Chef Patrick Go of the popular and Michelin Bib Gourmand-cited Your Local has a brand new act, and it is called Lazy Suzy. Situated on the Podium Social wing on the sixth floor of the Podium Mall, there’s a hip, casual, eclectic vibe to the establishment, and this eclectic feeling is reflected not only in the interiors, but also in the hard-working menu. The cuisine comes across like an East Asian Greatest Hits Part 2, as cooked up and interpreted by Chef/DJ Patrick.

Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino influences swirl across the menu. United by the firm commitment to bring out intriguing flavor profiles, to play on contrasting textures, and to entice us with memorable dishes that we know aren’t available anywhere else but at Lazy Suzy. For me, that’s the mark of a restaurant’s longevity: either it does familiar, signature dishes extremely well, or it creates brilliant dishes that aren’t available elsewhere. Think about it, those would be the reasons to head back on a regular basis, and for the establishment’s fan base to continuously expand. And on the second count, just like with Patrick’s Your Local, there’s a bright future in store for Lazy Suzy. It’s different enough from the Your Local experience while sharing the same DNA.

I had lunch with my sons the other Sunday, and it was nice to note that this was the second time I had tried to reserve a table, as the previous Sunday was fully booked. Lazy Suzy hasn’t formally opened, and already the word of mouth, plus this being Chef Patrick expanding beyond his Makati comfort zone, had obviously gotten around. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer, soft-spoken, hard-working chef.

To facilitate ordering at Lazy Suzy, the menu is broken up into Small Plates, Sharing Plates, Noodles, Rice, and Desserts. So in our case, we ordered a bevy of small plates to sample several dishes, ordered two sharing plates, one noodle dish, and tried their Fly Rice. This worked wonderfully for our first time at Lazy Suzy.

The Cold Tofu X.O. is silken tofu, X.O. sauce, dashi, togarashi, and fried onion, and one of my sons is a big fan of X.O. and tofu, so this was an immediate favorite for him. The Tuna Kropek consists of yellowfin tuna morsels, daikon, gochujang, greens, and a side dish of kropek chips. What one does is spoon the tuna and greens and place them on the kropek. These were the two cold Small Plates we had.

The two hot Small Plates were my “glimpses of culinary heaven.” The Prawn and Corn Toast is minced prawn, corn, brioche toast, horseradish, with bulldog sauce. The brioche is toasted so that each bite first has a crisp crunch, then it’s followed by the flavorful soft center. This was my favorite among the appetizers. The Lazy Suzy Floss Dumplings are minced pork, shiitake mushrooms, wonton and nori floss, plum, and lao gan ma. The lao gan ma gives the dish a spicy kick without overpowering the overall flavor profile. The floss gives added texture to the dish.

For the Sharing Plates, we first had the Lechon Kawali: crispy fried pork belly, shiso, leek slaw, a miso-katsu sauce, and shichimi powder. I liked how the miso-katsu sauce and the shichimi powder are Japanese in origin and now utilized in service of something very Filipino. The Lazy Suzy Beef Charsiu is Angus beef brisket with a charsiu glaze and fermented vegetables. The glaze, extra thick and prominent, was the highlight of this version of charsiu.

My eldest son raved about his noodle choice, the Smoked Fish Cold Soba. It’s smoked fish flakes, sesame dashi, charred cabbage, ebiko, and chives. They all came together in a truly wonderful way, proof of Chef Patrick’s kitchen sorcery. And you can’t visit Lazy Suzy without trying their Fly Rice, with caramelized maling, smoked soy, leeks, charred greens, egg, and Japanese rice. It’s fried rice of a different order, with an aroma and flavors that make it unique.

For dessert, I can’t say enough about the “Lemon Chicken” Cake. Lemon-soaked cake, yuzu ice cream, with chicken skin polvoron drizzled on top. I’m lactose-intolerant, so I was constantly digging in to get to the lemon cake underneath, but loving how I’d end up tasting a bit of the sharp, lovely yuzu ice cream. It was like a citrusy explosion of a good kind, and I’ll gladly share this dessert with anyone, anytime.

Lazy Suzy has only gotten started, but I can safely predict it’ll be one of the new culinary hot spots of the Podium. The LS menu finds the right balance between comfort food and familiar on one side, while also being adventurous and unique on the other. It’s one happy middle ground that should keep the staff at Lazy very busy.