Chef Chu’s

Good but forgettable.
Came here late on a Friday night. It took awhile for service to attend to us and when she did, she was sloppy. We ordered wonton soup, ma po tofu, house chow mein, and chicken wings. Wonton soup was good. The wontons were fresh and not falling apart. The broth was somewhat bland. Ma po tofu– good. Chicken wings were not as spicy as I expected; hubby called them «boring». Chow mein serving was smaller than expected especially considering the price.
Everything was just… Boring. I became so excited seeing all the awards and pictures of celebrities. I guess if you need proof that people like the food, then the cuisine doesn’t speak for itself.

We came as a large group on weekend and I’m glad I called ahead as the place was really packed. Despite that everything from the host to the servers provided excellent and efficient service. A lot of busy restaurants have a way to make you feel somewhat pressured but it was never the case here
Now about the food, it is really a 3.5 star but the service and ambiance bumped it to a 4. It is not as genuine as some other places close by, especially Hong Kong which is much more authentic. While it is more Americanized, it is still not bad at all. My main gripe is the small portions. I would advise ordering 1 entrée per adult at the table.
We started with the cold platter which really awesome and genuine which took great care to get it done right. The clam soup I would probably pass on, it was very generic. Snow pea chicken, eggplant and Yu shan pork was simple but really well put together without over-​saucing it. Walnut prawns were obviously not authentic but someone at my table really enjoyed it. The highlight was the whole fried fish with ginger which was perfectly crisp on the outside and still moist inside without the excess oil.
Overall a really good experience, don’t get into the hype and pictures of celebs and expect it to be amazing. It is good and priced decently with portions a little too small to share but they make up for it in service

I hate those folks, and how rude they are.
Ordered veggie spring rolls and that had mushroom, which is NOT vegetable (its NOT a plant). First, they don’t mention it, and moreover rudely tell me that «for chinese, it is vegetable». Does it mean, if fish is vegetable for you, will you add it into veggie food, and tell your customers to figure out what is veggie for restaurant/​chinese. I regret eating their food.
If you care for the food you eat, pick a better place where your food values/​sensitivities are respected!

Always outstanding. My wife grew up eating Chef Chu’s, so she and her parents introduced me to the restaurant several years ago. I was hesitant at first; everyone has their favorite Chinese restaurant, and typically they aren’t as good as MY favorite Chinese restaurant.
I should not have been hesitant. Chef Chu’s is outstanding. Every dish I’ve tried (and I’ve tried many) has been delicious. Serving sizes are large enough that we always have leftovers for the next day, but that could also be because we always over-​order to guarantee there are leftovers.
Every time I’ve been, the food tastes very fresh and well seasoned. I like it so much that the last time I was there (2 days ago) I bought their cookbook. I can’t WAIT to try to have some Chef Chu’s in my own kitchen at home in the North Bay.
Chef Chu’s doesn’t replace my favorite Chinese spot (even though some things they possibly do better), but fortunately they are 2 hours apart, so there is no need for them to compete.
Oh yeah. Service has always been extremely friendly and skilled as well. I just tend to forget about that once the food hits my tongue.

Amazing food. The service is very attentive and interactive. When we first walked in they said the wait was 30 minutes, which wasn’t bad considering the amount of people inside the restaurant. The wait ended up actually being less than 10 minutes which was even better. Ordered and abundance of food. Started of with sweet and sour soup, very yummy. Had the Mongolian beef which was really really tender and flavorful. Combined that with steamed rice and asked for chili hot sauce on the side– so yummy all together. Very authentic Chinese food. The total for my family and me of six wasn’t too bad considering our portions. The whole experience was great– definitely want to come back to try the deep fried banana with ice cream!

Amazing service; food is amazing and love the price. No mystery this has been a staple to the Bay Area for decades! Mongolian lamb, chow mein and fried rice was amazing!

