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| - I enjoy PF Chang's, so I was looking forward to trying Pei Wei as it's PF Chang's casual, "fast-food" dining chain. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed by how the quality of Pei Wei didn't measure up to the PF Chang's standard. I would have at least thought that Pei Wei would have been a step above Panda Express, but nope!
I like the concept of Pei Wei's. It's Chinese fusion food, but the food hasn't been sitting out under heat lamps. The food at Pei Wei is made to order, so it's good to know that your food comes out fresh every time. I ordered the Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad as my entree and shared the Edamame Hummus and Szechuan Wings among my friends.
I took a bite of my friend's Japanese Steak & Shrimp Chile Ramen. I was so not impressed by it either. It's a confused dish! It lacked the Japanese flavors entirely and was very heavy on the peanut sauce. It tasted more like a Thai dish, so I thought perhaps it was made incorrectly on accident?
My Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad was not good. There was no balance in my dish at all. The chile-lime garlic vinaigrette was way too acidic, which single-handledly ruined the dish for me. I also didn't realize that my chicken was going to be breaded. The menu said the chicken is wok-seared chicken and had no mention of it either being cooked in coconut oil and/or breaded in coconut flour. Again, my dish also lacked any recognizable Vietnamese flavors.
The Szechuan Wings were crispy and flavorful, but the chicken was super dry.
The only thing I truly liked was the Edamame hummus. It had a nice, creamy consistency, and the edamame provided a unique flavor to the hummus. I had the hummus with the snap peas and cucumbers. The dish also comes out with bell peppers and wonton chips to dip into the hummus.
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