The flavorful upscale Chinese menu

By Nam-Doo Kim

Enjoying Chinese food is no longer extraordinary to Americans; has become one of the most popular dining options in Austin. Several Chinese eateries are filled with people and to-go orders come out of them in a steady stream.

Why do so many Austinites love Chinese food? Do they actually find a unique and enjoyable value from it? Or do they think it’s relatively cheap compared to other western competitors?

"Suzi’s China Grill," which is located at the crossroad of Shoal Creek and Anderson Lane, has the answer. It was Mark Wu, a journalism graduate student from Taiwan, who took me to the quality restaurant on a Monday evening in October. It was obvious that the dining spot successfully gathered its customers, most of who were non-Asians. And it wasn’t so cheap; most of its entrees came around $10 or higher.

We began our dining venture with the Peking ravioli ($5.95). After a 15 minutes’ wait, the pan-fried ravioli showed up as crescent-shaped dumplings stuffed with pork and vegetables, which was served with a sweet ginger-soy sauce for dipping.

For soup, Wu selected the hot and sour seafood ($3.95), while my choice was wonton ($3.95). Wu’s soup was a slightly thick, hot-and-sour base along with small shrimps, chopped scallops and crab, slices of black mushrooms and bits of tofu. In contrast, the wonton featured a rather clear broth with pieces of seafood, sliced mushrooms and three plump dumplings stuffed with pork. Wu’s recommendation: "If you are a novice at Chinese cuisine, wonton soup is a safe option."

For the entrees, we had the Sautéed Trio ($10.50) and the Golden Sesame Chicken ($10.95), both of which were served with a small bowl of white rice.

The Trio, chicken, beef and shrimp, was served in a thin wine sauce flavored with garlic. The sauce also included sliced mushrooms and scallions. "The wine sauce sets this dish off other similar ones served at other local Chinese restaurants." Wu said.

The lumps of chicken in the Golden Sesame Chicken were rolled in sesame seeds and deep-fried, forming a golden coat around it. They were served in a thick, sweet, brown sauce. While the chicken was very tender, the overall sweetness of it was overwhelming by the end of the meal. If you do not love the sweet taste, it’s strongly recommended to share the dish with your fellows.

The interior of the restaurant was generally upscale under dim lighting. The simple ceiling and walls of a yellow shade nicely mixed with the wooden tables and the black chairs and booth seats. More impressive was the polite and attentive wait servers. The waitress who served us didn’t hesitate to give her comment on the entrees as well as her recommendation for our choice.

"It was a little surprise at first to find out this place is run by not a Chinese, but a Korean woman," Wu said. There is another place named Suzi’s, which is older than the place we visited and located in south of Austin. According to a clerk at counter (she didn’t want to reveal her identity), Suzi Lee, the owner of this restaurant, began her eatery business 8 years ago and successfully opened the second restaurant 3 years ago.

Suzi’s China Grill gives an answer to the initial question: it's a place where the taste in an upscale atmosphere is the reason Austinites frequent the Chinese cuisine.

Address: 7858 Shoal Creek, Austin, TX

Phone: (512) 302-4600

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

About Nam-Doo:

Nam-Doo Kim is a Ph.D. student studying media sociology, political communication, and digital media communication at the University of Texas at Austin. He was a life-long resident in Seoul, Korea before he came to Austin, Texas in 1999. He received his master’s degree from Seoul National University in the same year. He has an undergraduate career of a reporter and an editor at Seoul National University Press. Now he works as a translator for a Korean publisher Media Lab, which has the license of publishing a Korean version of a by-weekly magazine Business 2.0.