After many weekends of 10 min drives around their parking lot, we finally found a parking space. (which was the only highlight) we were quickly and cordially greeted and he brought us to a stuffy room (behind host stand). Guests were snugly packed in this stuffy (temp) room. Chairs were very close. It was a bit hard to walk between groups or parties. Did see many returning guests as the staff greeted them with obvious glee. If your there for the first time, you’ll notice a but of popular kids (returning guests) and not so popular kids (newbies like us) on the playground (stuffy room). Came in on a Sunday (12÷27÷15) at 415 pm –ish
Upon being seated, we were given a pot of tea and a carafe of cold water. We served ourselves (but later noticed other incoming guests were poured water from the table placed carafe as soon as they were seated). Maybe cause we were newbies, but think first impressions should be important to them. One star earned for friendly waitress.
Our waitress was super nice and very fast.
Our dishes were just ok. Not sure what the hoopla is all about. I think it Wasnt the food we tried to enjoy. I think it’s the celebrity chef and longevity of restaurant. But if not for that… The food itself did not WOW us. We ordered what was highlighted by fellow Unilocalers.
1) Chinese chicken salad was so generic with or without the salad dressing offered in a small glass pitcher. Sparse chicken strips, big iceberg lettuce peices, sprig of one cilantro. It shouldn’t be compared to other Chinese restaurant salads. It’s soooo generic and plain. It was a 2 (from 1 – 10)
2) Braised shrimp (or prawns) was 8 peices of good sized medium shrimp in their special sauce with 3 – 4 small peices of aldente steamed broccoli crowns cooked well. But overall, it was a 5 (from 1 – 10). Sauce was a bit salty.
3) Chinese broccoli in garlic sauce (off the menu I think). The best part as it was no fuss and simple. It was basic. We both say it was a 8 (from 1 – 10) just wish we had more and it would be a solid 10)
4) steam rice was in large rice cups.
All this for around $ 45ish. Think it was overpriced for the amount in each offered dish. Also, think it was overly salted. Ourselves felt reactions from too much salt (or maybe some other Seasonings or «enhancers»). We both left hungry and disappointed as we had high hopes.
Think the popularity is blurring the taste of the food. With lots of Asian and/​or Chinese establishments all around us, we now prefer to continue to just drive by.

Chef Chu’s is a Palo Alto area staple. Food wise– you can’t really go wrong with anything on the menu. It is pricy though and the dish portions are considerably smaller than it’s comparables.
Service is interesting. I was with my colleagues (most of them not of Asian descent) when we visited. The staff probably didn’t know that I could actually understand what they were saying and I overheard them discussing our table in Chinese.
This is a great place for gatherings as everything is mostly family style.

Saturday, 1:00 PM.
Quickie:
+ Food quality
+ Friendly staff
— Hygiene
— Slow turnaround
+ Layout
And then???
Chef Chu’s stands out from its peers in this area.
**********
Stuffed my face in:
1. Vegetarian hot and sour soup
+ Nice kick from the spice.
2. Stir-​fried vegetable delight
+ Black beans were prominent but not overwhelming.
3. Braised tofu
+ Firm exterior, soft interior with a delicious savory sauce.
4. Braised eggplant garlic
+ Garlic enhanced the sauce; appropriate size for the pieces.
5. Tangy lemon chicken
— Sauce is bit too thick and heavy.
6. Kung pao prawns
— It was tough to eat the prawns because of the grease.
Constructive comments:
*Do you compost?
*Source ingredients

Got some carryout here, food was alright but not very memorable. Textures were good, portion sizes were decent, the components of each dish were presented nicely, but there was nothing particularly exciting or creative in the combination of flavors. Even normally aromatic dishes such as tea smoked duck and Mongolian lamb were very light in flavor. Dishes like crispy sichuan beef and lovers’ prawns had a generic light flavor without many layers of spices or seasonings.
I didn’t dislike the food, but had higher expectations given all the great reviews on Unilocal

Not good.
Hunan Homes was closed down the street and since Chu’s had decent reviews we thought we were safe. The line out the door helped us feel better too.
Nope. I don’t know how people can love this place — but the only decent thing was the Dim Sum bow — and even that — I’ve had better in SF (Inner Richmond).
Our fried wontons were awful. I mean drench in sauce and still not particularly edible bad. They’d been twice fried and were missing most of the meat. Not light and golden, but heavy and dark. The waiter very nicely ended up taking it off the bill when we returned it after eating two.
My sizzling rice soup (and why were came) was again, not light and flavorful, but dark, heavy, and oddly yellow. Sizzling rice soup broth should be almost clear, the chicken, thin and long, and the snap peas fresh and crisp. Chu’s was an utter disappointment in flavor, look, and general freshness of the meal. There’s no way I would order it again.
There’s no way I would come back to Chu’s.

