P.F. Chang's: The food is good, but it's not a wok on the wild side P.F. Chang's: The food is good, but it's not a wok on the wild side (June 05, 2002)

Dining Out: Almanac food writer Jane Knoerle checks out the local restaurant scene.

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Staff Writer

Stanford Shopping Center is the ideal location for the new P.F. Chang's China Bistro, 180 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. It will appeal to the same shoppers who frequent The Pottery Barn, Banana Republic, and The Gap. Many of the same concepts are applied to P.F. Chang's food as to retail: a product that appeals to a large customer base presented in attractive surroundings.

The idea works. There are now 65 P.F. Chang China Bistros nationwide. Three -- in Sunnyvale, Walnut Creek and Palo Alto -- have opened in the Bay Area in the past year. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the Walnut Creek bistro has waits for more than two hours on a weekend night.

The first P.F. Chang's opened in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1993. It was launched by Paul Fleming who was the top owner of Ruth's Chris Steak House franchises in the United States. His idea was to offer familiar and popular Chinese food in an upscale environment.

The name P.F. Chang stands for Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang, whose mother, Cecilia Chang, owned the popular Mandarin restaurant for many years. He took over his mother's Beverly Hills Mandarin in 1979 after she sold the San Francisco restaurant.

Mr. Chiang, who developed the menu at P.F. Chang's, was Mr. Fleming's primary partner in the venture and acts as a consultant.

Chang's must have had some trepidation about coming to the Bay Area. After all, we have hundreds of Chinese restaurants, a large Asian population that grew up on their native country's cuisine, and access to San Francisco's Chinatown.

After eating at the Palo Alto restaurant last week, I agree with a Seattle restaurant reviewer who says, "P.F. Chang's is more bistro than Chinese."

Chang's does have a lot going for it: quality food, a lively bar scene, and a stylish decor that includes mammoth replicas of 11th century horses. The restaurant features a hand-painted mural depicting scenes of life in 12th century China. The service is both friendly and professional.

The wine list has more than 50 wines, available by the glass and bottle. It is designed as a "flavor first" list, which means the wines are arranged from the lightest to the most intense in each category. There are all kinds of exotic drinks, including a great Mojito.

The bad news is they take no reservations and the noise level of rock music makes conversation difficult. Of course, this is the opinion of a stodgy senior, not a 20-something out for an exciting Saturday night.

Reservations were not a problem at noon, although it's said the wait can be over an hour or more on weekend nights. On the day I was there, the restaurant was about two-thirds full, mostly with "ladies who lunch."

Our table ordered Peking dumplings and chicken in lettuce wraps as appetizers. The dumplings, attractively served on a bed of leaves in a metal pot, were actually potstickers, not the translucent little "heart's delights" we were expecting.

Our personable young waiter made a little production of mixing a special dipping sauce from table condiments: mustard, chili sauce, rice vinegar, chili oil and soy sauce. The sauce could be used on everything but dessert.

Chang's makes a big deal out of its chicken in lettuce wraps. Chicken in lettuce wraps might be a big deal in Indianapolis or Salt Lake City, but here it's a staple on most Chinese restaurant menus. We wished for some hoisin sauce to zip up the minced chicken and iceberg lettuce leaves, as it is served at Su Hong and Ten Fu in Menlo Park.

Two entrees, Mongolian beef ($10.95) and ginger chicken with broccoli ($10.75), were listed as "Chang's Recommends." The third entree was lemon pepper shrimp ($12.95). There was a choice of steamed brown or white rice, which I wish Menlo Park's restaurants would offer.

Our favorite was the lemon pepper shrimp. It was flavorful with bits of lemon, slivers of celery and bean sprouts. The ginger chicken was attractively served with bright green broccoli tips surrounding the meat, however, it was hard to detect a ginger flavor. Mongolian beef was what many locals call "Ming's beef, " first served in that Palo Alto restaurant more than 40 years ago.

Portions were very generous. Our server brought us a supermarket-size bag to take leftovers home.

Dessert selections include the "Great Wall of Chocolate," a six-layer cake with chocolate icing and semi-sweet chocolate chips served with raspberry sauce and fresh seasonal berries. This and the New York style cheesecake look more like selections from Max's Opera Cafe further down the mall.

Locals who have their own favorite Chinese restaurants aren't likely to desert them for P.F. Chang's. It's not Tommy Toy's in San Francisco. It's not Flower Lounge in Millbrae. It's not my favorite Ten Fu in Menlo Park, but the bistro does what it sets out to do: give quality fresh food with Western service.