Neighbor Roy was wanting Oriental food for lunch this Friday in late April 2022. So he suggested we go to P. F. Chang’s on River Road in Tucson. I made the reservation online. That was easy. Just entered my name and the time I wanted to arrive … 12:30 PM.
At first the parking lot was full, but I drove around for a minute and some guy was exiting his parking space. Lucky for us. We entered the restaurant and were quickly seated at a table. Roy ordered hot tea, his usual. I ordered a margarita, my usual.
Our waitress, a friendly lady, took our lunch orders. For appetizers, I ordered the crab-filled wontons. These were hand-folded crab wontons with creamy crab filling, bell peppers, green onion, in spicy plum sauce.
Then, as usual, I ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken, with sweet & sour sauce, pineapple, onion, bell peppers, and ginger. They did not actually serve my Go-To, Sweet and Sour Pork.
Roy ordered shrimp with lobster sauce. This dish included chopped black beans, mushrooms, egg, and green onion.
The wontons came our way quickly. Must have been precooked. But they were really good, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and hot.
Then our lunches arrived. I asked Roy how he liked his shrimp and lobster sauce. He responded that it was very good. I let him tell you about his experience.
“Today, Jim and I visited an old favorite of mine–P.F. CHANG’S on River Road–I used to go here regularly with retired friends until the Pandemic started. It has changed little in my 2 years’ absence. It was still crowded at lunchtime. We were promptly seated, and I ordered my usual tea and water… standard for me. The menus were presented. To no one’s surprise, the prices have increased. We ordered cream puff and crab wontons for our first course. This order of 6 arrived promptly–they proved a hit, very tasty. I ordered the shrimp and lobster sauce, I usually order house lo-mien but did not see it on the menu. Jim later told me it was on the menu. Guess I do need new glasses. Anyway, a very large portion of shrimp in a tasty sauce arrived–so large I could not finish it, and took most of it home for another day. I had ordered brown rice, but I do not know what they brought. Neither Jim nor I enjoyed the rice–still a small complaint about an excellent lunch. Paying was a slow process, probably due to my slow eating and the heavy workload the staff does quite well. Based on ambiance, staff and food, I would give it a solid 4 saguaros.”
Like Neighbor Roy, I enjoyed my Sweet and Sour Chicken. I didn’t care for the “brown” rice. Kinda mushy. But rice aside, we award P. F. Chang’s a Four Saguaro rating. Beautiful interior, very modern in the Far East sorta way.