For Saturday dinner, my hubby and I decided to stop by Chef Chu’s since it was in our bookmarks for quite some time.
Located in what I think is a pretty good part of Los Altos, it stands at a corner of a busy intersection surrounded by an abundance of other eating establishments. The restaurant looks quite large from the outside especially since it has its own parking lot, but you do have the choice of some street parking as well. Thankfully we came right at the time when there were still some empty tables left because we were seated immediately. Upon leaving the restaurant, I overheard that the wait was going to be about 40 minutes for any free table, so come by early if you can.
Chef Chu’s is not your typical Chinese restaurant when it comes to décor and service. They decorate their tables with a vase of flowers, they provide separate dishes for appetizers instead of just one large dish, they bring each table a glass bottle of water, waiters and waitresses are dressed in neat uniforms, and their dishes are meticulously decorated to highlight their food. So to put it simply, we were very impressed.
For our food, we ordered the curried beef puffs as an appetizer and for our entrees to share we ordered the snow chicken and lover’s prawns. The curried beef puffs had the signature taste of Indian curry and when dipped in the wasabi sauce, it packed a good deal of heat. We really liked the crispiness of the pastry, although there wasn’t as much filling as we would have expected.
The snow chicken came out next. The chicken was thinly sliced and served with snow peas and mushrooms. The flavor was very subtle so when we ate it with steamed rice, we had to add soy sauce for a bit more flavor. While I enjoyed the simplistic flavor, my hubby wasn’t too fond of the texture, noting how the chicken felt somewhat «slimy.» The prawns were probably our preferred entrée of the two. There were two styles, one that was dressed with a wine sauce and some vegetables while the other was drenched in a thick tangy and spicy sauce. The prawns were cooked perfectly, but we liked the saucy prawns more. It just packed more of a punch.
At the end of our dinner, they gave us two fortune cookies that were unfortunately very stale. Price-​wise, Chef Chu’s is a bit a more expensive, but considering the décor and atmosphere, we can understand why. While we can’t say that Chef Chu’s was amazing, it was a pretty decent place for dinner. Perhaps we will be back again in the future.

There isn’t a bad thing to say about this restaurant. We have been coming here for many years and have celebrated anniversaries and birthdays here. Always quality food and service!
Tonight is we had the pupu platter which is to die for!!! The Chinese chicken salad is awesome as is the sweet and sour pork!!!
Always look forward to a nice dinner here!

It’s good to be back!
Ever since we moved to Roseville from the Bay Area in 2001 we haven’t eaten here at Chef Chu’s so it was great to revisit and dine here again as we often frequented this place before and celebrated many occasions here in the past. This was my Dad’s all time favorite Chinese restaurant.
Dined here yesterday with the family, party of 13. We came at a good time, just before dinner rush. We were seated almost immediately with just a wait of about 10 minutes while our table is being prepared. In the meantime we enjoyed the wall of fame displayed on their bar and waiting area. I knew from before that this was a favorite among political figures, sports and Hollywood icons (this time I was able to take pictures of the photos that the famous Chef Chu took with them). Among those that dined here were Mikhail Gorbachov, Benazir Bhutto, JFK Jr, and President #41. Also sports figures such as David Robinson, Jeremy Lin, and Steve Young visited this place…
So we proceeded to order and tried the Sizzling Rice Soup and Hot & Sour soup for starters… our main dishes included BBQ Pork Fried Rice, Shrimp Fried Rice, Lemon Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Prawns (but they called it something else here), Hong Kong-​Style pan fried noodles. Everything was delicious! The only thing I didn’t like was everything came in small portions, a dish made for two people (ahh! but never mind, maybe we were extremely hungry). We had to keep ordering more as food was consumed. Everything else was exceptional, our server was nice and friendly, service was great, order came quick almost all at once, and food was delicious! They did not automatically include the tip on our bill (party of 13) but there is a tipping guide on the receipt.
The restaurant is clean and does not have a smell as some Chinese restaurants do like maybe in Chinatown. There is a second floor if all downstairs seating gets full (at least that’s what I remembered from the past dining here). Servers are professional and clean in their uniforms. This place does get crowded and parking could be a challenge but we were able to get good parking in front of the restaurant. Additional parking in the back. The restaurant is next to Armadillo Willie’s.

