China Chalet

[Rosie]

It is hard to judge a restaurant on one visit but this was our experience. Went to China Chalet in Florham Park. Sichuan pork dumplings had a thick dough and the filling was tasteless. The “spicy” red pepper sauce they came with smelled delicious but had no zing to it. The prawns in a sesame sauce were good and not overcooked but nothing more than a fried prawn with a sweet and sour sauce that were sprinkled with sesame seeds. On other menus this dish is called sesame seed -------. The baby bok choy with black mushrooms was ok but again bland. The shredded chicken with garlic sauce tasted like shredded chicken with ketchup. This was listed as a spicy dish and was very mild. The Chinese customers were very warmly greeted and given chopsticks and they were ordering some dishes that “looked” interesting as they were decorated with cut out vegetables to resemble birds etc. There are white tablecloths and the prices are higher than one would find at Hunan Cottage or China 46. Also, they have a NJ wine license and have a sign up saying they will charge $5 per bottle corkage fee.

[Rachel Perlow]

Thanks for the heads up, Rosie. It's near my parents' house so we stopped by over the weekend to give it a look see. The menu looked good, with some interesting dishes, but our initial impression is "fancy americanized Chinese place." I figure we'll try it sometime when going to dinner with the folks and now I know some items to not order.

[Rosie]

And if you order something marked with a "chili" be sure to tell them that you want the dish to be spicy.

[Jason Perlow]

I think this may be another one of those "Chinese Menu" and "American Menu" places like Hunan Cottage is.

[andrewhwest]

My wife and I discovered China Chalet in June. My wife and her family are from Chengdu, the food capital of China's Sichuan Province. We had just returned from a two week, 300 dish, vacation in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai. We were delighted to discover that China Chalet's chef is the chef from Cathay 22 circa 1998, when it was at its best. Before that, China Chalet's chef was the chef at a well known restaurant in Chengdu.

China Chalet's best dishes are the real deal. This means appetizer items like tripe and tongue in chili oil (fu chi fei pien). The long clams in green onion pesto was new to us, and quite good (it's the one with a daikon carved into a crane's head). The sichuan pickles appetizer are simple but deliver that authentic taste of sichuan flavorings including tongue-numbing sichuan peppercorns. We thought the sichuan dumplings with chili oil were pretty good too. Haven't tried dan - dan mien yet, but intend to.

For main dishes, three-pepper chicken is good, as is the spicy water cooked beef (called something else on the menu). Also quite good is the spicy pork with pickles and the spicy fish with pickles (both use pickled chopped up "long beans" in the sauce.) We haven't tried mapo tofu yet, but I'd expect it to be good.

Overall, the food is not as good as the top restaurants we dined at in Chengdu. Though we think the long clams are pretty inspired, and fairly original. But China Chalet's best dishes would not be out of place in some of Chengdu's better restaurants.

I suspect China Chalet's staff are having a difficult time with Americans who can't eat the real stuff. Actually, China Chalet only has one menu, which can hurt them, if people randomly pick something they can't handle. I sadly read a newspaper review on their wall with 2 1/2 stars, and it seemed to me that whoever wrote that review did not like eating real Sichuan food, complaining that some dishes were too spicy. Perhaps that review, and the occasional diner who thinks they're being poisoned by numbing sichuan peppercorns, has scared the proprietors into toning down dishes to non-Chinese.

My wife and I met some other Chinese friends at China Chalet, who have dined widely at Chinese restaurants in NJ and NY, and they agreed with us that as far as they could tell, this was the best place available for Sichuan food in the area (and we had all been to Grand Sichuan International and Wu Liang Ye).

I don't know how consistent their menu is - we have occasionally tried to order some dishes that are Sichuanese in origin, like twice-cooked pork, and the chef or his wife have asked us not to, saying they are not up to our standards. So this is what I recommend to anyone going to China Chalet, which is what we have done. Tell them the American man with the wife from Chengdu and the pretty little girl said you could find real Sichuanese food here. Tell them that you can handle and really want the authentic Chengdu flavors and heat (when they first saw me, an American, they used to always check with my wife that I really could eat the dishes she was ordering.) Ask them to recommend some dishes that they would proudly serve to Chinese people from Chengdu. Of course, if you can't eat spicy and numbing food, then you probably shouldn't eat at this or other Sichuanese restaurants. Ditto for not liking oil in your food, or not liking fatty pork, that's just part of the cuisine.

It's seems to me that China Chalet is building strength now, and have noticed that on weekends the clientele is about 75% Chinese, and they're mostly ordering the same top Sichuan dishes. We've been there just about every weekend since we've returned from China. Saturday is probably the best day to go, as the ingredients are most likely to be in top form and prepared to peak on that high-volume day.

