This Asian Restaurant In Paceville Is The Only Place You Need To Be If You Love Dumplings
Over the last decade, Paceville has slowly been taken over by a single brand. Hugo’s has set a new standard for central Paceville eateries and upscale bars, and has set the whole mini-entertainment village in a certain direction.
Hugo’s lounges have won over the hearts of many club-goers who were looking for someone a bit more luxurious and were willing to pay for it. But many people hold this against the brand, seeing the Hugo’s name as a gentrifier that is spreading throughout the chaotic wildlands that were/are Paceville.
In the middle of the ‘Hugo Quarter’ – as it might as well be named due to the concentration of Hugo-affiliated outlets there – sits Baccos Sticks and Sum by Hugo’s.
While Hugo’s Lounge serves some really good – and pretty pricey – sushi, Sticks and Sum is focused on dumplings and dim sum.
They’ve got steamed, deep-fried, pan-fried dim sum, as well as a cool assortment of sticks and skewers, as well as some Chef’s specials and noodles and rice.
Sichuan beef gua bao
€6.25
We started off by ordering some steamed beef buns with red chilli and spring onions.
If you’ve ever dined at a Hugo’s establishment, you know what to expect from the service: slightly stand-offish, not especially helpful, and constantly trying to up-sell. Do you, boo, I guess.
The baos were tasty though, with the sichuan style flavouring enough to satisfy any Rick and Morty fan.
Cantonese duck dumplings
€6.25
Probably the stars of the show, mainly due to the really strange-yet-awesome gelatinous exterior. The translucent pastry is a really interesting take on the usual dim sum pastry, and the texture is a cool mix between jelly and dumpling pastry.
Pan-fried pork dumplings
€6.25
These crispy little bundles of joy are filled with a minced pork and spring onion mixture. The soft filling matches very well with the crunchy exterior and was pretty much what I was hoping for.
Skewer platter
€16.95
This 12 piece platter featured a bunch of flavours, and is definitely a site to see. However, the actual flavours were a bit underwhelming, with just two of the six flavours really making an impression with our group.
Deep-fried salt and pepper pork ribs
€7.95
It was the first time I had ever tried deep-fried ribs, and I couldn’t miss the opportunity. And, somehow, even though it shouldn’t work, it really does. The ribs became super dry – in a good way – giving it a really interesting texture that was really different than normally cooked ribs.
The lack of BBQ flavouring or any glaze let the flavour of the pork ribs really shine.
Egg fried rice
€4.95
Possibly the only dish that was decently sized, this served as a great side to all the different flavours we were getting from the mains. This is also one of the few basic dishes you will find offered in any Hugo’s establishment.
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