Pacifica Cantonese

My friends and I decided to give Pacifica cantonese a try rather than going to our favorite place (Try Thai)
On arrival there was just one other set of diners there as it was quite early on a weekday. The restaurant itself is very sterile in my view, white walls and fancy curly cutlery, square plates etc all very upmarket but cold and unwelcoming, the restaurant is shaped like a square box.
We decided to go for the £25 per person banquet which we thought would give us good value and a nice mix of food.
The starter arrived which is described on the menu as Pacifica hor’s oeuvres (no less) this consisted of 6 small triangles of prawn toast, 6 small sticky ribs, 4 prawn parcels, 3 curry spring rolls which had been cut in half to make 6 pieces and some seaweed.
Even though they were tasty enough, I thought there would have been a more adventurous selection on offer.
Then came the duck, which came out looking like the chef could barely force himself to put some on the plate! There were 6 pancakes, enough for 2 pancakes each and there was JUST enough duck for those 6 pancakes, if you made them small and packed them with the 2 side plates full of cucumber they provided to beef the dish out a little. I felt a little short changed by this point and the duck was dry and old, like yesterday’s duck warmed up.
Finally the mains, Sizzling lamb with ginger and spring onions this was very nice, good flavor, lamb bit chewy butnice.
Sizzling Fillet Steak This tasted horrible, I cant even describe the taste, it was just blah with syrup! just remember when they say fillet steak (we think of yummy soft FILLET STEAK!) they actually mean tough thin tesco quick fry steak thats been filleted! theres a massive difference lol)
Sweet and sour Pork Same as it ever was, nothing special to say about it, tasted ok.
Yeung chow rice This was like boiled rice which had teeny bits of pork and peas egg etc but it wasnt stir fried it was boiled rice lol, could have made this at home myself to be fair.
Stir fried noodles They were the really skinny noodles which go dry and I was literally cutting it with my twisted knife and fork!
We didnt stay for the fruit platter, im sure we didn’t miss much.
SUMMARY I like a chinese where I can get good and dirty! lol, get my hands in there and feel comfortable and share food with friends but this place thought far too much of itself without having the excellent food nessasary to carry such notions off. The owner must have an ego the size of Ben Nevis!
The food produced was little and no better than that I could find in many different Chinese restaurants around town except it felt so posh and over done you couldn’t relax, you felt like you were being terribly uncouth by picking up the spare rib with your fingers lol
I Wont be back as it simply gave me no reason to. Im a little perplexed over the gushing reviews on trip advisor, all I can say is you must get out more this is NOT the best chinese in manchester. perhaps the best looking, but its style over substance.

I’ve probably racked up about 10 visits to this little gem, so I thought it best to write a review.
First thing that will grip you is the beautiful décor, no red and gold and not a dragon in sight, expertly avoiding the tired and dates clichés that plague Manchester’s Chinatown. The staff are very friendly, again not something you experience at your average Chinese Buffet Restaurant, I generally find they can be very pushy on occasion and try to rush you in and out the door. The menu is diverse and interesting, I always make a point to sample the wonderful dim sum, and follow usually with a spectacular birds nest dish. One of the best things about Pacifica is that it is consistent, in all of my outings to this place the standard is always exceptionally high, never a bad meal, never a mistake on the bill and always wonderful service.
The karaōke bar upstairs is a great laugh and perfect for large groups, the balcony is a nice area to relax in the summer, and the bar stays open a lot later than the decidedly grotty Eccles pubs.
All in all, it’s a wonderful place, serving what I’d class as the best Chinese food in Manchester (yes that includes you, Yang Sing), some very reasonable prices, and by avoiding the overpriced areas of the city centre, this remains a not so hidden gem among the people of Salford. Complimented by stunning surroundings and beautiful food, it has left me no choice but to abandon my usual takeaways and devote all of my Chinese food cravings to Pacifica.
FAO Pacifica, DO NOT CHANGE, YOU ARE PERFECT!

I was really surprised by my visit to Pacifica. When I first arrived here, I sat at the bar waiting for my friends to arrive and had therefore spent my time pre-​judging the restaurant on its décor alone. To me the clean lines, white leather upholstery and blue lighting made it feel cold and sterile, almost intimidating. Yet after a couple of Stolichnaya Vanil and Tonic cocktails served by a very friendly bartender, somehow the colour scheme felt calming and tranquil. Funny that.
Once I was sat down, it only got better. This Cantonese restaurant and Dim Sum bar offers high quality cuisine and great service. We started off with a mixed plate of dim sum and a couple of steamed char siu bao (sweet buns filled with barbecue pork, and a personal favourite of mine) to share, which were practically inhaled by my table in seconds.
For my main I ordered Pacifica sirloin steak, a twist on a regular sirloin as it’s prepared in the wok with onions, straw mushrooms and oyster sauce. The meat was cooked perfectly medium rare as requested and for £12 was a healthy size and premium quality. Absolutely no complaints. My friend ordered the hot and spicy Sichuan mussels which were the talk of the table: served with crushed ginger, garlic and chilli sauce, they had some kick to them.
Somehow, with cocktails and wine included, our bill came to less than £30 a head. You didn’t see any of us complaining, it could have been twice the price and we’d still have been happy!

This place opened relatively recently (I think it used to be a different Chinese) and has stiff competition as it is next to the Eccles institution that is Smith’s bistro.
But I have to say that it did itself proud. The food was excellent — better than several restaurants I’ve been to in Chinatown recently (including the Little Yang Sing). A very well thought out banquet menu with great dim sum, lovely crispy duck, and a fantastic choice of mains. Really tasty food that just didn’t stop arriving at the table! It was very good value for money, and all served in a very stylish setting.
The only downsides were that it was a bit quiet and lacked atmosphere (but it was a Tuesday night, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt), and generally it was a bit cold (A TV fire will not do — please turn the heating on, it’s winter!!)
But it’s definitely worth a try.