Suzi’s Chinese Kitchen
1152 S. Lamar, 441-8400
Mon-Thu, 11am-10pm; Fri & Sat ’til 10:30pm; Sun, 4:30-10pm.
 photograph by John Anderson |
answer is Suzi’s Chinese Kitchen. Since opening just south of Ray Hennig’s
Heart of Texas Music in 1992, Suzi’s has gained recognition steadily, securing
the award of Best Chinese Restaurant in the 1995 Chronicle Readers’
Restaurant Poll and defending its title handily in 1996. Business has been so
rosy at Suzi’s, in fact, that fans in North Austin no longer have to journey
across the river to enjoy the restaurant’s mandarin cuisine thanks to the
recent opening of a second Suzi’s, Suzi’s Chinese Grill, on Anderson Lane.
A glance around the original location reveals why diners prefer its atmosphere
over the typical strip-mall setting that hampers many of Austin’s other Chinese
restaurants. The building’s wood-walled interior is decorated in a smart
black-and-white motif that prevails over the lone drawback of a drop ceiling.
Attractive paper shutters with wooden frames, serene paintings of wildlife, and
handsome prints depicting Chinese characters envelop a spacious room soothed by
flowering plants and ornamental trees. Even the obligatory fish tank — a
miniature thatched pagoda — seems happily in place at the center of the main
dining room.
The menu, too, is in sharp contrast to the norm. The chic gray-and-black
laminate shows little of the linguistic confusion of the usual Chinese dinner
list. The descriptions of the items are clear and concise, and although the
entr�e profiles are at times wanting in information, most diners will
appreciate Suzi’s nod toward communication. Patrons are invited, for example,
to enjoy the Arciero Chardonnay for its “ripe and complex [flavor] with green
apple and spice aromas.”
This attention to detail is consistent with Suzi’s specialty — mandarin
cuisine. Complex and cosmopolitan, mandarin food is the sophisticated fare of
northern China, of the government offices and courts of historic Beijing
(aka Peking). Sometimes referred to as classic Chinese cuisine, mandarin
includes famous dishes like Moo Shu Pork, a standout at Suzi’s. Served with
flour “pancakes,” which are more like lardless tortillas, the lightly sauced
mixture of charred pork and stir-fried vegetables is tucked inside a warm wrap
along with rich plum sauce to create the Far East’s exquisite answer to the
fajita ($6.95). Rounding the moo shu out with a cup of Hot and Sour Soup
($1.50), a mandarin staple of sundry ingredients in a peppery pork broth
seasoned with rice vinegar, is a fitting way for the uninitiated to acquaint
themselves with Suzi’s kitchen.
The restaurant’s portions and quality of ingredients are also impressive. The
Saut�ed Trio ($6.95) combines a gingery heap of tender beef, lean
chicken, and succulent shrimp with a rich, piquant Burgundy sauce (it’s worth
noting that this is the only item I’ve sampled at Suzi’s that registers on the
heat scale), while the Boneless Young Duckling with Ginger Root ($8.95)
features ample slices of choice duck breast and vegetables in a thin, sweet
sauce. (I found the latter dish one-dimensional until I discovered large,
scrumptious slivers of pungent ginger root hidden underneath the other
ingredients.) The menu’s best bargain, however, has to be the Emperor’s Choice,
which should be called the Peasant’s Preference: $5.50 for a pile of lightly
fried rice and chunks of tasty grilled pork, chicken, shrimp and vegetables,
the flavors of which erupt with a touch of soy sauce.
While Suzi’s is at home with mandarin fare, it wanders into other regional
Chinese cuisine with mixed results. Asked for his opinion about the Southern,
or Cantonese, appetizer Pan Fried Dumplings (six for $4.25), our waiter was
quick to warn us that it required about 20 minutes to prepare before heartily
offering his recommendation. The wait proved worth it. The spongy pockets of
flour dough offered perfect resistance to the tooth and the herbed pork inside
shone. The Fish Filet in Spicy Szechuan Sauce ($7.95), on the other hand, was a
disappointment. Covered with a sugary orange glaze reminiscent of a sweet and
sour sauce, the fried pieces of red snapper hardly exhibited the variety of
contrasting flavors and fiery kick of a Szechuan preparation. The dish’s
mildness shouldn’t have come as a surprise, however, as Szechuan is the only
Chinese cuisine to incorporate chile peppers to a significant degree, whereas
mandarin cooks are known for their light touch with seasonings, particularly
chiles.
If I have one complaint with Suzi’s, it has to do with something on which the
people there seemed to have worked extra hard: the menu. While the English is
precise, the designers have outsmarted themselves by listing descriptions of
many dishes that Westerners know by common names. Thus, Kung Pao Chicken
becomes Chicken Peanut, Peking Duck becomes Crispy Duck, and so on. Sometimes
the scheme works. It’s nice to know what comes in the Shark Fin Soup with Crab
Meat ($4.95) (shark fin meat is tasty, with a consistency according to my
dining companion that is “like Silly Putty, but it gives”) or anticipate a
satiny sip of the delightful Velvet Corn Soup with Crab Meat ($1.95). But how
does the unsuspecting diner know that the Stir Fried Noodle and not the Pan
Fried Noodle refers to Lo Mein (which comes with some tasty scallops, but at
$7.25 I’d go with the fried rice)? And what if he or she has always wanted to
try a good version of General Tsao’s Chicken but isn’t quite sure under which
of Suzi’s ambiguous entries it falls?
Granted, however, my lament is minor. Semantics aside, Suzi’s offers an
ecclectic assortment of quality Chinese food that is at its best exceptional
and at its worst better than the stuff served at most other joints in town.
Given that the restaurant’s atmosphere serves only to augment the food, it’s
fair to say that Suzi’s has earned its reputation. Most importantly, as I can
attest to at this very moment, Suzi’s food passes the Chinese-leftovers test.
Is there anything as comforting as a pair of chopsticks and some good cold
fried rice?
This article appears in January 24 • 1997 and January 24 • 1997 (Cover).