At Chu Mai, chef Billy Ngo’s new midtown Sacramento dining room, Vietnamese and Chinese family recipes show up dressed for a night out. The restaurant layers comfort-food roots into carefully plated small plates and shareable entrées, all set inside a softly modern space. The name itself is personal, an inversion of his mother’s maiden name, so the project reads as both tribute and a chef digging into his own heritage.
According to The Sacramento Bee, the dinner menu shifts with the seasons and with Ngo’s whims. One standout is a lobster & shrimp “cheung fun,” served deconstructed with pickled shiitake, garlic-butter sauce and nuoc cham, which servers cut tableside. The Bee also noted that vegetarian dishes are sprinkled throughout the menu and that the room can turn buzzy on busy nights.
Menu and Signature Dishes
The restaurant’s online menu lists a spread of small plates and larger entrées, from Macanese egg tarts to duck liver mousse, with items like Lobster & Shrimp “Cheung Fun” ($24) and a Grilled Lemongrass Pork Steak ($48) getting special billing. Many dishes are marked “subject to change,” underscoring a rotating approach to ingredients and preparations, according to Chu Mai's menu.
A Personal Tribute
Ngo named the restaurant for his mother, Mai Chu, and filled the space with portraits and artwork meant to keep her presence front and center, as detailed by Sactown Magazine. Sactown also reported that Chu Mai opened at the end of January on the ground floor of the Ary Place development, and that its green palette and floral mural are designed to create an elevated yet familiar setting.
Bar Program and Service
Ngo told The Sacramento Bee that the bar program incorporates savory elements such as fish sauce and MSG into cocktails, and the restaurant lists Jose Carrasco as its beverage director. The drinks lean savory-sweet, pairing bold, umami-forward accents with fruit and floral notes to echo what is happening on the plate.
Practical Details
Chu Mai sits in midtown Sacramento and lists its address and evening hours on its website. The restaurant is open most evenings and does not currently offer lunch service, according to Chu Mai. For reservations and the latest hours, diners are directed to call the restaurant or check the website, since menu items and times are subject to change.
Why It Matters
Chef Ngo is best known locally for Kru and other concepts, and he was named a 2024 James Beard finalist, credentials that give Chu Mai an outsized profile for an upscale take on Chinese and Vietnamese flavors in Sacramento, according to reporting from KCRA. That background helps explain why Chu Mai is positioned as a polished, restaurant-scene answer to elevated Chinese-Vietnamese cooking in the region.
The menu is expected to keep evolving, with seasonal produce, price points on larger plates and Ngo’s own experiments shaping what appears from week to week. For anyone planning a visit, the restaurant’s website and recent coverage in The Sacramento Bee remain the go-to spots for up-to-date menus and availability.
