Josey Chu has been producing and selling her Southeast Asian sauces under the name Madame Chu since 2017, but only recently began selling noodles, samosas and interesting drinks from a stand.
For a day and a half over the Fourth of July weekend, she worked the Monona Community Festival, and while most cart and stand operators were charging $12 or more for a meal, Chu generously filled boxes of cold noodles for $8 and sold vegan samosas for $4, or two for $7. Both the noodles and the samosas were fantastic. (See our Diner’s scorecard for upcoming places to find her.)
Noodles come with either Chu’s homemade sesame sauce or satay peanut sauce, and a choice of tofu, chicken or pulled pork.

A box of Madame Chu’s noodles covered in tofu and cucumber.
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The long, wide noodles I ordered were coated in a delicious sesame sauce that had a perfect hint of chili pepper along with sesame paste, sesame oil, sesame seeds, ginger, onions and garlic.
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Chu put a bed of chicken and beautifully sliced cucumber on top to achieve a perfect combination of tastes and textures. She piled the small paper box so high two people could’ve shared it for lunch.
When I came back for a drink and complimented her on the noodle dish, she told me that she boils the chicken breast for two minutes, takes it off the heat for 30 minutes, then lets it sit in its broth overnight in the fridge. That way, she said, it becomes succulent and not dried out. “It’s grandma’s approach.”
Later that evening, I tried a samosa, which are baked not fried, and served with green chutney and tamarind sauce. Like the noodles, the potato and pea mixture inside had the right amount of heat. It also had a mild curry flavor.
Chu said samosa are an unusual food choice at the festival.
“Hot dogs are in heavy consumption during the Fourth of July,” she said. “You don’t need any education, ‘Oh, this is how you eat a hot dog: with or without a bun, ketchup, mustard, relish.’ Samosa is more of a unique, different cuisine, more like Indian, more like Trinidad or Southeast Asian type food.”
Chu said that some people had questions about eating her samosa with the two chutneys.
“That required a little bit more education than your hamburger, cheese or no cheese, do you want tomato? Do you want ketchup? Get what I’m trying to say?” she asked.

Madame Chu’s food and drink menu.
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Chu also offered a host of intriguing homemade drinks for $5 with $3 refills. Customers were invited to change to another drink on their return trips.
She had iced tea; ginger limeade; island iced tea with green tea, lime and spiced pineapple; green iced tea with green tea and lime; mango ginger limeade with mango puree, ginger juice and lime; mint ginger limeade with ginger juice, mint and lime; and horchata with coconut milk and cinnamon.
Chu used a manual juicer to squeeze fresh lime for each drink that called for it, which was nearly all of them.
My island ice tea kept me going on a brutally hot day.
She also sold peach hand pies (two for $5) made with cinnamon and sugar and drizzled with chocolate and condensed milk.
Chu didn’t have the name of her business on her stand at the Monona festival, but was wearing a Madame Chu T-shirt. Her son Keagan Johnson, 15, helped out while I was there, and Chu’s husband, Ben Johnson, assisted with setup and teardown.

Josey Chu works her stand at the Monona Community Festival over the Fourth of July weekend.
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When I called her on Tuesday, Chu said she was still recovering from working in the heat at the festival.
Chu began selling her sauces in 2017, and makes them at the FEED Kitchens on Madison’s North Side. She sells her sambal nyonya, ginger garlic, and satay peanut nyonya condiments on her website, at Metcalfe’s Market Hilldale, Willy Street Co-op and The Conscious Carnivore.
Nyonya is a garlic vinegar chili sauce in Chu’s Peranakan cooking tradition associated with Penang, Malaysia.
Peranakan culture mixes elements of Chinese, Malay and Western cultures. Chu said her grandmother on her mother’s side was half Thai and half Chinese. Her father’s side of the family came from China to Malaysia and ended up in Singapore, she said.
Chu, 56, was born and raised in Singapore and came to UW-Madison in 1999 for a doctorate in industrial engineering, which she got.
She said she studied the human factors and usability in computer interactions. “After that, the passion grew into food.”
Chu has also applied to be a vendor at the Madison Public Market, but doesn’t have her hopes up “because I am a small business.”

Josey Chu, 56, was born and raised in Singapore and came to UW-Madison in 1999 to earn her doctorate in industrial engineering. She said she studied the human factors and usability in computer interactions. “After that, the passion grew into food.”
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When I noted her reasonable prices relative to other food sellers, she said she didn’t pay attention to how much others were charging.
“My goal,” she said, “is to let people enjoy the food, sample and recognize Madame Chu’s product.”
Chu, who lives in Sun Prairie and also has a nursing degree, worked as a nurse for the Sun Prairie Area School District from 2018 through this year. “And then my husband said, ‘Well, you cannot really continue to be a nurse and food processor, so pick one.'”
39 Madison-area restaurant, bar and coffee shop openings in 2021, including more on the way
Stadium Takeout

Don Woods opened Stadium Takeout in early October, next to his barber shop, Faded Club, on Monroe Street, where Lorraine’s, and before that, New Orleans Take-Out, were.
The Harvey House

Joe Papach and Shaina Robbins Papach opened this modern-day supper club in July, tucked into the Madison Train Depot, behind Motorless Motion Bicycles on West Washington Avenue.
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Delicacies of Asia

Ting Cai Zhou opened this State Street counter-service restaurant where Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza was.
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Kettle Black Kitchen

Brian and Alicia Hamilton opened this intimate, full-service 30-seat restaurant on Monroe Street in August across from Trader Joe’s where Joon, Burgrito and Double S BBQ were.
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Patricia’s Taqueria & Groceries

Patricia Sánchez and Adrian Serrato opened this restaurant and store in the former Farm Tavern, south of the Beltline. In November, they opened a second one in Lakewood Plaza Shopping Center at Sherman and Commercial avenues.
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Forage Kitchen Middleton

Henry Aschauer opened a fourth of his healthy fast-food restaurants in November on Old Sauk Road in a former Cousins Subs shop.
Portillo’s West

Madison’s second Portillo’s hot dog restaurant with a three-lane drive-thru opened at West Towne Mall where a Sears Auto Center was.
Grace Coffee Co.

