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| - Let me start off by saying I have mostly simple tastes, and my favorite lunch spot for Chinese has been the New Dumpling House in Squirrel Hill. But since that restaurant is undergoing renovations, I was forced to try something new.
So... I thought I'd try the chain PF Chang's Chinese Restaurant at the Waterfront. Wow, what an unsatisfying mistake that turned out to be.
I started with a cup of their Wonton soup. At $2.95 it wasn't too outrageous of a price, the broth had some flavor and there was much more in it than I was used to, including three giant basil (I think?) leafs that covered everything beneath. In the broth were chunks of chicken, two shrimp, some sliced water chestnuts and two "pork"-filled wontons. As I said, the broth had decent flavor, but the wontons were thick, doughy and under-cooked, and the chicken chunks were dry, which is amazing since they were drowned in broth! On a scale of bad to good, it was kind of meh.
Next came my "lunch-portion" order of Chang's Kung Pao Chicken (the dinner portion is $5 more).
At the New Dumpling House, this dish is served with a delectable dark, rich, tangy sauce, which I was really hoping for... Not at PF Chang's.
On my plate I received about 8 quarter-size chunks of lightly breaded and browned chicken, 7 hot Chinese red chili peppers (mostly inedible unless they are diced into a sauce), a handful of blanched, unsalted peanuts, a few sliced scallions, and a bed of the most bland brown rice I have ever encountered. Uncle Ben would've been ashamed if that stuff came out of one of his boxes.
Glaringly, there was NO SAUCE!. None at all.
I've had Kung Pao Chicken in New York City, San Francisco, and even from a hole in the wall in Bethel Park, PA that was much, much better. Never have I had it served in such a bland, skimpy, and overpriced way! The "lunch-portion" cost was $9.95.
At The New Dumpling House, I could have a delicious lunch, with soup, entree and complimentary hot tea, and I could leave satisfied with just $8 out-of-pocket -- and that includes the tip.
The service was decent. However, lesson learned. One and done. Never going back to PF Changs.
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