Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/943656
maltatoday SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2018 This Week 37 WHEN I hear about Bacco's, it's usually accompanied with a story of late nights and bad decisions. In the heart of Paceville, on the world's dingiest steps, this bar heaves with sweaty bodies searching for highs well into the early hours of the morning. But what I've also heard about Bacco's is that they also serve some pretty spectacular food between noon and 11pm, before the party- goers hit. Armed with this knowledge, I braved the steps, which look worse in the light of day when it's less busy, and settled at a table that looks like it's seen better days. The stools are peeling, the menus are even worse but so many people can't be wrong about this place, can they? The placemat has some endear- ing information about dim sum, literally translated as "touch your heart", and this is exactly what the meal promises to do. Originally served in China as quick lunch, these are served much like Spanish tapas – lots of small dishes for serv- ing. The best way to do this is to go in groups of four (or larger groups divisible by four) as each dish comes in four dumplings. To make the most of your meal, if you want to try as many things as possible, be- ing in group of four means that you get one of everything, and you can order a greater variety. We decided to go for a mix of dim sum, leaving the soups, skewers and homemade noodles for another day. Whether you're looking for meat, THE RESTAURANT Santa Rita Steps, Paceville Tel: 2016 2498 Opening hours: Daily 12:00 – 4:00, serves food till 23:00 WHAT I ATE Fresh salmon shaomai Vietnamese prawn dumplings Mushroom dumplings Duck gua bao New style Cantonese vegetable rolls Pork dumplings Total: €17.30, excluding drinks fish or completely vegetarian, the selection is vast. I didn't ask if any of the options were vegan, but it looks like there's a pretty good chance that some of the dumplings are com- pletely animal-product free. The food comes out slowly, giv- ing you the chance to savour each of the flavours without being over- whelmed. We started with a veg- etarian option, mushroom dump- lings. Stuffed with mushrooms, coriander and fresh Thai chillies these dumplings were covered with a translucent pastry that was both soft and sticky and added incredible texture to the delicate flavour of the mushrooms. Another vegetarian option were the New style Cantonese vegetable rolls. These crunchy rolls are stuffed with egg, Chinese cabbage, carrot and bean sprouts, then rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. And what's more – they are not as oily as you might expect. The meatier options included pork dumplings with minced pork and spring onions, pan fried for a little bit of a crispy edge on the soft dumpling. Spicy duck served with cucum- ber and plum sauce is served in a soft steamed bun, the perfect com- bination of spicy and sweet and the texture of the bun is simply exqui- site. Two more fish options were on the way; fresh salmon shaomai, which are made with salmon, gin- ger and spring onions and the star of the show Vietnamese prawn dumplings, made with Argentinian prawns and coriander all wrapped up in a translucent pastry. The verdict of this meal? It is ab- solutely worth braving Paceville. If the way to a man's (or woman's) heart is through his (her) stomach, then this dim sum definitely hits the right spots, through your stom- ach and straight to your heart. Rachel Zammit Cutajar Bacco's Sticks and Sum by Hugo's