Chef Liu

4 solid stars for Chef Liu. Good authentic Sichuan style Chinese food at a convenient location on Buford Hwy.

I came here with a few friends during Monday at lunchtime. For such a random day, Chef Liu had a decent amount of customers and a quick turnover of tables. The interior was a little dingy but just your typical Chinese restaurant layout. The service was okay, not much to be expected from a Chinese restaurant (come for the food!)...servers ask for your order but won't check up on you much unless you ask for something.

We ordered 6 dishes: beef thick cut rice noodles, cut potatoes, mapo tofu, gong bao chicken, scallion pancake and leek pancake. We were served our orders surprisingly quickly--everything was on the table about 10-15min after we ordered. The portions weren't huge but generous, enough to share among friends or family.

The food itself was very good! Everything tastes absolutely authentic. Some Chinese restaurants drown dishes in sauce, but Chef Liu adds just the right amount of flavor and sauce to each dish to bring out its distinctive taste without overdoing it. We loved every single one of the dishes we got. My personal favorite was the mapo tofu. The tofu was especially soft and the sauce was so flavorful but not too oily.

With about 1 dish per person ratio, we were all stuffed and satisfied. This is an excellent choice if you're craving authentic Chinese food. Bring your friends and family for some great food!

I keep returning to Chef Liu and have not been disappointed! I always get the Leek Pie (exceptional) and then try something new as well. Last time I tried the Soup Dumplings. They were OK. Only about half had soup and it was not very flavorful. I much prefer the soup dumplings at China Kitchen (in the Chinatown food court in Chamblee).

But, that doesn't keep me from raising my rating to five stars. Because to me the food at Chef Liu is consistently good and the waitress is super friendly to me. (I think she recognizes me now). So exceptional food, service and prices get 5 stars from me! Highly recommend.

Chef Liu is located in a old shopping center in the Doraville area of Buford Hwy. Looks like nothing much from the outside but once inside, it is fairly large. The interior is dingy and dated, nothing fancy here. Relatively clean, though my partner wanted to leave.

Once we were seated, they gave us a pot of hot tea and a menu the size of an old telephone book.

The menu was in two or three parts. Szechuan and Chinese parts, each with appetizers and entrees. I was excited to see some old favorites that I have not seen for years. It took us about 20 minutes to decide what to order. There were several vegetarian items available, but the veggie dumplings and veggie buns were not available, hopefully this was a short-term problem.

I ordered a Green Onion Cake for appetizer and Spicy Cold Noodles. My partner ordered the Pork Cake for appetizer and some other Szechuan Pork dish as well.

The food came out at different times and our appetizers came out last.

The Green Onion Cake was really great, however it could have used a dipping sauce. The Spicy Cold Noodles were exactly the way I liked them, and brought back some great memories of NYC in the 90s. My partner really loved his dishes and quickly forgot about his objections to the look of the place.

This place is a real dive...dumpy, dingy etc. However the food was very good. Not a modern menu with new items or Chef specials, but some comfort food from the past. More of a 3 1/2 star place. I will be back to see if they have the veggie dumplings, plus the menu is extensive, there is plenty of items to try.

Young He Zhi Jia on most days is my favorite Taiwanese restaurant in Atlanta. But when it comes to down right home cooking...it's Chef Liu hands down...this taste just like mom's cooking....

Whenever I go back to Taiwan I always like to hit the streets for some cheap but good eats and Chef Liu reminds me of the stuff I get in Taiwan.

So let's break down some of the items on their menu

Xiao long Bao (4.5 stars) their broth taste the closest to the stuff you get at Din Tai Fung in Taiwan. The skin itself and the technique leaves much to be desired but really...who cares...just pop those babies in your mouth and keep on moving down the menu....

Pan fried pork buns (4 stars) their stuff reminds of the old lady with the wooden cart that I use to buy my steam buns growing up in Banqiao. It's pretty much as authentic as it gets....

House Fried Rice: (4 stars) the only reason they didn't get a 5 star for this is they use long grain rice and I prefer medium grain rice (sorry I'm picky) Otherwise they must of asked my mom for her recipe because it taste just like hers...shhh...I think Chef Liu's maybe better....What? nothing mom...I said yours was the best of course...what kind of daughter do you think I am?

Leek pies (4 stars) Now I'm prejudice. I only like my grandmother's leek pies so these pies are probably 5 stars worthy but because I'm emotionally attached to Grand's pies they lose a star just because...sorry...

Chicken and veggie lo-mein...this is probably my favorite dish besides the xiao long bao that they make. Again taste just like mom's cooking...

Mapo Tofu...I've never been a huge fan of mapo tofu but their version is the closest to the stuff I get in Taiwan...so it all depends on whether you like the stuff or not...if you do like it then you should get it here....

So I guess you just have to go and eat and judge for yourself...

This review is long overdue. I have been going to Chef Liu for more than 7 years now and I haven't had a bad experience yet. I have gone for dinner and lunch and have received speedy service every time.

