Mein street

After a decade, Spencer's Chef Sau is still hot

by Margaret LeRoux

Chef Sau 148 Main Street, Spencer 885-3995 Tues.-Thurs. 11:45 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. 11:45 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat. 4-10 p.m., Sun. 4-9 p.m. Mastercard, Visa Full bar Handicap accessible

Who would ever thought such a nice little Chinese restaurant would thrive in Spencer? But that's exactly the experience for Chef Sau, which recently celebrated 10 successful years on Spencer's Main Street.

Chef Sau is a friendly place. The night my companions and I visited, it seemed like everyone eating there knew each other and the restaurant staff.

We heard the folks at the table next to us order "our usual vegetable platter." We wondered if a group of strangers would receive the same friendly service; and we weren't disappointed.

We were seated immediately and a pot of tea was brought within minutes by our cheerful and energetic waitress. She competently handled the entire room with a little assistance from a bus boy. At night the lights are dim, but the blond wood furniture and wainscoting and white linens keep the place from being too dark. One jarring note: a pair of TVs, one on each end of the room, were a distraction rather than an enhancement to the dining experience, we thought. But then, we had no children in our party, and a couple of the other tables did. The kids were happily occupied watching the Cirque de Soleil, which was the featured show.

For a small restaurant -- Chef Sau seats fewer than 50 people -- the menu is extensive. Five different soups are offered; we made a note to try the velvet chicken corn soup ($1.50 small/$2.75 large) or the seafood chowder for two ($5) on our next visit. One in our group always has to have hot-and-sour soup, but she was disappointed in Chef Sau's version ($2.25 small/$3.75 large). "It has all the elements of a good hot-and-sour soup, but it lacks that sharp sour taste that really makes it sour," she said.

We did find an extra zing in Chef Sau's crab Rangoon ($4.95), seasoned ever so lightly with curry powder. The curry gave a nice bite to the cream-cheese filling, which sometimes can be bland. Here the crab-and-cheese-stuffed wontons were crisply fried, and the serving -- 10 of them -- was generous.

Other appealing appetizers include scallion pancakes ($3.95), Shanghai shrimp toast ($4.95), and minced chicken in lettuce for two ($6.25).

The menu offers many choices of seafood, beef, pork, and poultry. There's also a long list of house specials, as well as standards like egg foo yong, kung pao, moo shi, chow mein, and chop suey. Vegetarians can choose from six selections; pasta fans are offered four variations of lo mein, plus linguine served pan fried and pan fried with seafood.

Many dishes on the Chef Sau menu are offered in two sizes, and at two prices. Sautéed shrimp Hunan style, for example ($6.50 small/$11.95 regular), or chicken with cashews ($4.25 small/$7.95 regular). For those with a small appetite, or who want to try several different dishes, this is a welcome feature. I wish more restaurants did the same.

A few items I noted for a return visit include shrimp in fresh lemon sauce ($6.50 small/$11.95 large), curry beef ($8.95), pork tenderloin with apples ($7.95), Peking duck ($12.95), and cold noodles in sesame sauce ($3.95).

We selected Mandarin ginger shrimp ($11.95), black peppered beef ($8.95), imperial Hunan chicken ($7.95), and Singapore-style rice noodles ($9.95).

Tsing-tao ($2.85) was our choice among a selection of imported and domestic beer.

The shrimp were described as jumbo size and they were indeed huge. I had to surrender my chopsticks for a knife and fork to cut them into bite-size pieces. The sauce was gingery, with a bit of vinegar, and included lots of slivered onions and green peppers. An altogether agreeable dish, which was complemented by the Singapore-style rice noodles. In this dish, curry made another appearance, giving a kick to the thin, textured noodles. A huge mound of them were bolstered by bits of chicken, pork, and shrimp. There was enough to satisfy the four of us with some left over to make lunch.

I was impressed with the beef, a platter of tender chunks of sirloin in an assertive sauce -- we thought we detected a hint of star anise enhancing the abundant black pepper -- that was spicy but didn't overpower the beef's own flavor. A ring of bright green, steamed broccoli provided a balance of color and texture.

We liked the Hunan chicken, too, though it could have used a garnish of some sort -- pickled ginger, perhaps, or even sliced carrot. Pieces of chicken were coated in rice flour and fried; the sauce was spicy without being overbearing.

We found our meal at Chef Sau's quite agreeable. Our bill, including tax but not tip, was $60.10.