Chi-Fu is a French restaurant in every sense except the cooking. The maitre d' and wait staff are besuited and seemingly straight-laced, the linens are crisp white, the wine list is long and, yes, there are the inevitable oversize plates on which chefs sparsely arrange morsels connected by a sprinkling of garnishes.
What saves Chi-Fu from being a stereotypical French restaurant, however, is that the fare is Chinese — or Chinese fusion — and the staff, despite their formal appearance, are as charming as they are friendly. Also, though French wines dominate, especially those from Burgundy, they are complimented by offerings from every wine-producing country in the world. And chef and sommelier Kei Tashiro is on hand to offer advice if the wine list or menu are a little overwhelming.
Chi-Fu is housed in an ex-noodle factory, an odd modernist-style building a short walk from Kitashinchi Station. The motif for the interior seems to be heavy curtains. Other than that, it's extremely plain — white walls match the white tablecloths — with none of the usual trappings of a Chinese restaurant. I had a private room to myself, curtained off from the compact main dining room. What might have been a rather lonely lunch was improved by the company of Tashiro and his wait staff.