keen to try as I had heard such conflicting things about it from friends, some of whom raved about it and others who swore they would never return.



On entering first impressions were mixed. The place is busy and lively but also looking a little thread worn, certainly more so than its Lonsdale Street cousin. The complementary bowl of vegetable soup was appreciated on a cold and wet night while waiting for the ordered food to arrive.



The seafood san choi bao was generous in size but disappointingly bland, not tasting of anything much in particular. The moisture content of the filling was also a bit high, giving the whole thing a slightly sloppy texture.



Much better were the mains. The crispy skin pork (siu yuk) was generous in size with the skin crisp not chewy, the meat sweet and not overly fatty. While not quite melt in the mouth tender, it was one of the better examples of this dish I've had around town. Not the healthiest option to order, but very tasty.



Next was the beef brisket in claypot. The beef was nicely tender and moist, and full of gelatinous beef tendons. To me the tendons were the best part of the dish, picking up the flavour of the sauce and providing a contrasting texture to both the pieces of beef and the bok choy at the bottom of the pot.



The last dish ordered was the whole fried flounder in spicy salt. While dealing with the bones can be a little annoying, I love whole fried fish and the one at Pacific Seafood BBQ was quite good. To be picky the skin could have been a little crisper and the flesh a little more moist, but for a fairly cheap restaurant the quality was more than acceptable.



Overall
Pacific Seafood BBQ is all about good quality food, delivered fast and at a reasonable price. It does a good job filling the gap between the cheap, student oriented eateries and mid-range restaurants.

I wouldn't come here to chat or linger, particularly at peak meal times. Its not that sort of place and if it was something else would probably need to give (most likely the prices). Friends who don't like the place don't talk about the food or prices but that they felt that they were being pushed out the door the moment they finished. But if you want something fast which is much better than fast food, the service is very efficient and its easy to order, eat and pay in well under an hour.

Verdict
Food - 8
Service - 7
Ambience - 6
Price - 7

Address
Shop 1, 210 Toorak Road
South Yarra VIC 3141
Tel: (03) 9826 3838