chiuchow cuisine

We just got a new au pair from Thailand and here I am, worried that there are no decent Thai restaurants anywhere near our Bronzeville home. Well, it turns out that her family is a member of the Teochew Chinese community in Thailand. Although she likes Thai food, her true love is the food she grew up eating in Bangkok's Chinatown, which, if my internet research is correct, is referred to as Chiuchow.

I was in the Chinatown mall this morning and noticed that Shui Wah calls itself a chiuchow restaurant -- can anyone give me some guidance on this cuisine, any must-tries, classic dishes? Our au pair is lovely, but her English is somewhat limited at this point and I'm not sure she could withstand a close grilling on her native food. She's working out beautifully so far and I want to keep her happy -- no telling how long her daily "Hong Kong style milk tea with pearls" will keep her satisfied.

I always think of Shui Wah as a dim sum restaurant, though they have a full menu and lots of special items written on paper in Chinese and hung on the wall. If it turns out that you decide to go there with her, maybe a few LTHers would like to come along to give you some "ordering power". I for one would love to go with someone who might be able to further unravel some of the mystery dishes that they serve.

Hi Kasia,

I'm glad to hear your au pair is working out so far!

As for Shui Wah, if you do a search on Chicago Chowhound for chui chow [as 2 words] you'll find some old threads written by people you know on LTH. Maybe those posters can update their experiences here...

Amata