PF Chang's: more than just Chinese food in a box

I'm a huge fan of the hit tv series The Big Bang Theory, the same way that I adore FRIENDS, That 70's Show, and The Family Guy. In one of the episodes of the Big Bang Theory, Leonard and Howard were discussing their plans on Valentine's Day. 

Leonard: Hey, what are you and Bernadette doing for your first Valentine's Day?

Howard: Yeah, I am pulling out all the stops. There's a $39.95 lover's special at P.F. Chang's. Egg rolls, dumplings, bottomless wok, and you get your picture taken on the big marble horse out front.

Well, for most fans, if not all, we'd love to get a taste of what the tv characters are eating- a cup of coffee at Central Perk, a glass of Butterbeer from Three Broomsticks, White Castle burgers from Harold and Kumar's first movie and many more. 

PF Chang's has been around sitcoms in the U.S. like Drake and Josh, South Park, The OC, iCarly, Victorious that I wanted to try it out when I heard about their Alabang branch, but it was too far. And then PF Chang's Fort Bonifacio happened. I celebrated my birthday there, and here's my review:

The photos are arranged in order of taste, starting with the lowest.

This didn't taste like a feast at all. Beans, carrots, baked tofu, broccoli. The taste was sophisticated, but if they wanted kids to eat their vegetables, this is NOT one way to cook it. 

The PF Chang's fried rice had an amazing chao fan aroma, and the serving was huge. 

This dish can be ordered whole (P695) and half (P410). The Angus beef were cooked just right, went fine with the celery, carrots and sweet asian spice sauce. 

Stir-fried egg noodles with mushrooms, bean sprouts, bok choy, carrots, celery and onions. At this point, everything started to taste the same. hahah! The Lo Mien was good, but everything we ordered so far tasted sweet and carrot-y and celery-ry. No wonder we Asians look the same to Caucasians. 

The Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps was a good appetizer. They serve this wok-seared chicken on a bed of crispy rice sticks and lettuce wraps. The mushrooms, green onion and water chestnuts complimented the spicy dish. 

The Chang's Spicy Chicken is an excellent blend of sweet, sour and spicy!
This is best paired with PF Chang's Fried Rice. 

The Dynamite Shrimp was the bomb (see what I did there?). Serving this dish on a martini glass was classy and creative, and this dish will probably live up to everyone's expectations. Believe me when I say it's good,  it deserves all five stars. 

Overall, our PF Chang's experience was wonderful. The place was clean and classy, and staff were attentive. Adding to the ambiance were their iconic marble horses by the entrance door. 

PF Chang's is a great place to celebrate special family occasions, intimate gatherings and romantic dinners. It's a bit pricey compared to your typical chinese food, and taste can be closely compared with North Park and Hap Chan. I think PF Chang's edge is their warm modern interior, service and (in my case, boohoo) popularity. HAHAH! 

Here's a link to their complete Menu . 

For big groups, I suggest you reserve a table in advance, the place gets crowded fast. 

They have two branches:

Alabang Town Center, Alabang Zapote Rd, Muntinlupa

(02) 687-5611

W Global Center, 30th St. cor 9th Ave, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig

(02) 664-5956

 

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So I just found out that my Galli Village Cafe review

http://ramenologist.blogspot.com/2012/12/galli-village-cafe-spa-for-hungry-tummy.html

has been quoted by the cafe, and it's posted on their resto, #1! 

I know this isn't big for you, but it is for me. Yay! <3

In other news, I just started my baking for dummies (like me) blog. I will try to share at least two recipes every month. Please do check it out, I'm sure you'll learn a lot from me as I have learned from Youtube. 

My first post was on how to make Nutella cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

http://wadoughs.wordpress.com/

Happy weekend guys!

Wrong Ramen: The Right Kind of Wrong

Wrong Ramen had it coming when they decided to name their resto "Wrong" Ramen for all the right reasons. They created buzz among foodies, ramen lovers, and for those who appreciate things out of the ordinary. They have "BAD RAMEN" written  in different contexts; in "pure pork fat broths" and "amateur chefs".  But the bottomline of it all, try it to believe it. 

This puts Wrong Ramen in a win-win situation. I bet they have two answers prepared to every review they'd get: a "we told you so" and a "thank you for proving us wrong" answer. 

I'd like to prove Wrong Ramen wrong today. 

