PF Chang's Asian Food Offers Tasty Faire, Nice Decor

California Restaurants--P.F. Chang's China Bistro, founded in Arizona, features tasty cuisine with less oils than traditional Chinese food preparations. The dishes taste lighter, better and fresher as a result. Readily available from the company are fat gram counts and ingredients of their restaurant entrees, desserts and salads. Forward thinking, they even offer recipes from time to time. There are over 25 PF Chang's California restaurants, and a handful of the spin-off PeiWei restaurants that the company describes as lighter faire.

Lettuce wraps are one example of a food thatt's simple, tastes great and reflects the trends of overweight Americans in trying to cut the fat in their diets. Rather than surrounding meat ingredients with flour dough shells fried in oil, fresh green pieces of lettuces are used to create mini-finger foods that allow you to walk out of the restaurant feeling good--not tired.  With open seating in large dining spaces, you'll often turn your head as food is delivered to nearby tables. You can't help it. The dishes look and smell delicious.

If you're on a tight budget, you probably won't eat at P.F. Chang's often. There are no extras served when you sit down and wait for a meal. The price of a lunch will cost you around $10 -15 for an entree and if you add to that an appetizer, you're into the $25 lunch. Dining on my own dime (as opposed to writing restaurant reviews,) I order a soft drink or ice tea, then sit and wait, and chat with friends. Once you see the size of the entrees, you realize it's a good thing you didn't fill up on bread sticks, noodles or other such fillers. But it would be nice to have a small salad or bowl of soup as part of your meal. Having eaten at so many Chinese restaurants, you kind of miss the combo plates with soup, salad, eggroll and entree for under $10.

You'll often find a PF Chang's located at a tourist destination, harbor, or popular mall in California, and there crowd is generally business oriented during the daylight hours, phasing into families and couples at night. Very popular around business centers for award and birthday luncheons, it's the kind of place you'd splurge and pay a bit more to enjoy for its ambience and quality of food. There are over 25 PF Chang's China Bistro restaurants in California spanning the state from San Diego to San Francisco & Sacramento. You'll sometimes find them in a new mall next to other popular chain restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen.

Recommendation: P.F. Chang's has something for every diner in your group, and sometimes its even great to share a few dishes so you can taste compare. Definitely talk among your party and select items that you can share. It's a fun way to get to know this delightful menu.

ENTREES - Sampling

CHANG'S CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS Quickly cooked spiced chicken served with cool lettuce cups.  Spiced chicken, green onions, water chestnuts, black mushrooms, rice sticks, sesame oil, garlic, minced chicken sauce
CHANG'S SPARE RIBS Wok-seared with Chang's barbecue sauce.
Pork ribs, ginger, Sichuan pepper salt, pickled red cabbage slaw, black and white sesame seeds, bbq sauce, chicken stock, green onions
CHANG'S VEGETARIAN LETTUCE WRAPS  Wok-seared tofu, red onions and water chestnuts with mint and lime. Served with cool lettuce cups.
WILD ALASKAN SOCKEYE SALMON STEAMED WITH GINGER  Served over stir-fried shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, tomatoes and asparagus.  Sockeye salmon filet, steamed fish sauce, ginger root, green onions, canola oil, dried shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, roma tomatoes, asparagus spears
 

DESSERTS - Sampling

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE DOME  Served with fresh berries and raspberry sauce.
GREAT WALL OF CHOCOLATE   Six layers of rich chocolate cake frosted with semi-sweet chocolate chips and served with raspberry

PF Chang China Bistro California Restaurants

Anaheim- Garden Walk, 321 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim, CA 92802. Call: (714) 507-2021

Bakersfield- The Shops at Riverwalk, 10700 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311. Call:(661) 664-8100

Burbank- Burbank Town Center, 201 E. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502, Call: (818) 391-1070

Chula Vista- Otay Ranch, 2015 Birch Road, Chula Vista, CA 91915. Call: (619) 421-2080

Corte Madera- Town Center, 301 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera, CA 94925. Call: (415) 413-9890

El Segundo- aka. Manhattan Beach, 2041 Rosecrans Avenue, El Segundo, CA 90245. Call: (310) 607-9062

Emeryville, 5633 Bay Street, Emeryville, CA 94608. Call: (510) 879-0990

Fremont- Pacific Commons, 43316 Christy St., Fremont, CA 94538. Call: (510)657-1400

Fresno, 7894 N. Blackstone Ave., Fresno, CA 93720. Call: (559) 438-0814

Irvine- The Irvine Spectrum Center, 61 Fortune Drive, Irvine, CA 92618. Call: (949) 453-1211

Long Beach, 340 South Pine Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802. Call: (562) 308-1025

Los Angeles- Beverly Center, 121 N. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Call: (310) 854-6467

Mission Viejo- The Shops at Mission Viejo, 800 The Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo, CA 92691. Call: (949) 364-6661

Monterey- Del Monte Center, 1200 Del Monte Center, Monterey, CA 93940. Call: (831) 375-0143

Newport Beach- Fashion Island, 1145 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Call: (949) 759-9007

Palo Alto- Stanford Shopping Center, 900 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Call: (650) 330-1782

Pasadena- Paseo Colorado, 260 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101. Call: (626) 356-9760

Pleasanton- Stoneridge Mall, 1330 Stoneridge Mall Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Call: (925) 224-9916

Rancho Cucamonga, 7870 Monticello Ave., Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739. Call: (909) 463-4095

Rancho Mirage- The River, 71800 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270. Call: (760) 776-4912

Riverside- Galleria at Tyler, 3475 Tyler Street, Riverside, CA 92503. Call: (951) 689-4020

Roseville- Creekside Town Center, 1180 Galleria Boulevard, Roseville, CA 95678. Call: (916) 788-2800

Sacramento, 1530 J. Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Call: (916) 288-0970

San Diego- Fashion Valley Mall, 7077 Friars Road, San Diego, CA 92108. Call: (619) 260-8484

San Diego- La Jolla Village, 4540 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92122. Call: (858) 458-9007

San Jose- Oakridge Mall, 925 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123. Call: (408) 960-2940

San Jose, 98 S Second Street, San Jose, CA 95113. Call: (408) 961-5250

Santa Monica, 326 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Call: (310) 395-1912

Sherman Oaks- Sherman Oaks Galleria, 15301 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Call: (818) 784-1694

Sunnyvale- The Cherry Orchard, 390 West El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087. Call: (408) 991-9078

Thousand Oaks, 2250 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362. Call: (805) 277-5915

Torrance- Del Amo, Del Amo, 3525 Carson St., Torrance, CA 90503. Call: (310) 793-0590

Walnut Creek- Broadway Plaza, 1205 Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Call: (925) 979-9070

Woodland Hills- The Promenade, 21821 Oxnard Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. Call: (818) 340-0491