Spanish/Asian Small Plates : Pagu
Recently I had the opportunity to visit the relatively new restaurant PAGU in Cambridge with some friends.
The restaurant was dark and moody with a beautifully lit bar, and the menu features an interesting mix of Spanish and Asian cuisines. While this may seem odd at first, I quickly learned that when done well, this combination is surprisingly satisfying!
Because I was able to visit the restaurant with a few friends, we decided to order a handful of their small plates so we could sample a fair amount of the menu and share. The menu is divided into sections including chilled, pintxos (Spanish style snacks), vegetables, noodles & rice, meat, and seafood. We did our best to order one or two dishes from each section in order to sample as much as possible! Our first course was the Cheesy wafflato made with smoky mozzarella and caramelized shallots, coming from the pintxos part of the menu:
While my mouth was watering when we read the description on the menu, when the dish came I found that it was not very flavorful and not very cheesy. Every couple of bites I would get a chunk of mozzarella, but it was not as cheesy as I imagined when we placed the order. Honestly, I'm not sure I would order this particular dish again if I have the opportunity to return.
Our next course was the roasted mushroom mazemen with brown beech and bluefoot mushrooms, topped with a 6 minute egg and nori:
If you aren't familiar with the term, mazemen is a no-broth ramen: oodles of noodles in a saucy liquid, but not quite enough to make it as soupy as ramen. This dish was full of mushrooms that gave it a huge punch of umami flavor and the 6 minute egg on top had a nice runny yolk that added an extra layer of creaminess. I am a fan of mushrooms and this mazemen featured a nice variety that allowed for a couple different textures. This is also a great dish if you are not eating meat, since the mushrooms are so hearty and 'meaty'.
After the 'meaty' mushrooms, we were ready for some actual meat, so we ordered the jamon croquetas with tomato and vidueña (a type of olive):
Another simple, but delicious dish! The croquetas themselves weren't packed with flavor, but the sauce on the side was bright and acidic from the combination of tomato and olive. Dipping the croquetas into the sauce made for a well-balanced bite.
Following the croquetas was the tortilla Española, and we took the opportunity to 'make it a John Bush'. A typical Spanish tortilla is a layered dish made with potato and onion, and the 'John Bush' additions included a tomato jam topping with torched goat cheese.
I've had Spanish tortillas before, and I remember them being heavier on the potato and onion, and lighter on the egg. This dish seemed more like a potato and onion quiche, since there was such a high volume of egg, which wasn't bad - just not what I was expecting. The tomato jam and goat cheese were a great topping choice to what would otherwise have been a fairly bland dish. You can top anything with goat cheese and I'll be happy to eat it!
Our next choice was the chicken katsu with PAGU sauce, cabbage, and an aged soy alioli:
It's pretty hard to mess up fried chicken - regardless of cuisine - and PAGU knocked this one out of the park. The panko breadcrumbs remained super crispy and crunchy, keeping the chicken inside moist and tender. There was not a lot of flavoring on the chicken when eaten alone so the soy alioli was a nice compliment, bringing some salt and creaminess into the dish.
The next and final course to our meal was the pork belly bao bun with pickled cucumber, peanut, and cilantro:
I cannot properly express how much I love steamed bao buns, so when I saw this on the menu I knew I had to give it a try! The buns were just as they should be: soft, delicate, and cloud-like in texture. The pork belly (another favorite of mine) was braised long enough to get nice and tender - no chewy fat in sight. I'm not a fan of cucumbers so I was tempted to pick them out of the bun, but the subtle tang from them being slightly pickled helped cut through the heavy pork belly. Topping it off with fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts added some needed texture since the bun and the pork were both so soft. This was my favorite dish of the night and I am already planning a trip back to order another round of buns, and to check out the rest of the menu!
Have you been to PAGU yet? What is your favorite dish to order from their menu?
The restaurant was dark and moody with a beautifully lit bar, and the menu features an interesting mix of Spanish and Asian cuisines. While this may seem odd at first, I quickly learned that when done well, this combination is surprisingly satisfying!
Because I was able to visit the restaurant with a few friends, we decided to order a handful of their small plates so we could sample a fair amount of the menu and share. The menu is divided into sections including chilled, pintxos (Spanish style snacks), vegetables, noodles & rice, meat, and seafood. We did our best to order one or two dishes from each section in order to sample as much as possible! Our first course was the Cheesy wafflato made with smoky mozzarella and caramelized shallots, coming from the pintxos part of the menu:
While my mouth was watering when we read the description on the menu, when the dish came I found that it was not very flavorful and not very cheesy. Every couple of bites I would get a chunk of mozzarella, but it was not as cheesy as I imagined when we placed the order. Honestly, I'm not sure I would order this particular dish again if I have the opportunity to return.
Our next course was the roasted mushroom mazemen with brown beech and bluefoot mushrooms, topped with a 6 minute egg and nori:
If you aren't familiar with the term, mazemen is a no-broth ramen: oodles of noodles in a saucy liquid, but not quite enough to make it as soupy as ramen. This dish was full of mushrooms that gave it a huge punch of umami flavor and the 6 minute egg on top had a nice runny yolk that added an extra layer of creaminess. I am a fan of mushrooms and this mazemen featured a nice variety that allowed for a couple different textures. This is also a great dish if you are not eating meat, since the mushrooms are so hearty and 'meaty'.
After the 'meaty' mushrooms, we were ready for some actual meat, so we ordered the jamon croquetas with tomato and vidueña (a type of olive):
Another simple, but delicious dish! The croquetas themselves weren't packed with flavor, but the sauce on the side was bright and acidic from the combination of tomato and olive. Dipping the croquetas into the sauce made for a well-balanced bite.
Following the croquetas was the tortilla Española, and we took the opportunity to 'make it a John Bush'. A typical Spanish tortilla is a layered dish made with potato and onion, and the 'John Bush' additions included a tomato jam topping with torched goat cheese.
I've had Spanish tortillas before, and I remember them being heavier on the potato and onion, and lighter on the egg. This dish seemed more like a potato and onion quiche, since there was such a high volume of egg, which wasn't bad - just not what I was expecting. The tomato jam and goat cheese were a great topping choice to what would otherwise have been a fairly bland dish. You can top anything with goat cheese and I'll be happy to eat it!
Our next choice was the chicken katsu with PAGU sauce, cabbage, and an aged soy alioli:
It's pretty hard to mess up fried chicken - regardless of cuisine - and PAGU knocked this one out of the park. The panko breadcrumbs remained super crispy and crunchy, keeping the chicken inside moist and tender. There was not a lot of flavoring on the chicken when eaten alone so the soy alioli was a nice compliment, bringing some salt and creaminess into the dish.
The next and final course to our meal was the pork belly bao bun with pickled cucumber, peanut, and cilantro:
I cannot properly express how much I love steamed bao buns, so when I saw this on the menu I knew I had to give it a try! The buns were just as they should be: soft, delicate, and cloud-like in texture. The pork belly (another favorite of mine) was braised long enough to get nice and tender - no chewy fat in sight. I'm not a fan of cucumbers so I was tempted to pick them out of the bun, but the subtle tang from them being slightly pickled helped cut through the heavy pork belly. Topping it off with fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts added some needed texture since the bun and the pork were both so soft. This was my favorite dish of the night and I am already planning a trip back to order another round of buns, and to check out the rest of the menu!
Have you been to PAGU yet? What is your favorite dish to order from their menu?
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