P. F. Chang’s is an Asian-American restaurant that was established by Paul Fleming and Phillip Chiang in 1993 in Scottsdale, Arizona. But, P.F. Chang’s has a deeper story than this. Chef Chiang’s mother Cecilia Chiang originally had a very successful Chinese restaurant before the conception of P.F. Chang’s called The Mandarin.
In 1974, the Chiang’s opened up a second restaurant in Beverley Hills, with a more casual concept called the Manderette, which grabbed the attention of celebrities such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Soon enough, Philip stepped in to run the restaurant and developed the original menu.
After a while, The Manderrete caught the attention of Paul Fleming from Arizona. Fleming fell in love with the notion of this casual Chinese restaurant and decided to cut a deal with the Chiangs. Here, magic was created, and P.F. Chang’s was born.
In case you were always wondering where the name P.F. Chang’s originated from, it is the two founders’ names combined which form the well-known P.F. Chang’s title. Throughout the years, P.F. Chang’s continued to grow and currently has over 210 US locations and over 95 restaurants in 25 different countries across the globe.
P.F. Chang’s multi-unit restaurant theory was the first in the US that chose to honor the 2,000-year-old tradition of wok cooking as the center of the guest experience. Therefore, many of their dishes are prepared with the help of a wok, which is a large round bowl-shaped frying pan.
The first P.F. Chang’s location in Kuwait opened in 2009. It has since expanded to four more locations. Apart from their distinctive philosophy that has supported their expansion internationally, their hero dishes, which are often imitated but never duplicated, set them apart from the rest.
Mongolian Beef: The ultimate perennial guest favorite. Ingredients include a deliciously sweet soy glaze, flank steak, garlic and snipped green onions. This traditional recipe is rooted from the Mongolian region of China and is prepared with thin slices of caramelized beef in a very balanced sauce and tossed with nipped green onions.
The Original Dynamite Shrimp: A P.F. Chang’s signature appetizer dish is tempura-battered and then lightly tossed into an explosive sriracha aioli sauce.
Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps: A secret Chiang family recipe and a delicious combination of chicken and other traditional ingredients prepared in the wok. This is served with fresh iceberg lettuce leaves to wrap with.
Singapore Street Noodles: Slim rice noodles that are tossed with shrimp, chicken strips, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. This flavorsome dish can be ordered as an entrée or to complement another dish.
Great Wall of Chocolate: The Great Wall of Chocolate is a rich six-layer chocolate cake with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Also served with fresh raspberries and sauce. Delish!
Wok-Charred Beef: This plate includes slices of caramelized beef with marinated white and shiitake mushrooms, in addition to bell peppers. It also gets its flavor from a special technique of cooking called searing which is typically used in grilling, baking, braising, roasting, sautéing, etc.
P.F Chang’s credits its success to their Farm to Wok concept. Which is their philosophy when it comes to food: to use real, whole ingredients and prepare dishes fresh to order. When meals are ordered, the kitchen staff begins to prepare them on the spot.
Everything is made from scratch every day, in every single location. This comes from a deep-rooted belief that food does not need to be complex to taste great, but needs quality fresh ingredients.
For more information follow @pfchangsme or, visit its various locations at 1st Avenue – The Avenues, Al Corniche Club, Sidra Restaurants, Grand Plaza – The Avenues and Al Kout Mall.
