Pan Asian BBQ, Nottingham

It’s been a long time coming but finally I’m taking the pressure off Hannah and writing a blog entry myself.

Fairly recently, a new restaurant opened up on Upper Parliament Street under the name of Pan Asian BBQ. As soon as I saw the name, I knew this was somewhere I wanted to eat. It took us a while to get round to it, but we eventually went.

You walk in Pan Asia and are greeted by welcoming staff who sit you down quickly. The décor is extremely fitting for the theme of the restaurant but doesn’t feel cheap or tacky. Each table has a circular metal disk in the centre which houses the BBQ (sadly this was not on during the time we went).

Shortly after entering you are handed a menu. At first look, the menu can seem daunting, especially if you are unaccustomed to East Asian food. Staff are friendly and can offer excellent suggestions for those who are struggling.

We quickly ordered our drinks, both choosing iced tea, and continued to look at the menu. We finally settled on our choices and placed our order.

To start with we went for Japanese Starter Selection; this was meant for two and consisted of 2 tempura prawns, 4 satay chicken skewers, a cup of miso soup, 4 samosas, 4 vegetable spring rolls and 2 gyozas. There was very little I could fault about the platter and a lot I could praise. The satay sauce is one the best satays I have had and is something that I would definitely go back for. Gyozas were tasty and exactly what I was expecting. I would recommend this starter, especially for those who are a little nervous when looking at the menu.

I had then chosen the Korean Kimchi Beef Hotpot. This came with a side of rice and was absolutely delicious. Within the pot were strips of beef, tofu, mushrooms and kimchi cabbage – this was then topped with a fried egg. All of this was surrounded by a delicious soup that took a lot of its flavouring from the kimchi. I found this spot on, not too hot but a really nice heat running through the entire meal. Subsequently to our first visit, we took some friends to Pan Asia, two of whom chose the Kimchi Beef Hotpot on my recommendation and both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hannah chose a vegetarian option from the menu. This was from the Big Bowl Noodle Soup section of the menu and consisted of large udon noodles and sweet tofu submerged in miso soup broth. This sweet tofu was delicious and we could have only wanted more. The stock used for the soup was overly salty, especially for the amount that had been given. This dish was definitely missing something. If this was to be ordered again I would recommend an accompanying dish to be ordered simply to give a change in texture and flavour.

As I’ve said throughout this review, I was really happy with Pan Asian BBQ and went with some other friends shortly after our first visit, we were all delighted with our choices once again. It is definitely a restaurant that has joined our ‘go to’ list when we are struggling to decide! It is a refreshing change to go to an Asian restaurant that isn’t an all you can eat.