[bethb]

Loving Cathay 22, but not loving the schlep from Livingston, we were excited tolearn that at a chef from Cathay 22 was here. While the chef is from Cathay 22, the service is not. I've been twice. We weren't treated well either time. And yes, the Chinese customers get better food and better service. Wouldn't return and wouldn't recommend it.

[andrewhwest]

Loving Cathay 22, but not loving the schlep from Livingston, we were excited tolearn that at a chef from Cathay 22 was here. While the chef is from Cathay 22, the service is not. I've been twice. We weren't treated well either time. And yes, the Chinese customers get better food and better service. Wouldn't return and wouldn't recommend it.

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I'm sorry to hear that. I was there again last Sat. night and everyone not part of one big wedding party had to dine in a secondary room. So the service suffered, that night, but the food didn't. And despite the party, they plied my daughter with free noodles, lollipops, and flowers. Perhaps this restaurant, like many, favors and provides better service to "regulars" over "occasionals" and it happens that most "regulars" are Chinese people who ask for and thus receive the restaurant's best dishes.

I'm curious - what have you ordered? How do you know that Chinese customers get better food? Are you saying that you have ordered "what they're having" pointing to Chinese guests next to you, and then receive food that was different from and/or inferior to what they received? How could you tell? Or did you order something different from what Chinese people were ordering, and then form a conclusion about why it didn't taste as good as you imagined other people's food tasted? I checked the menu again Saturday, and there do not appear to be any significant "hidden" Chinese dishes off the printed menu, other than occasional specials.

[andrewhwest]

We have continued to dine at China Chalet every week or two with my family and friends, who are Chinese. (I'm American). Since we are now "regulars," the wife of the chef and the hostess up front always come visit us, tells my wife what's good that night, bring noodles and ice-cream for my daughter, and treat us very well. I see that other regular families get similar attention, and they generally order the same types of dishes, traditional Chengdu style Sichuan dishes.

We continue to find the traditional Sichuan dishes to be the best in the area, and our friends, all of whom have been to Chengdu at one time or another, agree that this is the place to eat Sichuan food. Several of us who used to dine at Dragon's Palace in Edison have pretty much switched over to China Chalet (Though I don't think China Chalet serves hot-pot, or spicy rabbit, which Dragon's Palace does pretty well.

I noticed that the hostess at the front, an older Chinese woman, speaks English just fine. Just tell them that you came for authentic Sichuan food, and that you can handle spicy food, and you would like them to recommend their specialties.

I brought my camera this Friday to capture a typical meal:

long clams with scallion pesto

tripe and tongue

pickled vegetables with chili oil, spicy, salty, sour, and a little bit numbing

"fishy" sichuan beef, actually isn't fishy, but was hot & spicy with nice crunch from the shoots

"water cooked" eel. Spicy & numbing, the eel was tender but chewy. Vegetables were underneath the surface.

asparagus with a simple clear sauce

Whole fish (tilapia, I think) sichuan style

Normally we also order 3-pepper chicken because it's very good, or get the water cooked beef instead of water cooked eel. "Dragon's beard beef" is also a good appetizer to try.

Edited October 8, 2005 by andrewhwest (log)

[andrewhwest]

I'm not sure that my pictures showed up within the last post, here's where you can see my pictures of the dishes:

http://sichuanmoredining.blogspot.com/

[scarlet knight]

We've ordered take-out from China Chalet. We enjoyed a shrimp and mango dish from them. While somewhat Americanized (our choice), it was very clean and the shrimp were very fresh and of high quality. The same dish in lesser hands would be goopy with bad shrimp.

Andrew, have you been to Hunan Cottage in Fairfield? I know it has Shanghai cuisine, but I am curious to see how you think it compares with China Chalet.

They know us at Hunan Cottage and I think that they like that we order from the Chinese menu. I feel that we are well treated there. I would hate to see Westerners treated worse than Chinese people at any restaurant (or vice verse).

[andrewhwest]

We've ordered take-out from China Chalet.  We enjoyed a shrimp and mango dish from them.  While somewhat Americanized (our choice), it was very clean and the shrimp were very fresh and of high quality.  The same dish in lesser hands would be goopy with bad shrimp.

Andrew, have you been to Hunan Cottage in Fairfield?  I know it has Shanghai cuisine, but I am curious to see how you think it compares with China Chalet.

They know us at Hunan Cottage and I think that they like that we order from the Chinese menu.  I feel that we are well treated there.  I would hate to see Westerners treated worse than Chinese people at any restaurant (or vice verse).

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I'd like to try Hunan Cottage, because I've seen good things about it on the board. But it's a bit far from Scotch Plains, so on the rare occasion we seek Shanghainese food, we would typically go to 1-9 restaurant in Edison/Woodbridge area.