It’s my retirement luncheon with the gang from work. –in this case 21 of 38 available people –the other 17 are anti-​social types and won’t be missed!
We are on our way to Chef Chu’s, with me being chauffeured in a car with 3 Chinese women and 1 Russian lady, all seniors over the age of 50 –the younger ladies won’t even get in the same car as me!
Normally I would be paranoid being driven by an Asian lady in a 2001 Camry –DWA! However this lady is as good a driver as a super programmer, and I checked that the car had a front passenger airbag, before riding shotgun!
It’s a Thursday at 1140am and the skies are cloudy by the time we arrive. No parking in front, so we head way back almost behind the block to parking lot #2 for Chef Chu’s. 100 yard walk in the light rain –since when does it rain in mid May in Silicon Valley?
We have reservations, and are herded upstairs, past pictures of celebrities, both politicians and entertainers of the past. It’s a virtual who’s who of not only Silicon Valley, but of the entire country. You’re eating where the big shots ate, when you come to Chef Chu’s, and they make sure you don’t forget it!
We split up into 2 tables of 10, with the boss sitting down with 9 ladies, including Ms salad bar. Now you know she’s going to sit as far away from me as possible, still smarting from my Mountain Mike’s Pizza review of her misbehavior! I make sure I sit away from Ms slurpee, as I’m too familiar with my co-​workers soup slurping!
I’m at the other table, flanked by the retired Deputy Director, and Ms Compliance Officer herself, with Ms Gluten free, and the pizza eater king among others across the table.
Everyone orders from the luncheon special menu, with dishes averaging about $ 12 apiece. The luncheon specials come with an entrée and either hot and sour soup or a spring roll. I later asked our Russian programmer about the soup and she called it sour and hot soup, according to the Russian translation!
The sour and hot soup arrives first, and is heavy with bamboo shoots and tofu, a bit on the sour side, and without the pork or shrimp seen in very high class hot and sour soups. It’s a good vegetarian version of the hot and sour soup, but nothing to write home about.
One person has the spring roll, and proceeds to eat it with mustard, before being reminded that the mustard in a Chinese restaurant is a lot hotter than the mustard on a hot dog!
Next come the main courses. On the first table everyone eats their own dish, but on this table most of us take a portion onto our plate, and put the serving bowl on the lazy Susan, for others to share. That way each person gets to sample a number of dishes.
3 of the 10 order the crispy Sichuan beef –lightly battered and then deep fried high quality beef. I order that dish after our pizza eater king, who has been here many times before, recommends it. It’s absolutely delicious and to die for, although it takes a bit of an effort to cut the thick pieces with a fork.
Meanwhile we get one rice bowl for 10 people, with me making the mistake of taking too small a portion on the first pass. Once the pizza eater king gets to it, it’s hasta la vista baby –no more rice!
I sample the lemon chicken and find it way too syrupy and sweet with the lemon sauce. The sauce completely overwhelms the chicken breast flavor.
The stir fried noodles with prawns, scallops and calamari are Ok, but I would prefer a bit more crispy noodle, as it seemed a bit soggy, with the serving size on the small side.
The tender fish fillets are white fish fillets and lack much flavor –the Russian programmer shakes soy sauce on it to give it a punch.
The Yu Shan pork strips is another delicious dish, with pork strips sautéed with ginger, bamboo, and mushrooms in a garlic sauce, but again with the portion size on the small side.
The Hunan chicken comes with broccoli and is in a hot chili garlic sauce, and is a delicious dish, but requires lots of rice. No refills on rice?!
We doggy bag the leftovers, and return to our cars, in a driving rain –a bad hair day for everyone not carrying an umbrella!
The Russian programmer in the back seat barks out precise and expert commands just like a drill sergeant back in the motherland, on how to return to the main road!

You won’t find a greasy linoleum floor or acrylic-​topped table here! My favorites were the Steamed Sea Bass with ginger and green onions $ 24.95 (cooked perfectly), Pan-​Seared Black Pepper Steak $ 14.95 and String Beans Sautéed with Fresh Garlic $ 9.95 (very tasty). The Minced Chicken in Lettuce Cups $ 10.95 were fun to eat and packed plenty of flavor. The fried duck was tasty, tender and had only a thin layer of fat. It came with steamed buns, julienned green onion and hoisin sauce. The cute cloud-​shaped buns were difficult to maneuver as a wrap. Luckily, the server prepped a few. The Pot Stickers, Egg Rolls, Hot and Sour Soup and Won Ton Soup were okay. Steamed brown rice is available.
There was something about the scallops in the Braised Eggplant with Scallops in Garlic Sauce that disappointed me at first bite. There wasn’t much eggplant either. Did I even get a one whole Chinese eggplant? I wasn’t a fan of the sweet and sour prawns. They were overcooked, so the prawns were a bit tough. Other people seem to like the sweet and sour though because there was a couple at a nearby table that ordered two sweet and sour dishes, white rice and nothing else.
The portions are small, which is fine if you have a tiny appetite, but I like to have enough leftovers for lunch. I would never bring my parents here. My parents worked hard, but growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. First, they would be appalled by the prices. Then, they would be appalled by the portions.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to handle a pair of chopsticks. A fork is provided at each place setting!
I’ve eaten a lot of Chinese food, from nightly dinners of home-​style regional cuisine, dim sum, meals at small family-​run businesses and large fancy dinner banquets. I’ve eaten Chinese food in plenty of Bay Area Chinatowns, San Gabriel Valley, LA, NYC, Boston, Brooklyn, Markham, Ontario, Toronto, Hong Kong, Beijing, Canton, Jakarta, Sydney… Essentially, a LOT of Chinese food. At Chef Chu’s, there are some hits, some misses and a lot in between. Overall, if you avoid the fried dishes, the food meets their vision of providing healthy, simple and delicious food. 3.5 stars for yummy but spendy Chinese food, good service and a white tablecloth type of nice atmosphere.