[Los Angeles] [Chinese] P.F. Chang's China Bistro

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
121 N. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 854-6467
http://www.pfchangs.com

P.F. Chang's是一家連鎖美式「中國」餐廳，如果不喜歡這種口味，可能會形容為「不中不西」，但是喜歡的話那就是「中西合併」的精華吧？我收到一張P.F. Chang's寄來的折價卷，可以免費兌換新推出的小火菜單上的菜色一份，我們上個周末的中午就來了這家Beverly Center一樓的分店，免費點了最貴的$20牛排，這牛排居然出乎意料的香嫩可口，然後兩人再點了兩份特價午餐，吃的飽飽飽還帶了一大袋回家，感想就是賺到了啦！

P.F. Chang's China Bistro is a chain restaurant that offer Chinese cuisine.  Well, I wouldn't really consider it as a Chinese restaurant.  It's more like an American restaurant with Chinese influence.  I had dinner once at P.F. Chang's at Sherman Oaks location a long time ago.  I remember the decor and service was nice, but food was just alright.  It's not a restaurant I would normally put on my list to visit, but a gift card lure me in.

I saw an ad for a free grill entree on Chowhound one day and filled out a simple form on their website.  Then I also saw posts on Chowhound that people claim they never received the free entree offer.  So it was a pleasant surprise when I received the free entree gift card in the mail. 



Dr. Park and I went to the Beverly Center location on Saturday for lunch.  The restaurant was quite busy.  Most of the patrons were shoppers from the mall.  They were also doing training on new employees.  We had a trainee host who kept on dropping the menu, and a wonderful trainee waitress who seemed to be on top of everything. 





After ordering, our waitress brought the condiment tray.  She asked if we would like her to make the sauce more spicy.  We were puzzled about her offer.  She then explained that she can add the spicy oil to the sauces to make it more spicy, or add vinegar to make it less spicy.  We didn't know they had this "make the sauce as you like it" service.  But we thanked her and told her the sauces were fine.  On the condiment tray, there were soy sauce, mustard and chili sauce in sauce dish.  Also soy sauce, vinegar and spicy chili oil in dispensers.  We only used the chili sauce.  But saw a lot of other non Asian customers used tons of soy sauce with their rice.


Hot and Sour Soup

Beside the free entree, both Dr. Park and I ordered lunch bowls.  Our lunch special were served with a cup of soup.  The choices were egg drop or hot and sour soup.  We both opted for hot and sour soup.  The soup had chicken, bean curd, bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms.   I don't quite know why, but even a simple hot and sour soup tasted.... Americanized.  The taste was just different than the kind you get at Chinese restaurant.  P.F. Chang's version had a darker color and a bit more salty.  Also the soup was a little thicker.  It wasn't bad.  Actually it was tasty.  But it was just different.


Shrimp with Lobster Sauce Lunch Bowl ($8.50)

Dr. Park ordered Shrimp with Lobster Sauce lunch bowl with white rice.  I had a few bite.  This dish was quite good.  The garlic white wine sauce with Chinese black beans was delicious with the rice.  Shrimp tasted very fresh.  Dr. Park really liked it and finish the whole plate.


Citrus Soy Salmon Lunch Bowl ($9.50)

I ordered the healthier option, Citrus Soy Salmon lunch bowl with brown rice.  This dish had nothing Chinese, well, maybe except the brown rice.  The wild Alaskan salmon was grilled and pretty good.  The citrus soy sauce was tangy and sweet.  Good, just not Chinese.  The asparagus was tender, no flavor though, but still good.


Asian Marinated New York Strip ($20.00)

With the free entree gift card, we got to pick any item from their new grill menu.  We tried to be smart and picked the most expansive item, Asian Marinate New York Strip.  The menu described the dish as "Grilled 12 oz New York strip steak, thinly sliced, served with savory sesame soy sauce on a bed of grilled bok choy".  The portion was huge.  Steak was cooked perfectly medium.  Soft, juicy and tender.  The sesame soy sauce is a bit on the salty side, but I put a bit of the sauce over my rice, so tasty!  This dish was really good, but again, not very Chinese though.  But what is the best part?  We got this dish for FREE!  So we're happy.



Our waitress also brought extra bowls of rice for us.  One white because Dr. park ordered white rice, and one brown because I ordered brown.  Extra rice, nice touch.  But we had plenty of rice with the rice bowl, we didn't touch the extra rice.



Since it's a "Chinese" restaurant, the meal has to end with fortune cookies.  Dr. Park's cookie said "You have a secret admirer" or something like that.  Who who who?  Mine said "You don't need to worry about your future".  Nice!  So I gave Dr. Park a pat on the back and gratefully said, "Thank you!  Thank you for taking care of my future!"



We spent $20 + $5 tip.  Full and satisfied.  When I saw the -$20.00 on the bill, I felt content.



We finished our rice bowl, but couldn't finish the steak.  Our waitress packed the steak for us.  Surpringly, she also packed the extra 2 bowls of rice for us.  I like that.  It made me a very happy customer.

I wouldn't recommend P.F. Chang's if you are looking for an authentic Chinese dining experience.  But for pretty good Americanized Chinese food, I like P.F. Chang's.  The restaurant has very nice decor (feels kinda like Cheesecake Factory to me for some reason).  Service was great.  We also think the lunch special is a good deal.  All dishes are under $10.  If you would like to receive a free entree gift card, sign up here, and enjoy the free food!

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