No thanks, P.F. Changs, I'll take Mom and Pop
Written: Oct 15 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Decent food, some good, even.
Cons: Too loud, too expensive, too average.
The Bottom Line: I just can't find a good reason to eat here.
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| age6racer's Full Review: P.F. Chang's China Bistro |
So the big news here in the Capital Region of New York is the renovation of Colonie Center—now we'll have two gargantuan malls within a few miles of each other! Among other additions to the center is that of P.F. Chang's, a national chain of “China bistros.” (And only the fourth location in the state.)
What's a “China bistro,” you ask? Well, as far as I can tell, it combines a trendier-than-thou atmosphere with pretty traditional Chinese-American food (with a few twists. More on that later.). Like any other location of P.F. Chang's, you are greeted outside by some giant stone horses, though to be honest, I did not much notice these. To enter, you must push your way through a revolving door (a minor annoyance already, as far as I'm concerned). Once inside, you see cool grays and tans and neutral, natural colors—stone floor tiles and stone tiling up the walls, oversized paperesque lanterns suspended from the ceiling, etc. But above all else, you are assaulted by the high level of noise—a byproduct of the open floor-plan and buzzing popularity of the place, no doubt. Because, oh yes, it was crowded on a Saturday night.
The throngs of people were very trendily dressed, all tight jeans and pointy boots, the college crowd out for a pre-bar meal, no doubt, and the whole vibe was very trying-to-be-hip. Strangely enough, the music was mostly mid-to-late 90's alternative.
We had called ahead to make a reservation, which P.F. Chang's does accept (points to them), for 9:00. We arrived a few minutes before and were told it would be just a few minutes. Please note that this restaurant does not have very ample waiting room. So, thirty minutes after our reserved time, we were shown to our table, which was one of those half-booth, half-not-booth deals where the bench seat is shared by several tables.
The menu is surprisingly small, for those used to traditional Chinese-American menus. Several appetizers, some soups and salads (decidedly not-Asian sounding salads, at that), a few lunch combinations, some entrees, some noodle and rice dishes, and desserts. Our server came by shortly after we were seated to take our drink order and to interrogate us. She asked us how spicy we liked our food (a little bit-to mediumish, we said), so that she could mix up their special sauce tableside for us. This sauce, that I admittedly did not have much use for, is a combination of soy sauce, hot mustard, and chili paste, and was pretty tasty. She then asked if we had any food allergies and if we were vegetarians. Considerate, or covering their own backs, I wonder? At any rate, I ordered the Crab Wontons, the boyfriend ordered the Pin Noodle Soup and the Peking Dumplings.
The Crab Wontons are what are elsewhere called crab rangoon, that is, a crispy fried wonton wrapper stuffed with a cream cheese and crabmeat mixture. These were tasty enough, but nothing special. They were noticeably pricier than the standard Chinese restaurant. The Peking Dumplings were good, but again, no better than I've had elsewhere, and were more expensive. The Pin Noodle Soup was very tasty, containing pork dumpling filling, shrimp, strange little noodles, and, much to my chagrin, bean sprouts, all in a tasty and spicy broth. This was about $7 for a huge bowl, probably about four servings. Appetizer prices ranged from around $6 to $11.
For our main courses we ordered Mongolian Beef ($14, I believe) and Singapore Street Noodles ($10). The former are barbecued chunks of beef in a sweet and spicy sauce served over lots and lots of scallions. The latter was supposed to be thin rice noodles with chicken and shrimp with a curry sauce.
Our appetizers arrived in a timely manner, our soup a bit later. After our soup arrived our waitress came over to tell us that she could not read her own handwriting and wanted to make sure that she had our orders right. She did not. We also noted that this meant about a half our into our meal she had still not put our entree orders in to the kitchen.
When our entrees did show up, they were correct. The Mongolian Beef was tasty, although as I don't like scallions, this is never a favorite of mine. The Singapore Street Noodles, however, were nearly inedible. Bitter, salty, and just unappealing. I thought about sending them back, but by this point it was going on 11:00 and we were tired and simply wanted to go home.
The grand total for our meal of two appetizers, one giant soup, two entrees, and two soft drinks was a little over $50 before tip. We have spent much less on meals that we have enjoyed much more at locally owned, independent Chinese restaurants in the area.
Service throughout was fine, although the server had that canned over-friendliness that is so prevalent in chain restaurants.
My bottom line? This area does not need this restaurant. We have good, solid, independent Asian restaurants that serve tastier food for less money, with no crowds and quicker service. Who should eat here? Those who really want Chinese and can't bear to leave Colonie Center during those shopping sprees.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
age6racer
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Member: Becky
Location: Albany, NY
Reviews written: 53
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
Life's no story book.
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