We went to dinner/ended up at Chef Sau last night. Because we couldn’t obtain the supposedly “on-sale” “Alaskan” king crab legs from any Stop & Shop store (see my reviews on this site) and had planned to cook them for dinner last night, we more...or less resorted to going out for Chinese food, giving Chef Sau a chance to redeem himself (our last take-out order from him was really bad. See previous review). We had dined in here some time ago and had had a wonderful experience. This time, however, not so much. Maybe it was because this time, for some unknown reason, I had a hankering for unhealthy pu pu-type food/appetizers instead of the dishes we usually order ---Szechuan and stir fry. Our experience last night was, however, not so far off from what we had received in our previous take-out order.
I must note that the young man who served us was friendly and prompt. I must also note that our tea was served right away and it was hot and welcome on this windy and chilly evening. Our scorpion bowl for two was refreshingly boozy and some of what we ordered was hot and tasted freshly made. Some things, however, did not come close to passing muster.
The two very small spring rolls we received were tepid at best, and more closely resembled the tiny taquitos you get in the frozen foods section of a supermarket. But they were crispy and had a flavorful filling. The beef teriyaki strips were well-marinated, tender and served hot. The chicken fingers, also freshly made, were screaming hot and nicely crispy. More than ample amounts of duck sauce and hot Chinese mustard were provided to us upon our request. Now for the bad things: We were very disappointed with the shrimp lo mein. Although this dish was rife with tiny salad shrimp, the noodles were on the hard side and dry, but still glistened with a coating of grease. Vegetables were scarce, and the whole dish itself was cold---not just tepid, but COLD. We asked for it to be reheated, and our server quickly obliged. It came back hot, but it still seemed like the scrapings from lunch‘s or last night’s dinner plates. The crab Rangoon as well didn’t seem to be freshly fried but reheated, as they didn’t have the usual hot and crispy/creamy texture.
Appetizer prices have gone up and the quality of the food has gone down steadily; this restaurant does in no way earn the title “gourmet Chinese,” as Chef Sau touts itself. We won’t return for more subpar or mediocre food.More