Chu's Eatery — Restaurant in Portland

Chu's..... Out on Powell Blvd........ Damn..

So think of that iconic movie scein of the neighborhood Chinese restaurant. The piles of steamy hot food on platter sized plates. A big bowl of rice. That tin of hot tea on every table. The vibrant colors of carrot onion and celery with large chunks of deep fried chicken, shrimp, stirfried pork or beef. The BBQ Pork, and the stale fortune cookies. The smells of slow roasting duck and the hint of stagnant tobacco still in the air from decades ago wafting from the lounge area.

Now throw into the mix the Mom& Pop team. Working day shift. The original owners. She's out front with her friend or sister. He's in back, cooking and talking to the prep guy. Tossing a plate onto the pass-bar. More Chinese on a plate going to the folks just over there.

Now toss the classic look in to it. The dragons on the walls, the rice paper paintings of cliffs and waterfalls, the red shade covers hanging just below the recessed lights in the corners. That faux leather, tan or light grey over stuffed benches at the booth table.

I really wish that was what you'd find at Chu's. I really do, instead you'll find the A- typical Chinese strip mall dive. The same run down menu as the guy down the road. Hell even the stale air inside is stereotypical of a strip mall restaurant. Oh sure the Mom & pop is there. You step into the "host" area and like annoying neighbors looking over the fence Mom is there.. "You wanna order something?" In the back you hear a muffled "get me my damned bucket from over there.." You grab a "to go" menu. There it is.... lunch.... Wait what..... A bowl of noodles and chicken, veggies.... Yum. $11.00 Nope...... $11.00 gets you a slurry of noodles and chicken bits in a teriyaki sauce. No veggies, no frills, especially no bold flavors or character . just limp noodles.. No signs saying positive things about the impending doom you just paid for..

Nope, not going...

This is a pretty run of the mill Chinese restaurant. I would say the food is good and you get a good amount of food for the price. However, it's not anything super special.

They have lots of vegetarian, pork, beef, and chicken dishes to pick from. They have combo options and family options that give you more bang for your buck.

My experience was with a group. It was a party and our group was in a back room separate from other customers. Once they took orders, the food came pretty fast Everyone got soup as the first course. My husband liked the soup, but it really seemed bland to me personally. We ordered the "A. Cantonese family choice". It came with crab puffs, egg roll, pork, a celery dish, scrambled egg dish, fried rice, and sweet n sour chicken. It was a lot of food for two people and we even shared with our daughter. Because we were with a larger party I was able to try their cashew chicken which was my favorite of all the dishes I tried.

I suggest that if you go in a group of more than three people to pick a few dishes that everyone can share between the group vs ordering individual plates.

The staff was very efficient and they even boxed our food for us.

Fyi: because we were in a larger group, they automatically added a tip to the bill.

As for wheelchair accessibility, I didn't notice if there was a step to get in, but the restaurant itself is level and dinner on a Saturday night was not very busy. (Our party was the bulk of the customers). It was crowded in the party room for one of our group who was in a wheelchair, however he was able to sit at a table in the center of the room.

Safety in parking lot: I would advise not leaving valuables in your car. That part of town isn't as safe as it used to be.

There is a lot of parking around...

Been looking for a new Chinese restaurant since Chinese happiness closed. I was pleasantly surprised by this place! I thought at first the red sauce looked a little funny, but it's Soo good! They have the best egg roles I've ever had! All my food was delicious! The only thing I suggest, is if your a sesame chicken fan, order the sweet and sour with sauce on the side. We ordered a combo like that, and my husband ordered the regular sesame chicken it came mostly brown meat. But mine was all white meat. That was our only complaint and it's an easy fix. If I would of tried this place when Chinese happiness was around, I'd still do the extra driving and go chus instead! So glad we finally found a great Chinese...