On a lazy Sunday afternoon with a craving for Chinese food gnawing at our insides, my girlfriend and I decided to make a jump over to Buford Highway and try out yet another new spot for lunch (new to us).
So I took her to Chef Liu's. It's on Buford Highway, about a mile ITP.
As we got closer and I pointed out where we were going to be eating, my girlfriend made it clear to me that she did not want to eat at this shack in the middle of a parking lot! After some heated convincing, we opened the sliding glass door (sliding as in, like the one you have going your backyard) and sat at a table closest to the kitchen. Not that we could see through the bamboo shade hanging down and dividing the trailer.
Ambiance? It's so awesome here. With six or seven plain tables set inside a trailer and little decoration other than the strip mall you see on the other side of the parking lot through the glass walls, Chef Liu's is closer to what you might find in other countries that allow food to be sold from run down shacks on the side of the street - at least closer than most places you'll find here in Atlanta.
Cold Noodle dishes, dumplings and soups are the main offerings here, although we also ordered a leek pie - absolutely delicious and we ate it long before our actual meals arrived. The pan fried pork dumplings are beautiful and look exactly like the picture in the overhead wall menu. You won't find these at P.F. Chang's.
You can't compare Chef Liu's to a regular restaurant or most other places. It's simply different and unique. Of course they don't use the highest quality ingredients, of course it's not food you would find at a 'finer' establishment - this is food for the masses, cheap food done well. Your food comes out fast and hot and you feel like you're eating at some secret spot that only the best know about - no matter how many people eat here on a regular basis. About as quick as ordering food at Burger King or Wendy's, but not as bland and generic as Panda Express - this is good, different fast food.
Sitting there with your limited basic mandarin you picked up from pimsleur during your morning commute, you over hear the waitresses talking to each other and with the customers - people who aren't foodies obsessed with finding the most authentic any thing. Just a spot to get good food reminiscent of their homeland while living in the deep south. This place is great and will always be near the top on the list of choices when I get that gnawing feeling for some dumplings and a slightly different menu offering.
Review Summary: 4.6
5221 Buford Hwy NE
Atlanta, GA, 30340
(770) 936-0532
