Sneak Review: Chu's Taiwan Kitchen & Bar

A little dim sum taste of next week's Cafe review:

One non-dim sum starter you should strongly consider is a real Taiwanese treat: Five-spiced silverfish brings tiny, smelt-like fish battered and wok-fried to light, puffy perfection. Hot red chilies, jalapeño rings, scallions, and peanuts come tangled with the seafood stogies, which are also tossed in Szechuan peppercorn salt. Deep-fried tofu and Taiwan sausage likewise scored well: The former featured hefty cubes of crisp-skinned soybean curd bathed in sweet ginger sauce; the latter is made with sugar, so it is sweeter than most sausages, and served with onions. One big miss was grilled Japanese eggplant -- the vegetable cooked to a properly soft consistency but marred by a miso sauce with a potent raw garlic flavor.