MENU: Su Zhou

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Comfort food for rainy-day blues
By Margaux Salcedo
Inquirer
Last updated 05:31am (Mla time) 09/02/2007
It rained, it rained
It poured, it stormed
It shuddered, it thundered
It whistled, it blew

Imprisoned at home
I ran to the phone
And found comfort
In dialing Su Zhou :-)

MANILA, Philippines – Like most Filipino city rats, my comfort foods of choice rotate among Pinoy home cooking, pizza and Chinese food. So when stormy weather forces us to stay home and watch bad TV and inebriated by the music of the rain, by force of habit I find myself dialling 73737 (that's North Park, by the way, not Su Zhou).

Residents of the Greenhills and Wilson areas are much luckier because their choices for Chinese take-out far outnumber those for residents of other locations, save for Ongpin. It was in the Greenhills-Wilson area that I found a great neighborhood restaurant called Su Zhou.

Like a real Chinese resto, Su Zhou is a no-frills, no-nonsense joint. So for those who are after frills—ambience, coziness, dim lights—it would be wise to skip over to Fu instead at Serendra, The Fort; Su Zhou would not be the restaurant for you. The walls here are painted a simple flat white and green, they don't even have the same chairs and the lights are simple Chinese-themed lanterns.

But if you are a real foodie and can delight in a meal amid an austere setting, by all means visit this restaurant. Like the residents of San Juan and contiguous neighborhoods who fill the restaurant at different hours of the day, you'll grow accustomed to the place.

At the top of the To Order list are the dumplings. In fact, in my humble opinion, it's the dumplings that make this Chinese diner. A must try is the Special Xiao Long Pao. Not to be confused with their siopao, which they instead call Ah Pao, this meat dumpling is the size of a mini pao and shaped just like so, which is probably why it has the word “pao” in its name. And it is special because it has a pleasant surprise inside: unlike the dry siopao, this dumpling contains broth! So when you bite into it, you feel a burst of warm liquid against the soft dumpling shell and the rugged ground meat. As if that wasn’t enough, to add to the texture action going on, Su Zhou also saucers the dumplings with a thin slice of carrot. This adds a bit of crunch as you bite into the Xiao Long, making each bite an extraordinary experience.

Not too far behind is the Pan Fried Kuchay and Pork Dumpling. The ground pork inside is mashed with what tastes like a generous amount of chives and other greens. And contrary to what I expected, only the bottom is pan fried, adding a bit of crunch to the otherwise soft, steamed dough. The pan frying here seems to take the place of the crunchy carrot, which is absent for the Kuchay Dumpling but again makes an appearance with their Shrimp and Pork Dumpling, my dumpling of choice on another occasion. But I liked both because they were tasty, filling and fresh and because they really reminded me of the fresh dumplings I had in Guilin, China earlier this year. The only other restaurant where I have found such dumplings in this country is Dong Bei in Chinatown, which was introduced to me a few months ago by Ivan Dy of Old Manila Walks (oldmanilawalks.com).

Other than the dumplings, the noodles are also highly recommended. By noodles I mean the soup noodles, not the stir-fried dish. I ordered the Stir Fried Beef Noodles once and it seemed like the cook just slammed everything in sight into the dish. It reminded me of my dad’s cooking, which I would describe as boy scout survival cooking (sorry, dad, you know we love you heaps anyway!). On the one hand it will keep you from going hungry; on the other, it ends there. It can be tasty but unlike a symphony playing one cohesive note, its taste resembles a beginner rock band playing all out of tune. A solution for a hungry stomach, but not for one seeking to dine and not just devour. For those seeking better taste, the soupy Special Taiwan Beef Noodle hits the right note and sings the right melody. A huge bowl of filling noodles that is awarded a star on the menu (meaning it is a bestseller of the restaurant), this noodle dish is just slightly spicy and perfect after a long day or on a cold, rainy day.

A curious dish that I tried on a day I was feeling adventurous was the Drunken Chicken in Hot Pot. You wonder why the meat on this dish does not taste like your ordinary white chicken; instead it tastes a little too much like dark meat. Maybe it had a little too much to drink. So I have been more appreciative of the sober Fish in Tausi Sauce instead. The tofu in this dish is presented in generous blocks, served hot so the tofu melts in your mouth. The way it is mixed also creates a very flavorful, Asian experience for the customer.

Overall, Su Zhou is a great Chinese neighborhood restaurant. It reminds me of those Chinese restaurants in Hollywood movies where the owners and customers know each other by their first names; where the customers have the menu memorized by heart and the owner has the customer’s favorites memorized as well. The owner was never around the times that I dined but Luchi, a chatty waitress, usually remembers faces and favorites.

Reliable and just around the corner, Su Zhou makes me dial for dumplings to keep the storm at bay even when it’s on its way... to make the living easy, even when it isn’t summertime!

Su Zhou Dimsum. A. Mabini cor. Araullo Street, Mandaluyong City. Call (02) 721-6105.