I think Chinese restaurants are difficult in the U.S., because there is this parallel universe of bad American Chinese food that a large number of American customers know and want, that just about any restaurant has to serve. I hope China Chalet tries its best with such dishes (and it sounds like you like the mango shrimp), but we simply never order non-Sichuan dishes here (well we did try shrimp with a cream sauce that was fairly good). From the chef's perspective, it probably a situation like if a fine French pastry chef set up shop, and people came in and ignored his petit-fours while ordering lots of Little Debbie Snack Cakes to go. Most authentic Chinese restaurants are very impressed/flattered when Americans order the "real" dishes and like them.

I don't think it's westerner vs. Chinese here. I think its a case of regulars vs. one-timers. This place has some regular customers with advanced, authentic tastes, versus occasional customers who order sweet & sour pork, etc., and who don't really like the food that the restaurant specializes in. When I cook, I enjoy serving people who like the dishes I consider my best.

I think someone who comes here seeking to learn something about authentic Sichuan food, and specifically asking for that from the people here will have a good experience (assuming they can eat spicy dishes).

[scarlet knight]

We ate at China Chalet on Sunday night.

We ordered a shrimp and pineapple spring roll as an appetizer. A little sweet on the outside, but good.

Our entrees were shrimp with mango , apple and pine nuts, which we've ordered before as take-out and enjoyed. It was tropically refreshing with perfectly cooked shrimp and a light sauce.

Our other entree was Sichuan Lamb. We asked them to tone down the spiciness. I enjoy spicy food to eat, but it wreaks revenge on me. It, too, was a clean, crisp dish devoid of the cornstarch glop that so often encapsulates Chinese food.

The service was nice and the place was about 60% full, mostly with Asian families. We encountered no inferior treatment due to our Caucasian background.

Having been to Hunan Cottage and China 46, I give this place an enthusiatic favorable endorsement. I would like to try more authentic regional fare here, but due to my unfortunate limitation, I'll have to request that the spiciness be toned down.

Edited October 10, 2005 by scarlet knight (log)

[andrewhwest]

We ate at China Chalet on Sunday night.

...

Having been to Hunan Cottage and China 46, I give this place an enthusiatic favorable endorsement. I would like to try more authentic regional fare here, but due to my unfortunate limitation, I'll have to request that the spiciness be toned down.

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I'm glad you liked it, I'd feel a little guilty if they had treated you badly and given you bad food.

For less spicy items here I have a few thoughts: The long clams with scallion pesto aren't really hot, though they are well spiced. I think the sauce is mostly garlic, green onions, and I suspect sichuan peppercorns.

The sichuan dumplings look hot, but I think they are fairly mild - to me the sauce is more sweet than spicy, and I've seen kids eat it.

Though I haven't ordered it, the dish mu shu pork actually originates from the Sichuan province, so there's a chance that they do it well here (if done right, there should be wood ear and lily buds in the filling, if not, then it's not mu shu). We've also ordered peking duck here, and it was pretty good (I don't know if they always have it on the menu though, and personally I don't like duck enough to justify the expense).

[andrewhwest]

Last week I had some in-laws from China come visit, both from Chengdu, and seriously into Sichuanese cuisine. By accident, we had something of a cook-off. We took a circle line cruise around NYC one afternoon and dined at Wu Liang Ye (48th St.) that day (Wu Liang Ye is claimed by some restaurant critics to be the best Sichuan restaurant in the area.) Another evening, we went to China Chalet, ordering, as usual, the authentic Chengdu-style dishes on the menu.

The result of the contest. Both of our Sichuanese guests found China Chalet to be the clear winner. In my view, China Chalet's leadership came from its use of spices in the sauces, which seemed to have more zip in them. Perhaps the chili oil was better prepared - a key ingredient for a number of dishes. The three pepper chicken was tasty and tender as usual, the spicy beef with those little shoots was fiery and numbing as always and we had a dish that I think is not yet on the menu but is really good - sea bass steaks with spicy sauce and bean jelly cubes

Nevertheless, China Chalet was considered good but only "average" by our guests, when compared to the various top restaurants in Chengdu where they frequently enjoy banquets. (And I agree as I do still miss my 6 days of dining in Chengdu last year.) Still, there are only a handful of restaurants in all of the U.S. that are even comparable to Chengdu's restaurants, so I think this one remains a mostly overlooked treasure.

http://www.gochineserestaurant.com/ChinaChalet/

[jo-mel]

Does China Chalet have a liquor license?

[andrewhwest]

Does China Chalet have a liquor license?

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I don't think so, but we practically never drink alcohol at restaurants anyway. I have noticed a small wine cooler with 100% New Jersey vintages. Does that count?

I think Cathay 22, which we used to love when China Chalet's current chef ran things, has a liquor license and full bar.