Chu's Cafe is Good Choice for Both Eating In & Takeout

As a Chinese restaurant smack in the middle of The Hills in Bernards Township, serves multiple roles as an eating establishment. It's a decent choice of a place to head to for a relaxed evening out, with a nice menu selection. And it's also the local Chinese takeout and hangout place for many people in The Hills development.

I myself have gone to Chu's many times for both purposes.

It's a great place to stop by mid-week when I want takeout after a busy day. Sometimes, I don't even buy an entire dinner _ I chose one favorite dish and supplement it at home with a nice salad, soup or side dish. (Or vice-versa, I pick up soup and an appetizer to freshen up a dull dinner.)

But I also have driven, or walked, to Chu's to enjoy dinner in the restaurant with a variety of dining partners, both adult and juvenile.

Just a few Fridays ago, a friend and I settled on Chu's as a break from all the Italian food we'd been eating — and as a restaurant where we could bring the Austrian white wine he'd selected to enjoy with our meals. (But Chu's also is a good place to go with a group of family friends, including children.)

Eating with an adult allows one to truly enjoy some of Chu's specialty dishes. For me, chicken and sliced mango in white sauce ($10.95) was great selection for a summer evening, and a good pairing with the white wine. 

At the waiter's (somewhat insistent) suggestion, my dining partner orderd the crispy salmon, as had apparently some people at nearby tables. At $16.95, the dinner was one of the more expensive items on the menu.

Both of our selections included crispy vegetables, making them a good one-meal dish. The diner who ate the crispy salmon said it wasn't quite as crispy as he'd expected, but he enjoyed it anyway. (I tried it and thought it was a very good presentation of a salmon dish.)

On the other hand, my teenaged food critic's favorite Chu's meal is basically a Chinese version of fried chicken — General Tso's chicken.

"It's good," he said, his usual thumbs-up response for foodt he likes.

I agree — the sauce is tangy, and I end up eating most of the spicy broccoli florets. Both chicken and the crunchy broccili are of good quality. However, I try not to think about the caloric content of General Tso's, which isn't exactly a light dish. 

But to be fair, Chu's Cafe has low-fat and vegetarian selections galore. A special dietary selection is available served without sugar, salt cornstarch or oil, and with brown rice. But there are many other meals that, especially with vegetables, also can be considered healthy.

On a recent night, I ordered one of my favorites, sizzling go bar, served with chicken ($10.95). In the restaurant, it arrives on a sizzling hot plate, but the to-go version is packed with some crispy rice to sprinkle on top.

Along with a generous selection of chicken, the pickup version was offered with a nice selection of snow peas, broccoli, very fresh mushrooms, carrots and bay corn, in a brown sauce. I personally go easy on the brown sauce, which makes the selection a fairly light meal.

The amount of the dish was plenty for two people, with a few nibbles on the side.

Another favorite, a very economical choice for winter (which will someday return) is the big steaming bowls of noodles with broth, more than big enough for a meal. Prices range from $5.95 to $7.95.

Lunch specials, served from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday through Saturday, give local business people a chance to stop by for a meal that includes a generous portion of a main dish; fried, brown or steamed rice and a choice of soups. The menu ranges in cost from $5.95 to $7.25.

One choice I've ordered a few times — and haven't been too thrilled with — are curry dishes. They weren't really bad — but maybe I should have gone elsewhere if I was in the mood for curry. (See previous review of ) 

As a note, the service at Chu's Cafe is solicitious and cheerful, especially if you are a regular.

I have to give the staff extra gold stars for the times a few years back when my son's then mostly middle-school aged friends used to pool their resources for what became their habitual big night out at Chu's.

Although they usually were put at the furthest table in the restaurant, they still always received polite service. This, even though I know that the group's pooled funds didn't always include much for a tip. (I once snuck in and handed them a few dollars I told them to add to the tip, but I can't guarantee it didn't go for a few extra bowls of wonton soup.)

I've also been at the receiving end of that special service. I once placed a phone order, got caught up in a story for Patch, and then frantically ran over to see if I could still get my takeout at 9:35 p.m. 

There, waiting for me in the parking lot, were a few of the staff in an idling car. They handed me my to-go bag, accepted a quick $10, and then drove off with a smile.

What more can you ask of your local Chinese restaurant?

Price: $$

Decor: Light and airy, outdoor patio dining when weather permits.

Service: Efficient and pleasant.

Drinks: Standard tea and soft drinks, with little glass bottles of classic Coke. BYOB for wine.

Chu's Cafe

565 Allen Road, Basking Ridge (Highlands Village Center)

908-901-0808 (www.chuscafe.com)