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Chef Leu’s celebrates 10 years!
by Judy Christensen - Shelburne News - May 7,2004

Chef Leu's House is celebrating its lOth anniversary, opening on Shelburne Road in 1994. Chef Hu Shung Leu and his wife Nancy had years of experience in the restaurant business and decided it was time to have a restaurant of their own. The Shelburne location was ideal; it had been an Italian restaurant and there weren't any other Asian restaurants in the vicinity at the time. Nancy is known for her warm and enthusiastic greeting to customers and Chef Leu is in the kitchen supervising the preparation of all the dishes. Their daughter Louise, now in high school, has grown up working with her parents at the restaurant, taking on more and more responsibilities of her own. Besides helping her mother greet customers, she enjoys working on nightly chef's specials and generates colorful menu inserts with descriptions and prices of special offerings.
Chef Leu's is known for a varied menu featuring well-prepared dishes from the outstanding regional cuisines of China and Southeast Asia. One of my favorites is Shrimp with Garlic Sauce or Yu Hsiang Style Shrimp. Yu Hsiang means "aromatic fish," a Szechuan style dish of shrimp water chestnuts and green peppers in a sauce combining sugar and vinegar with garlic and chili sauce to create a unique and subtle sweet and sour flavor. My son enjoys Chef Leu's version of General Gau's Chicken deep fried crispy cubes of chicken coated with water chestnut flour and eggs and cooked in a tangy hot ginger sauce, a great dish for kids.
Although Szechuan cuisine is now the most popular Chinese cuisine in many parts of the world, Hunan cuisine (interestingly where Mao Tse Tung was born) has gained in popularity. Both Hunan and Szechuan are famous for their fiery cooking and production of rice - Hunan produces rice in higher quantities than any other province in China but while the two cuisines have much in common, there are some differences. Hunan cuisine is often even hotter than Szechuan cooking. Red chili peppers are used extensively to cleanse the palate. The peppers may also be a defense against the humid weather because it is thought that hot foods such as red chili peppers dry out and cool down the body, making it easier to handle the heat and dampness. However, while Szechuan recipes often call for chili paste, Hunan dishes frequently use fresh chili peppers, including the seeds and membranes where most of the heat is contained. Try the Hunan Chow Foon with chicken, a dish made with soft flat noodles, broccoli, green peppers, water chestnuts, baby corn, onions and straw mushrooms in a flavorful hot and spicy sauce. The portions are ample served with steamed rice and there is usually plenty to take home.
The sizzling Peking Noodle Platter is a fun dish to have served at your table, Kung Pao Szechuan style which the menu says was invented by a teacher of a Manchu Prince is made with chili peppers (very hot), garlic, celery, scallions, dark soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and roasted peanuts. Another favorite of mine is Moo Shu style, a northern dish of shredded cabbage, bamboo shoots, tiger lily flowers, mushrooms, scallions, scrambled egg and a choice of pork, beef, chicken, shrimp or vegetarian served in a rice "crepe." The Chef's specialties are all worth trying, but a real favorite is the Chef's Spectacular, an unbelievable combination of lobster meat, chicken breast, pork, shrimp, and beef in a beautifully flavored sauce. Chef's Leu's uses only 100% vegetable oil and no MSG.
Open Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sundays and holidays, 12 noon to 9:30 -p.m., Chef Leu's will please your craving for Szechuan, Hunan, Mandarin or Vietnamese cuisines.. Call ahead at 985- 5258 for take-out or eat in and take advantage of Chef Leu's full bar and pleasing decor. Either way, when Nancy or Louise greet you, they'll make you feel right at home!