Favorite dishes: soup dumplings, garlic spiced bacon meat, pork fried dumplings and eggplant with garlic sauce.

Parking: huge parking lot

So if you are looking for some good and authentic chinese food, please stop by Chef Liu.

This place has been my Chinese-American family's staple for over a decade, ever since it was just a one-room shop in the middle of the parking lot of the shopping plaza it stills resides in today.

My Chinese parents say that this place is the best place they've ever had fresh you tiao/油条/Chinese cruller in the entire United States - and they've spent a lot of time exploring the Chinese food scene not just in Atlanta, but Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. I have to agree that these are not only freshly fried, but oh so fluffy in a way that almost makes me swoon just thinking about it. Everywhere else I've ever had these in the US (and honestly some places in China) makes them almost tough and too chewy. Chef Liu definitely knows what they're doing with this place.

The other dishes here are also really great (soup dumplings, pork buns, cumin lamb, etc.). The best way to make the most of your meal is to come with a group so that you can share each dish, the way they were meant to be eaten. I just implore you to not leave here without getting an order of the Chinese crullers and hot, fresh-made soy milk (maybe with a little sugar added in!).

This place is off the charts. They have the best soup
Dumplings in the world. No doubt about it omg
So hot with pork and yummy. This is when I was eating meat. They have the best Asian food also. I don't have any pics but there sesame chicken and stuff is amazing.

Chef Liu is one of BuHi's oldie but goodie. Menu full of classic Chinese/Taiwanese cuisine, it's one of the few places you'll find somewhat decent and reasonably priced steamed goods!

FOOD: 4
It's definitely not the best xiao long bao you'll taste around here, but it's cheap and it'll satiate your cravings for it. I prefer Yong He Zhi Jia's xiao long bao better than Chef Liu's. Most entrees are pretty huge so don't over order or be ready to pack lots of left overs home!

SERVICE: 3
Somehow, every visit I've made, ended in over 30 minutes of waiting before the waitress even comes to take your drink orders. I think Chef Liu is often understaffed, usually you'll only see one staff around taking orders. If the wait wasn't always so long I think I would come here more often.

This place is exactly what I've been searching for. Authentic Chinese food where I can order 3-4 new dishes each time to share with my husband and not break the bank. I am not an expert in authentic Chinese cuisine, but I am very satisfied each time I eat here.

We've tried the beef noodle soup, sesame cake pork appetizer, crispy pork spare ribs, shanghai juicy pork buns, fried pork puns, steamed and fried pork dumplings, and another one of their fried rib dishes. We were very pleased with each. The beef noodle soup isn't as good as Lan Zhou's, but to be able to get that and a multitude of other foods with it makes Chef Liu more appealing to me.

The sesame cake pork appetizer is huge and only $4. Needless to say it was my lunch for the next day. The shanghai juicy pork buns are pretty good, but if you don't eat them immediately, a small hole will form in each and the juice will leak out. The dumplings are pretty good, nothing to rave about, but the rib dishes are something to talk about. They're little bite size bits of spare ribs with bones in them that are fried to perfection. The batter they use for frying is different than your ordinary frying batter, so it gives it a unique taste. If you don't mind eating around and spitting out some bones, it's a nice treat.

I was hesitant at first to come here because of all of the reviews regarding their service. However, I found it to be similar to a typical authentic Asian restaurant. They will seat you immediately and were very attentive when we came in through the door. They'll come over to your table quickly after you're seated to take your order. However, if you're not ready within 2-3 minutes of being seated and ask for them to come back, you'll most likely have to flag them down. This is done by raising your arm up, index finger extended, and making direct eye contact with one of the waiters/waitresses. Mission accomplished when they either nod at you or come over.

Tea is traditionally served so if you want water - which I recommend - you'll have to ask for it, ideally when they come to take your food order.

They'll bring your order out as each dish is ready, so your "appetizer" may come out last, but it'll be hot.

If you have very little patience and want the waiters/waitresses to be extremely attentive, this is probably not the place for you. If you are however or you're looking to practice your patience skills, then by all means come in. There is ample parking out front!

This is a great Chinese place. We ordered pork buns and shrimp dumplings. Both were delicious! I definitely need to come back and have lunch or dinner here.

The place has many tables and a great place to go with your friends for a meal.

There is complimentary tea and free refills. Highly recommend.

Yum!! My friends were visiting from out of state, and we were dying for some good ole Chinese share style food. We decided to try this place because why the heck not? and it was close to Kung Fu Tea... lol.
The interior is about what I expected, nothing special. Kind of bland which isn't bad! It was clean so that's all that matters.
My friends and I order a meat dish, veggie dish, and some dumplings. Oh my gosh, all of it was so good! I loved it all. Everything was piping hot when we got it and full of flavor. The portions were large and good for the price. We also were served hot tea with our meal, I love when Chinese restaurants do that by default.
The service was all right, nothing to write home about. Didn't affect my experience at all.

all in all, good price to quality ratio and would visit again.