Carlos Falcon opened his fifth and sixth coffee shops, one on Park Street in the Peloton Residences apartments, the other in Verona, next to the new high school.
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Sunroom Cafe

Juan Montiel and his father, Euler Montiel, bought this second-floor, State Street favorite last summer and added some of their native Venezuelan specialties.
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers

This Louisiana-based chain, focused on chicken strips, opened in June next to Colectivo Coffee on State Street.
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Ancora Cafe + Bakery

The cafe opened in February in Maple Bluff where Manna Café was. It joins Tori Gerding’s King Street Ancora and her Ancora on University Avenue.
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Mercies Coffee

Mallory Orr, who briefly worked at the 20-year-old Cool Beans, near East Towne Mall, opened her new shop in its place in December.
Poke Bar

Evelyn Jian opened her small Middleton counter-service restaurant in early May.
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Peanut Butter & Jelly Deli

Mike Hottinger opened this counter-service shop in mid-September on State Street in what had been Frutta Bowls.
Blind Shot Golf & Social Club

Brent Mann and Michelle Duvall opened their indoor golf club, bar and restaurant in June on Fair Oaks Avenue on the ground level of the mixed-use Garver Point Apartments.
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Mount Vernon Tap

Walter Heinrich and Jennie Corey-Heinrich took over the popular bar Marcine’s in Mount Vernon and renamed it. They promised to keep almost everything the same.
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Granny’s Kitchen

Tyrone Austin and Ondray Sellers, with help from Mary Bridges, opened the takeout restaurant in February in the back of a Citgo gas station on Northport Drive.
Takarajima Sushi

Jeannie Ni opened this sushi spot in April on Cottage Grove Road where Good Food Low Carb Café was.
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Takara Sushi Station

Jeannie Ni opened her conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in August on Whitney Way where, for 14 years, she co-owned Takara Japanese Restaurant.
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Marquette Hotel Café

James Montgomery opened the cafe mid-May in his three-year-old hotel on South Baldwin Street off Williamson Street.
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Bombay Fast Café

Madhuri Ranade opened her food cart in June on Library Mall, and sells four items.
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Good News Ice Cream

Andy Haker, who owns Madison’s on King Street, turned the restaurant-bar’s party room into an artisan ice cream and coffee shop.
Oz by Oz

Sam Parker, Ryan Huber and Brian Bartels, who also own neighboring Settle Down Tavern, opened the bar in October on King Street.
Leopold’s Books Bar Caffe

Sam Brown opened a combination bookstore, bar and café in July next to the Regent Street Rocky’s, where Greenbush Bakery was.
Taco Local

David Rodriguez opened Taco Local in April on Williamson Street where Underground Butcher was.
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Dive Inn

Ryan Ramig and Josh Wacker opened a bar on Cottage Grove Road where JoBeck’s Bar was.
Hone

Michael Parks opened this eclectic restaurant in the former Forequarter space on East Johnson Street.
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City Barbeque

This Ohio-based chain opened its first Wisconsin location in March at the corner of Gammon and Mineral Point roads.
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Rising Sons Verona

Sinarack “Be” Macvilay opened a third Rising Sons Laotian-Thai restaurant on West Verona Avenue, where Jordandal Cookhouse was.
Camp Beef Butter BBQ

Patrick Riha, who owns Beef Butter BBQ restaurant on the North Side, opened this seasonal outdoor spot in the town of Westport.
Buck & Honey’s Waunakee

The restaurant, in the former Boston’s Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar, had a soft opening in December 2020, but is being counted as a 2021 opening.
Forma

Nathan Mergen, who owns the restaurant/bar 107 State at that address, expanded next door last spring into the former Shoo store, for a private dining room and “urban art gallery.”
Dark Horse ArtBar

Patrick DePula of Salvatore’s Tomato Pies on East Washington Avenue took over the space next door that used to be Star Bar for an art gallery, bar, and performance art and music venue.
Coming soon: Jacknife

Jacknife will be a fast-casual restaurant on East Washington Avenue from the owners of the sushi favorite RED.
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Coming soon: Chasers 2.0

Chasers Bar & Grille was chased out of its West Gorham Street home because of redevelopment, but Chasers 2.0 is opening in the old Nomad spot a block away.
Coming Soon: East Johnson Family Restaurant

East Johnson Family Restaurant, an upscale diner from the couple behind Johnson Public House.
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Coming Soon: Driftless Social

Driftless Social in Mount Horeb, a supper club in the old Schubert’s diner and bakery from Matt and Tim Schmock, two grandsons of the founders of Smoky’s Club in Madison.
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Coming Soon: Mio Fratello

Mio Fratello, a pizza place on the North Side from Alessandro Monachello and Chris Guglielmo. The partners have tweaked their business model to do catering and pop-up events. They’ve been selling their wood-fired pizza at the North Side Farmers’ Market and at festivals and private events.
Coming soon: Red Rooster

Red Rooster in the former Knuckle Down Saloon from Jesse Steinberg, Paul Schwoerer, Tim Payne and Dan Resnick, members of Madtown Mannish Boys, a local blues band.