above: Soup dumplings filled with pork. below: Peking duck buns and scallion pancakes with beef; Shanghai pan-fried noodles with shrimp; wise words wrapped in a cookie.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY VENERA ALEXANDROVA
Who is the Lazy Sister? It’s certainly not the chefs or the servers in this contemporary Pan-Chinese restaurant on South Washington Street in SoNo. Behind the kitchen’s waffled glass window, flames rise from woks. Servers rush fragrant, steaming dishes to minimalist black tables. At the nine-seat, eat-in bar, the bartender shakes up creative cocktails. A youthful, cheeky vibe comes through in the pink walls decorated with a grid of Chinese soup spoons and the menu’s message: “Congrats for leaving the house.”
Owner/operator maxwell weiss opened his first restaurant in Connecticut on the site of the former Enchanted Szechuan. He kept the former location’s chefs and rebranded. Weiss was born and raised in Greenwich, and has loved Asian food since he was a kid. He graduated from Cornell Hotel School, and owns Hōseki, an intimate omakase counter in the basement vault of Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City, and Ten Homakase, which recreates the omakase experience in guests’ homes in Connecticut, New York City and Long Island.
The menu at The Lazy Sister covers Chinese-American classics, Hunan and Sichuan specialties and a range of Wok techniques. The Dim Sum section features spring rolls, pan-fried dumplings and Peking duck buns, but our eyes went straight to the soup dumplings. The bamboo steamer basket revealed six plump dumplings. There’s a ceremony to eating them, lifting one from the steamer and placing it on your spoon, nibbling a little hole in the side to sip out the rich broth and biting into the flavorful dumpling. The pork filling was fresh with ginger, and the dumpling wrappers were delicate.
Appetizers of crispy, spicy cucumber salad and springy, nutty dan-dan noodles could make a meal, but we were drawn to the Enchanted Szechuan Favorites, listed by the style of wok cooking. With a choice of dry pot, dry fry, dry pepper style, double cooked style and cumin style, and choice of protein (meat, poultry, fish, or mapo tofu), we were guided by our server to try the dry pot style. Dry pot chicken was a plentiful tumble of tender slices of chicken and vegetables, including sliced broccoli and soft leeks, tossed in a peppery, umami-rich sauce. The delightfully numbing flavor of Szechuan peppercorn made us smile.
THE MENU AT THE LAZY SISTER COVERS CHINESE-AMERICAN CLASSICS, HUNAN AND SICHUAN SPECIALTIES AND A RANGE OF WOK TECHNIQUES.
Three Cup Chicken is also under Enchanted Szechuan Favorites. Chicken is simmered in a blend of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame sauce and ginger until the sauce reduces to coat the chicken in a sticky spicy sweet sauce.
The seasonal vegetable is currently pea shoots. When we visited, the seasonal vegetable was water spinach, a mild-flavored leafy green with a hollow steam (it grows in water). These simple sautéed greens feel cleansing paired with the highly seasoned wok dishes. An order of bok choy works in the same way. The fish steamed in soy and showered with ginger and scallions is a filet of fluke, also known as summer flounder.
Lazy Sister’s drinks menu includes The Yuzual Suspects, a citrusy blend of yuzu vodka and liqueur, pomegranate and lime. The Three Kingdoms with cane sugar rum, elderflower liqueur, grapefruit and lime juice is garnished with a sprig of rosemary. Five-spice Old Fashioned is a mix of bourbon, bitters, a twist of orange peel and a maraschino cherry. Craft beer, cider, sake and a focused wine list by the glass and bottle are also on offer. Mocktails include Five-Spice Sparkling Lemonade and Mandarin Orange Shrub Soda.
For dessert, Lazy Sister’s cheeky side returns. Soft serve ice cream topped with crumbled fortune cookies are just plain fun. Who is the Lazy Sister? We’re starting to think it is us. Congrats on leaving the house, indeed.
LAZY SISTER
120 Washington Street, Norwalk, CT,
lazysisterchinese.com