45 minutes, and there's still a long queue outside the resto

After the busy lunch crowd, they close at 2:00pm and resume operations at 6:00pm. We arrived around 7:30pm and were wait-listed at #17. We got in almost half past 8 only to find out that two of the dishes we'd love to try out were not available that day, the Wrong Ramen Tantanmen and the Poop of the gods.

Surprisingly, this bad news did not disappoint us at all, probably because the resto will constantly remind you that they're bad (see photo below), so you'd expect less.

The place is really small, which explains the crazy line of hungry people waiting outside. Unlike J Co Donuts' mysterious long queue.

Here's the verdict:

Just like most of the bloggers who blogged about Wrong Ramen, I took time to take a photo of their cute salt and pepper shakers. 

The Bacon Katsu was perfectly fried, and the sweet wasabi drizzle complemented the katsu well. Three stars because I think it's too expensive for the serving. 

Their sesame seed mill goes really well with their ramens, ALL OF IT!

This is the second floor, could probably fit 20 hungry people or 15 normal ones.

Same goes for the first floor, this is their small dining area. The place is surprisingly cozy. <3

And now let's meet the ramens!

The Communist is made with 7 asian spices infused in a spicy pork broth. It's spicy alright, and the sliced chashu are cooked just right. The pork broth is drizzled with burnt garlic oil which was consistent, very consistent. 

They weren't joking when they said that this soup is rich. It has that milky goodness blending well with the pork bone and chicken broth. The owner calls this "liquid lechon".  

Of the three, the Sea Men Ramen is the most flavorful. The generous serving of seafood inside this bowl explains why the broth is good. When the Japanese invented the word "Umami", they probably had this ramen in mind. 

And what is a good ramen without runny eggs? But P55 I think is too much.

For such a limited menu, they could have at least made everything on it available. If this is their way of making me want to come back to try out the poop of the gods and the WR Tantanmen, it's working. But I have other reasons to come back of course- good food, good ramen.

WRONG RAMEN is located at:
Forbes Town Center, Forbestown RdFort Bonifacio, Taguig(02) 823-8249

Ra Men Oh: The King of Ramen

We’ve already established how much I love ramen. I mean who wouldn’t? That’s why I love people who share the same love I have for the miracle that is ramen. Then I met Ra Men Oh, owned by a couple who loves ramen too much- they built Ra Men Oh. 

Ra Men Oh serves only six kinds of ramen, saves you time in choosing which one to pick. They have the Shogun Star (Chasyu Shoyu Ramen), Bowl o’ Babe (Tonkatsu Ramen), Miss Sapporo (Sapporo Ramen), Master’s Mix (Gyuyakiniku Ramen), The Big Blue (Tanmen Ramen), and finally the Ramenator (Tantanmen Ramen). Their ramens come in two sizes, the Buddy (solo) and the Super (good for sharing). We got their bestsellers Master’s Mix and The Ramenator in buddy sizes.

Master's Mix at P99

The Ramenator at P99

Having tried authentic ramen from Japan and everywhere else in Asia, Ra Men Oh’s ramen did pretty well. It had the right amount of everything in a bowl which is more than enough to satisfy one’s cravings, and that’s just the small bowl I’m talking about, imagine what their Super bowl could do. =D

Tofu Steak at P99

But more than their ramen, I’d highly recommend the tofu steak, which was surprisingly good. I normally don’t pay much attention to appetizers since they don’t add much to a meal, but this one lived up to its category as an “appetizer”. Japanese tofu is really sensitive to work with as compared to our local tofu, but Ra Men Oh handled these babies Oh So Nicely that they made it to my top 10 list of good vibe food for 2013 easily.

The Kani Salad is also commendable for its rich Japanese mayo. They also serve the well-loved gyozas, and rice bowls.

Unlike most Japanese restaurants, Ra Men Oh’s interior gives you a rustic ambiance in an industrial setting. It veered away from the traditional use of wood in Japanese restos, which I think worked to their advantage. An appealing orange and white color filled their cozy corner along Katipunan.

For your quick ramen fix at a very affordable price, Ra Men Oh is the place for you.

Their restaurant is located at 2F J & R Concon Centre, 91 R. Alvero St., Loyola Heights, Quezon City. (Behind Shakey’s)

Experience:             ****

Ambiance:               ***

Service:                    *****

Cleanliness:            ***

Value for money :  *****

Serving:                   ***