The Chinese Chowdown: PF Changs

Philip Chiang’s odd combination of Asian looks and heavy American twang is disarming, but not half as disarming as the culinary experience that awaits his customers with every bite. Who would have thought that there’s something new to be experienced with Chinese food — minus the expected heavy, bloated feeling — and that it can only be had at P.F. Chang’s? 

It never ends well — or pretty — when I eat Chinese food. Lethargic with the greasy, MSG-laden deliciousness of it all, I find it hard not to eat myself into a food coma especially when taunted with a smorgasbord of Chinese cuisine laid down before me. But after feasting on P.F. Chang’s bestselling dishes during the restaurant’s grand opening on The Street at the Alabang Town Center, I felt incredibly — and surprisingly — clearheaded.

“That is our secret!” interjects Philip Chiang with a clap. “We don’t use any MSG in our dishes,” he stresses. The tall bespectacled man before me is the renowned “Chang” in “P.F. Chang’s” and one of the partners of the famed US bistro. “P.F.” on the other hand, are the initials of his partner Paul Fleming.

Staying true to P.F. Chang’s no-MSG policy and stringent food philosophy, he believes in using only the freshest of ingredients. “Whatever is not used at the end of the day, we throw away. It’s precision preparation. Our chefs are only allowed to use the Chinese cleaver and wok in cooking,” he explains. Yes, Chiang believes that this raw simplicity in presentation (“No garnishing unless it’s necessary!”) will make P.F. Chang’s a hit in the Philippines. 

Archie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Global Restaurant Concepts, Inc., the company responsible for bringing in P.F. Chang’s to the Philippines, shares the same sentiment. “You may say we serve typical Chinese dishes, but we raise the bar for dining experience because we prepare it with American fine dining precision and service,” Rodriguez says. 

As we wait for the dishes to emerge from the kitchen, Chiang doesn’t hide the fact that one has to be patient when dining at the restaurant. “As a fine dining place, we have a particular standard we keep. From preparing the ingredients, to cooking and plating, we make sure that nothing is lost, flavor is intact.” In not so many words, one can’t rush perfection. And as the parade of dishes round the corner from the kitchen to our table, we realize that it pays to wait. 

(On an important side note: When I returned to P.F. Chang’s the following weekend, the service improved greatly. The service was quick, the staff was superb and the food, as expected, was nothing

less than delicious.)

The first to come around is P.F. Chang’s signature Chicken Lettuce Wrap. The lightly minced water chestnuts, shitake mushrooms and chicken are laid on a bed of fried noodle sticks. Eaten like a taco, the

Chicken Lettuce Wrap was a refreshing and filling appetizer. Feel free to stuff your own wrap and dip it in the sweet soy sauce-based dip, which the servers are happy to mix for you.

As we busy ourselves perfecting our own version of the chicken taco, Chiang shares more of the restaurant’s secrets: “What we really want our food to be is very simple but flavorful. We use no more than three ingredients in each dish as to make sure that the dishes look, feel and taste as fresh and as natural as possible.”

If the group was a bit timid and shy while eating our appetizers, by the time the Dynamite Shrimp and Northern Style Spare Ribs came to the table, we were loudly passing the dishes from one end to the

other, shamelessly devouring the food. We popped the sweet morsels of Dynamite Shrimp like popcorn (the sweet, tangy sauce packs a bit of heat) and we took to the Northern Style Spare Ribs with much

gusto. No need for knives and other utensils as the succulent meat neatly fell off the bone. On the table was an assortment of sauces and condiments — chili paste, chili oil, soy sauce, hot mustard and vinegar — which we all instinctively reached for (Oh how we Filipinos love drowning our food in sauces!). But Archie stops us midway and gently suggests that instead of the soy sauce, we put some of their

5-spice rub to accentuate the flavors. The rub, a mix of various herbs and spices, was indeed the better choice!

Needless-to-say, we flew through the other dishes – Crab Wontons, Chang’s Spicy Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Chengdu Spiced Lamb (Divine!), Lo Mein and Sichuan-Style Asparagus — which too were perfectly prepared, presented and served. We washed it down with a refreshing — and might I add, addicting — glass of tamarind and jasmine iced tea. (Both were delicious, but the tamarind iced tea

is hands-down the undisputed favorite.)

From among the dishes, there is one that deserves special mention — the Shrimp with Candied Walnuts. Shrimp, prepared similarly to the Dynamite Shrimp, is tossed in a “salad” of honeydew melons and candied walnuts. The dish’s playful, fresh colors and surprisingly harmonious flavors bring out the child in you. If there is one dish that will have you coming back to P.F. Chang’s, it is this.

All in all, P.F. Chang’s does not disappoint. The dishes were simply superb — savory, filling but light and fit for a queen. Its meticulously prepared dishes packed with flavor redefine Chinese food. No more MSG-induced food comas and grease-loaded dishes; just really great Chinese-inspired food. With a clear head and a full stomach, I am convinced that it will take a few more trips for me to The Street to discover the other great secrets of P.F. Chang’s. And I think it won’t be long before I get another hankering for Chinese food.

PF Chang's can be found in Alabang Town Center and Bonifacio High Street. 

First published in PeopleAsia Magazine.