The Cupertino Courier

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Danny Wong, manager of Chef Chau's in Saratoga, offers a dish of glazed roast duck.

The sauces, spices make Chef Chau's food special

By Suzanne Cristallo

Chef Chau's Chinese restaurant in Saratoga is a showcase for secret sauces created by owner Patrick Chau.

Ten years ago, Chau came to the United States from Cambodia, after first spending two years working in a restaurant in Thailand. It was there he discovered spices that could make the traditional Chinese sauces he grew up with into something new and exciting.

Today, he uses his discoveries as a base for the Mandarin and Szechwan dishes composing the menu in the gourmet restaurant he opened two years after his arrival here.

There are seven sauces: five-flavor sauce--what those flavors are is the secret--which is used on prawns or chicken; tangerine sauce for beef and chicken; kungpao sauce--a spicy brown sauce for beef, chicken or prawns; sweet and sour sauce for pork, prawns or chicken; lemon chicken sauce; daichin chicken sauce; and plum sauce.

Chau's success with Chef Chau's prompted him to open a Chinese fast-food establishment in Sunnyvale two years later--the first in a chain he calls Mr. Chau's. Since 1991, he has opened a total of 13 Mr. Chau's throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Two more grand openings are planned this year.

In spite of its fast-food cousins, Chef Chau's remains a fine dining establishment, designed for the leisurely diner. Chau visits whenever his sauces begin to run out, whipping up new batches for the resident chef, for only Chau knows the recipes.

Danny Wong, 38, is the manager of the Big Basin Way restaurant. He brings with him the expertise gained from his years as a waiter and wine steward at the famous old Peninsula Hotel in his native city of Hong Kong. He also brings organizational talents he demonstrated as captain of waiters and manager of Hong Kong's Aberdeen Marina Club.

It was Wong's ability to organize that attracted Chau, who hired him in 1994 to create for Chef Chau's a system of service like that in the Peninsula Hotel, famed for its Old World service.

Wong says the takeout and dine-in customers at Chef Chau's favor the Chinese chicken salad. It has a sauce containing virgin olive oil, chopped peanuts, sesame seasoning and vermicelli served over iceberg and romaine lettuce. The chicken is tender, he promises. He notes that the $4.95 price for a small salad (big enough to be an appetizer for two) and $9.50 for a large is the same as it was five years ago. "We are very stable here," he says.

The restaurant also offers catering and has a banquet room that accommodates up to 40 people.

Chef Chau's Chinese Gourmet, 14510 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner, Mon.-Thu., 5-9 p.m., Fri., 5-10 p.m., Sat., 4-10 p.m., Sun., 4-9 p.m. 867-2554.

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