Chai Chef has been around for about a year. It’s located in Flagstaff Plaza in Suva, Fiji. It’s been on our radar, and we finally tried the food there for the first time after a sunset walk along the seawall.
The food we ordered was excellent: chicken dumplings and two dry-noodle dishes topped with beef slices.
The dumplings were incredible. Seriously. So good. I could’ve eaten three entire plates of these things. I wish I had a freezer full of them. Why are they so good? One element is the dough: It’s hand rolled and thicker than what I’m used to in Chinese dumplings; nice and toothsome. The other element is the filling: an umami bomb of ground chicken with what looks to be flecks of green onion. Maybe there’s fish sauce in there? Not sure. Whatever the ingredients are, they are undeniably delicious.
Chai Chef offers both dry noodles and noodle soups. I love dry noodles, and I recommend the chili beef dry noodles. We ordered the spice on the mild side, and I like the texture of the chili seeds in the dish. Lots of sesame oil , just the right amount of salt (soy sauce?), a hint of sugar, and some thinly sliced beef make for a good combo. Crushed peanuts for a textural garnish and a bit of lettuce and shredded carrot on the side make for a pretty dish.
The verdict: an excellent meal. This has made our go-to takeout list of eateries in Suva.
Find out about our other staple takeout place here.
ATB 