Chef Zhu

Wow, Chef Zhu is a fantastic Shanghainese restaurant! I came here with three friends, and we greatly enjoyed every dish we tried. My personal favorite was the sweet and sour sole. We also got the orange chicken, rice cakes (with chicken), and eggplant with garlic. I would highly recommend all of these dishes. One thing to note is that the portions are very large! 3 people can share the sole on its own, so I would probably only get 1 dish for 2-3 people. The prices are great for the quality and quantity provided. The restaurant itself is very nicely decorated, with friendly staff and easy parking.

I visited the fambam and decided to head out here for father's day. Chef Zhu looked like a recent addition to list of Asian restaurants in San Diego. I always enjoyed Shanghainese food and the restaurant was situated in a large plaza with plenty of parking. Honestly, I thought we had a pretty decent meal. The chicken was a tad too salty and the fried rice was a little dry. Aside from that, a lot of the flavors were on point and it wouldn't get much better elsewhere. The vegetables we ordered was healthy and delicious.

I had been super eager to try this restaurant given the reviews hyping this place prior to its opening. But I would say that even though I am glad I gave this place a try, I did not eat anything that would bring me back for a second trip. Salt & pepper chicken wings ($11.99): This was my favorite dish of the entire meal. It was deep fried to a perfect level of crunch. I really enjoyed the topping of salt, pepper, toasted scallions, and chili flakes. I am not someone who tolerates spicy food, but this was just the right amount of heat to augment rather than detract from the flavor of the chicken. Meat was tender and moist. Salt & pepper squid ($11.95): Generous portion for the price & the same flavorful topping was used as for the chicken wings. The squid meat was tender. But the batter was not very crunchy at all. I actually took it home intentionally as leftovers so that I could airfry it to an appropriate level of crunch. And I did! So I wish it had been deep fried to a crunchy state to start. Beef chow fun ($18.95): My opinion on this dish is equivocal. The meat is tender and plentiful. The portion size was decent for the price (compared to other San Diego restaurants). I think I just don't like the noodle style because these noodles do not absorb flavor well & make the dish more bland. But if you are a lover of chow fun, I think you would find this a good dish. Soup dumplings (called Shanghai style steamed bun on menu) ($12.95): Pass. The meat and broth have good flavor. And the skin is clearly handmade. But the skin was too thick. The top part of the dough didn't steam all the way through, and overall the skin was chewier than I would like.Ambiance: Airy and elegant. Any event (family celebration, romantic date, casual outing) would be appropriate here. Parking: Unlimited free parking in a shopping center lotService: Attentive and efficient

We visited Chef Zhu for the first time. The restaurant has a lovely, traditional Chinese restaurant vibe. Started with Wonton Soup - great comfort food for a rainy day. We had the fish filet with spicy bean sauce and asked for it to be medium spicy. It was really spicy for us and it was delicious. The serving is very generous and we had enough to take home for another room. The wait staff were helpful, courteous and efficient. Looking forward to going back and trying other dishes.

They started a breakfast menu on Saturday and Sundays opening at 10am. Their Sheng jian bao and beef noodle soup was delicious. The noodles and the Sheng jian bao is made in house. Loved the balance of flavors for the beef noodle soup. Not super salty, drinkable soup, and the noodles are handmade to perfection! Highly recommend!

Love the food. Love the convenience of the nearby location and the service and staff are very friendly and efficient. I stop by every week, the food is that good!

I remember Chef Zhu from when he ran Double Happiness.  He made delicious pan fried noodles and other dishes.  I was sad when Double Happiness was sold.  Now Chef Zhu is back in business and I came by to try the pan fried noodles.After the waitress brought out my pan fried noodles I inquired about the difference between lo mein and their pan fried noodles.  She said they were the same thing which is odd.  Most of the places I order pan fried noodles at give you fried crispy noodles like Diamond Palace.  I'm not a big fan of Chef Zhu's pan fried noodles as the big noodles have a big starchy flavor.  Chicken was tender and not dry.  Beef was tender and had a delicious flavor.  Shrimp was plump and had a fresh shrimp flavor.  I like the soy based sauce used to season the dish. Photos of the Double Happiness version here: https://www.hungryones.com/2021/06/double-happiness-2/2nd visit I tried the lunch special won ton soup.  I asked the waiter about it and he told me they included some kind of green veggies.  I thought that meant veggies would be added to the broth.  Turns out veggies were added to the won tons.  I prefer my won tons made of pork and shrimp.  The veggies are reducing my protein intake.  Flavor was ok.  I would not order this dish again.I also tried the half roast duck.  I usually get the Hong Kong style roast duck you see hanging in the window.  This roast duck was a different style.  Loved the crispy skin, tender meat, and the smoky flavor.  Duck was perfectly cooked and not dry.  My favorite dish here.Staff was nice.  I love the roast duck here but I prefer the dishes Chef Zhu made at Double Happiness.

I have been traveling to China for 25+ years and have run joint venture companies there and traveled across the country into different provinces/cities and believe I am quite the expert on authentic Chinese cuisine.We were excited when we learned that Chef Zhu was opening and we would no longer need to travel to Convoy for authentic Chinese cuisine. There is certainly bad Chinese food options available in Carmel Valley and along the 56, but now, to have an authentic Chinese restaurant was exciting.I was a regular diner at Joyee's restaurant in the same complex as Chef Zhu, like probably 8x/month, so that was the standard to measure against Chef Zhu, . . . . .although, honestly I was very concerned that the competition between Joyee and Chef Zhu may well hurt Joyee's business and I LOVE the food at Joyee.We went on the first week they opened and the place was packed with Chinese diners - a good sign for someone who is seeking REAL Chinese food and dishes. And there was a long line of diners waiting in line outside to eat there.My assessment - Chef Zhu's food was good, very good, but, . . . . . . . . . I would not say the dishes were as authentic as I had hoped. Since my expectations were so high, my rating is a little biased.Moving forward, I will advise that I have not returned to Chef Zhu, opting instead for the Joyee restaurant in the same complex. Joyee's food is consistently authentic and their Xiao Long Bao is fabulous and significantly cheaper than Din Tai Fang. And their Cumin Lamb and their Beef with Rice Noodles and their Dou Miao (Pea shoots) with garlic is sooooooo delicious when it's in season.I will probably try Chef Zhu again in the future for a 2nd try.

We went here for Chinese new year and it was amazing! Being Chinese myself, I am picky about eating Chinese in a restaurant. I find the dishes usually too greasy, overcooked, over flavored. Chef Zu has authentic Chinese cuisine with good quality ingredients, great flavors in clean and beautiful restaurant. The service was also great and the food was served quickly and steaming hot. The crispy duck one of the best! Sorry I forgot to take pictures. Will add the next time I go back.

This had to be one of the greatest dining experiences I have ever had in San Diego. I normally use Yelp to give primarily negative reviews, so it is especially stellar when I feel the need to rave positively about a business. The staff are incredibly kind. The owner came up to us multiple times to ask us how we were doing, and check in on us. The food was absolutely delicious, I would change absolutely nothing about what I ordered. The environment of the restaurant is cozy, but pretty. I have to 100% recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes food that is flavored well. I ordered the bok choy, the rice cakes, the lo mein, and crispy chicken, and they were to DIE FOR!!! Please go support this fantastic restaurant.One final note, the portions are gigantic. Be prepared to take food home and get your moneys worth and more.