Su Zhou Dimsum

Good to be back again. I gave myself a vacation from writing last month because my mother recently passed away on February 6, 2016 of natural causes. So I have to hold off working on posts that were in the pipe line. This post is dedicated to my mother Nora Reyes Vigilia, who nurtured my love for discovering and appreciating good food. And encouraging me to read all those encyclopedias and books she brought from La Salle grade school library along Taft (It was being phased out and they were disposing old books) were she worked as a faculty member and librarian. A lot of those books and along with the recipe books that she bought from the bookstores made me aware that beyond Lola's great cooking at home, there are a lot of awesome food out there just waiting to be discovered.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

New location since 2015

Location: 1740 Mabini Street, Malate, Manila.
House Specialty: Dimsum and Noodle dishes

Su Zhou Dimsum is located along Mabini street near (around 200 meters away from) the historic Malate Church. I first heard about this 24 hour chinese restaurant from Page (Food Spots researcher). After one of those late nights with her friends, they end up in this homey joint. She was so excited to tell me about her new find and we soon scheduled a food trip to Malate so I can try out the noodles and dimsum she was raving about.

So off we went to a portion of Malate that I seldom go to. There is so much going on in Malate and Ermita that I (a native of Manila city) might not be able to visit all those food joints in my lifetime hahaha.

Before we proceed, just a friendly reminder. If you find the pics looking like coming from an early 2000's pic album is because I am using a PS Vita to document my food trips.

Worth mentioning first is their house tea which they readily serve in a hot teapot while you are waiting for your dine in order. Unlike many japanese or chinese restaurants here in Manila where you would have to ask for it. For people not familiar with it, the house tea is most often for free and it is perfectly okay to ask for them if you are in such a place if they do not serve it to you at the onset.

Kuchay dumplings and a pot of house tea

My first order from Su Zhou which I shared with Page were the famous Xia Long Pao Dumplings (4 pcs for 100 pesos), Beef Noodle Soup (155 pesos) and the Fried Noodles with Beef (180 pesos). The noodle soup here comes in a big bowl. Good enough for two. I love the way the noodles snap whenever you bite it. The noodles here are never soggy. They are always perky! Somewhat like al dente because I think they are using a mix of rice and wheat flour. And if you are lucky, they might include a big piece of  braised beef chewy tendon in your bowl, just what I got in my last visit before posting this article! Yummy!

Mixed Meat Fried Noodles

Freshly steamed Xiao Long Pao Dumplings

Now the dumplings are something else. They use the same dough from their noodles so you get that "snap" in each bite. It is quite addicting. I'm not sure if everyone else experience the snap. Maybe it is just me, haha! For the xiao long pao, do not wait for the dumpling to cool down because you will just get an icky jelly instead of hot soup when you proceed to bite and slurp the hot filling inside. I usually eat xia long paos by picking it up with a chopstick and caressing it with the ceramic spoon. The idea is that when I begin eating the dumpling, all the juice that I'll miss will go to the spoon thereby avoiding wastage of good food. Instead of putting the whole thing in your mouth as there is a good chance the soup inside will be too hot and will just burn your taste buds. I also order Steamed Kuchay Dumplings (8 pcs for 130 pesos) when I have company. The kuchay dumplings which are actually made from ground pork and what have you (hehe) and a very generous portion of minced kuchay (like green onion) are pretty straight forward when it comes to devouring those dumplings.

A plate of Kuchay Dumplings

Make sure to dip them in their vinegar wine-ginger sauce, which is my fave, to add another dimension to the dumplings' taste or the chili oil if you prefer spicy food. Although I see some people who are used in eating siomai with the usual soy sauce and calamansi can request these items from the servers.

Awesome dumpling sauce

We wash it down with Su Zhou's house tea which I believe consists of a jasmine and oolong mix. That's so fun! That was one of the few moments that my tummy was so happy! Hot tea does wonder to our digestive system. And the tea will help you from not feeling too heavy nor dizzy from all those food. So we went home very happy on my first trip to Su Zhou.

Hot tea

Six years later, I find myself going back again and again to that wonderful dimsum spot. I've been visiting the place countless of times. They used to be located in an old building along Mabini street beside an equally awesome japanese izakaya place called Mizuzu. But since 2015, they moved to a better location to a new building just across the street from their original location. They share the building with Red Planet Hotel and 7-11. And a good thing is that they are still open 24 hours a day. Whenever I feel like it, after my last day of the week from work (which I log out early in the morning), I go to Manila Bay for a morning walk and have brunch at Su Zhou to start a perfect and relaxing day off from work.

