Suyuan Bistro, Gloucester Road: 'The authenticity and personality they had has been stretched thin'
Jason goes in search of a succulent Chinese meal
Poor Jason is a casualty of the universal truth that if you are very good at something, you will be asked to do it more. Jason is a victim of his own brilliance at writing about Chinese restaurants - it’s becoming a running joke now how many I have proposed he write about. It’s a cuisine and culture of which he has an impressive knowledge and is very adept at describing. But Bristol has some brilliant Chinese restaurants, and I think we are seeing a growing trend of more regional Chinese food - both of which deserve to be shared and celebrated. Sadly, it seems that the new branch of Suyuan is not among Bristol’s finest. I’ll just have to send him to another one to make up for it.
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Often, I find myself online, window-shopping for a house I’ll never afford. I pore scrupulously through endless wide-angle photographs of immaculately dressed mantle pieces, an en-suite for every bedroom, and palatial kitchens adorned with many a vintage thing; the token set of hand-beaten copper pans (purely ornamental of course) all but front and centre.
Through all that beautiful clutter it can be difficult to discern what it is that the space truly has to offer. I find myself fiending for a blank wall, a hypothetical canvas upon which I can apply my own colour and vision. Because, whether we like it or not, the way in which we choose to fill our living space is a reflection of ourselves.
Desperately hungry and escaping the drizzle of a Tuesday night in mid-January, five of us find ourselves sat around a circular table at Gloucester Road’s Suyuan Bistro, contemplating a room that I can only describe as another blank canvas. The space is expansive and pristine, not yet imbued with any atmosphere or richness. It is also brightly lit to a fault, unfairly highlighting the distinct lack of other diners. It certainly is a hard time of year to be a restaurateur.
Conversely, the original Suyuan, lovingly-decorated and located just off of Queen’s Square, serves as a small refuge for those giving meat and/or animal products a wide berth while still craving (as most of us do) a succulent Chinese meal. A snug fit, sandwiched elbow to elbow type-affair. Many bums squeezed onto many seats. The chatter coming from the next table entirely audible as one inhales as many dumplings as will fit.
Suyuan Bistro is run by the same mother and son pair, May and Jay Thind, this time fleshing out the menu (pun intended) to include more of the classic carnivorous fare. With old adages of books and covers ringing in my head, I decide to ultimately let the food speak for itself.
The menus come quickly. Brought to us with warmth and a lot of patience; in our famished state, we flap over which configuration of dishes will best deliver peak nourishment. First come the hai tai xian xia bing (£9.95), three prawn cakes, deep-fried and served atop a nori sheet, these are deceptively sweet and tender.
Hou hui (£9.95) a plate of shredded crispy sweet potato that resembles an edible game of pick-up sticks. Definitely fun, if a bit bland; I have no doubt this dish would make for an effective bar snack in the right context.
There are three different types of dumpling on offer (pork & mushroom, egg & chive, tofu & celery at £8.95 each) so we order all three, naturally. These are garden variety pot stickers and although they are fresh out the fryer, they are served alongside a much too salty soy & garlic dipping sauce. It remains largely untouched. The saving grace is the house-made chilli oil which we ask to be topped up repeatedly.
Eyes dwarfing our stomachs, we also ask for the spring onion pancakes (£5.95) which are a tad greasy but excellent for mopping up remaining plate juices; the Chinese equivalent to the Italian scarpetta perhaps?
After the starters have largely been cleared, room is made for the many incoming bowls of things in liquid. Ji rou xiang gu mian (£13.95) are wheat noodles served in a chicken and mushroom broth, topped with grilled pork. The pork (which is reminiscent of Japanese chashu) is hoovered off almost as soon as the dish arrives, leaving behind a veritable swimming pool of under-seasoned soup and over-cooked noodles.
The xiang yu hua rou bao (£18.95) is a pork belly, “tan wang” taro, and shiitake mushroom curry. After exhaustive internet sleuthing, I can find neither hide nor hair of anything relating taro (a root vegetable commonly used in east Asia and many parts of the Pacific, for the uninitiated) to anything tan wang. Nor can I find anything resembling curry in the bowl in front of me. At this point I start to suspect that the reasons behind the addition of meat to Suyuan’s repertoire are more gimmick than gourmet.
I look to the vegan side of the table for some hint of redemption. I hope against all hope that in harkening back to their herbivorous origins, the Bistro can win us back. The shuang jun qie zhi mian (£13.95), a dish of wheat noodles in a mushroom & tomato broth holds a fair amount of promise, this combination being a staple comfort food in many parts of China. Sadly, the broth tastes little of either mushroom or tomato, our vegan contingent’s night is just about salvaged by adding copious amounts of the aforementioned chilli oil.
The su shao shi jin bao (£14.95) a tofu stick (sometimes referred to as tofu skin), shiitake, and shredded bamboo curry is barely worth a mention, tasting strongly of bamboo shoots but not much else. I have fond memories of ordering feng wei qie zi (£14.95), deep fried sweet and sour aubergine, upon my last visit to the Queen’s Square site. So, in wrapping up with something familiar and trustworthy, my heart and palate are gladdened in equal measure when they prove to be a crowd favourite. Golden, crunchy, and smothered in that eponymous sauce; the quasi-fluoro classic of Anglo-Chinese cuisine.
And here-in lies the problem as I see it. What Suyuan Bistro is serving is, at its core, Anglo-Chinese cuisine. And thus it is nothing new. When their brand was vegetarian and vegan-friendly, it had an air of inclusivity, allowing a way in for those in this country who typically feel alienated from the vast majority of Chinese-cooking. With the new site and expanded menu (expanded price point to boot), I can’t help but feel that what authenticity and personality they had has been stretched thin. Along with the taste.
All words and photos by Jason Jay Pridham
Suyuan Bistro, 131 Gloucester Rd, BS7 8AX
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