Pabu - Collingwood

We celebrated our wedding anniversary at Pabu a Japanese Sake & Grill no frill joint which serves tapas size shared portions. I had to book two weeks in advance as this place is pretty popular and you won't get a table trying to book it a day before I should know as I tried and failed. So to be safe I make reservations well ahead of time to guarantee a spot.

The moment we stepped into the restaurant we were greeted by enthusiastic staff, our wait staff  showed us to our table that had the reserved tag. She handed us our menu and explain how the concept worked and even suggested a few of their best sellers without hesitation we ordered them.

We had reservations for 7.30pm so by the time we got there we were famished and fortunately we did not have to wait for long before our dishes got served to us. As soon as one dish was finish the next one arrived to our table, I like how it flowed one after another.

Tempura Vegetables

First was the tempura vegetables note that I cannot remember the name of the dishes as they were in Japanese so I have given you what I thought the dish was. The batter was light and crispy and not at all greasy. The vegetables were still fresh and crisp.

Gyu Tataki

Then it was followed by the gyu tataki which was thinly slice beef drizzled with mayonnaise, spring onions and ginger. The beef was so fresh it just dissolved in your mouth, the dressing had the right balance of sour, spice and sweetness. The spring onions and sesame seed gave it crunch.

Chicken Kaarage

Next came the chicken kaarage which they use the chicken spare ribs part which was nicely coated with batter and fried to crispy golden perfection, the meat was juicy and tender as you bite into it. It was serve with wasabi mayo that left a good heat as it dissolve on your tongue.

Salmon Sashimi

We were recommended the kingfish sashimi but I was not a fan of kingfish so we opted for the salmon instead, and again this dish did not fail. The salmon was fresh and got quite a few pieces from the small serve we ordered.

Soft shell crab

We are a big fans of soft shell crab so we did not think twice of ordering the next dish, the crab was fried to golden crispiness and there was no hint of grease on it. It was serve with a light salad with mayo dressing and sweet chilli sauce.

Mixed grill

The dish up next was the mixed grill which was one of their chef recommendations, it consisted of chicken balls, pork belly, beef steak, tofu skin and chicken pieces. each serve with their own individual dressing sauce on top. All of it was good although we all agreed that the best was the chicken balls and tofu skin.

Sizzling beef teriyaki

Each dish that was served up was a treat to the senses and the sizzling beef teriyaki was no different, the beef was tender and the teriyaki sauce complimented the dish well. It was serve with mash sweet potato on the side which was really good too.

Soft shell crab roll

By this time we were full and we had one last dish to go, which was the soft shell crab sushi roll that came in a generous size. They had a generous serving of crab in the roll and although we were full each mouthful was just a delight. The spicy mayo left a slight heat on the tongue nothing too hot that we cannot handle.

Overall we enjoyed the experience at Pabu and will definitely be back over and over again. And if you have read my review I suggest you make reservations soon to try it out yourself.


Location:
190 Smith St
Collingwood
VIC 3066