Old and new signages

They also have branches in Greenhills and Binondo by the way. But I am loyal to the Malate branch because of their location hehe

My favorite noodle dish there are the beef noodle soup and the mixed meat fried noodles.They have their noodles swimming in a hearthy beef broth which includes chunks of braised beef, slivers of vegetables and seaweed for an extra umami kick. The fried noodles are delightful, recommended for those looking for delicious, greasy, affordable comfort food. I also tried the Spareribs Noodle Soup (155 pesos) and Goto Noodle Soup (160 pesos) . I recommend it if you are fan of pork ribs or beef tripe.

Beef Noodle Soup

Goto Noodle Soup

Next on my list is the dimsum dishes. You can order them by sets of four pieces (some dimsums come with 8 pcs). They also come as soup dishes. What always get me is the way they serve the vinegar wine-ginger sauce. The ginger slivers always seem to evoke a zen like random arrangement everytime the servers garnish the sauce. I also tried the Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (4 pcs for 130 pesos)

Xia long pao and a bowl of half eaten noodle soup

I also tried a few varieties of their fried rice: Su Zhou, Seafood, and Mustard (150 pesos per order). Which is good for two if you have ordered other carb items on the menu. One of the characteristics that I am looking for in a good fried rice is if they smell and taste like they were fried in a very hot cast iron wok or skillet. And the fried rice here taste like that. Awesome!

Su Zhou Fried Rice. Hmmm amoy kawali (It's a compliment).

If you like the idea of a cartilagenous beer food dish, I recommend the Beef Tendon dish (I forgot the price, will update this). They serve you a plate full of beef tendons drizzled with their braise sauce. Perfect with beer!

They also have congee dishes. I tried the Goto Congee and Pork with Century Egg Congee (Not sure if that is the name in the menu and I forgot the details will update). The goto is very much like the porridge with beef tripe (tuwalya) that you can eat at most lugawan joints. While the pork and century egg congee is self explanatory. They serve it in a big bowl, so if you are eating alone, you will be in trouble if you order more than 2 side dishes to go with their congee haha.

Pork and Century Egg Congee

When there are days that I just want to have a light meal, I either order the Dumpling Soup (will update also) or the Dumpling Noodle Soup (150 pesos) or Wanton Noodle Soup (155 pesos). They are kuchay and shrimp dumplings or wantons served in a clear soup and fresh noodles. They are light tasting but fills you up.

A lonely bowl of Dumpling Soup

Also a must try is their Mapo Tofu (will update). One order is good for 2 to 3. We like to jack up the hotness level of this dish with a few spoonfull of the house chili sauce available on the table.

Delicious Mapo Tofu

And there are too many items in their menu that I haven't tried all of them haha. And I won't even attempt to, I have lots of places to visit. But I sure will come back to this place as long as they serve good noodles and dimsum. Looking forward to another late night gig or event in Malate so we can have an after party food trip here.

After our band's performance in a 2015 halloween event in Malate. To end the night, we trooped to this joint to gorge on chinese food. With Page and Nono. 

Mustard Fried Rice

Service: What I like from their interior and general atmosphere is that they are not pretentious, very much like a mom and pop vibe, and they are open 24 hours a day. And they welcome everyone unlike this pioneering Ma mi restaurant along Quezon Avenue where we got the cold shoulder from waiters busy serving the"regular clients" (we sat there for 20 mins and nothing happened until we left while the other table already got their order). Staff are polite and helpful if you have questions about the menu. Place is clean enough and does not smell (that goes for the restrooms as well). Good airconditioning. Everyone will be comfortable here. Serving time is reasonable and they will tell you how long you will have to wait for dishes that will take time to prepare.

Menu: They will overwhelm you with choices hahaha. If you will be visiting them for the first time, I recommend a dumpling and a noodle dish order. You can also buy frozen dumplings for take out (will update details) which I don't do currently because I do not have time to cook or even reheat at home nowadays.

Value: 100 pesos for 4 pieces of quality xiao long pao dumplings, I do not expect someone who will complain about the price for this dimsum house. They should be affordable to everyone who regularly eat at fastfood restaurants... and considering Su Zhou serves real food.

What Food Spots say about Su Zhou:

RECOMMENDED

We urge everyone to try it out!