P. F. CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO – DUBAI

P. F. Chang’s is an Asian – American casual dining restaurant chain originated from US.

As a franchise restaurant, P. F. Chang’s has lot’s of international outlets, in Dubai itself they have 6 outlets. AnakJajan visited the outlet in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), the restaurant has their own building located right in front of Jumeirah Beach, one of the most popular beaches in Dubai.

The restaurant building consists of two floors with modern minimalist yet chic dark wooden furniture. On the second floor, they have a very nice outdoor area facing the beach it is a great spot to enjoy Dubai’s famous golden sunset.

Since P. F. Chang’s is originated from US, they serve Chinese cuisine in American fusion style or if I my say Modern Asian Cuisine.

1 AED (Arab Emirates Dirham) = around IDR 3.9k // 10 AED = USD 2.72 (September 2015)

Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wrap AED 44
One of the most popular and unique dishes here in P. F. Chang’s as lot’s of cooks out there are trying to copy it. It is a wok fried minced chicken with other ingredients served with fresh iceberg lettuce wrap. Definitely recommended starter, the chicken was nicely cooked and seasoned I enjoyed the charred aroma in it.

Chang’s Asian Short Rib AED 75
These beef ribs were good!! Cooked nicely it was very tender and easily fall of the bone not to mention the succulent sweet yet savory Asian BBQ sauce. I think that this dish is more suitable for main dish instead of starter as the portion was quite huge and it comes with a bowl of rice.

Dynamite Shrimp AED 47
Deep fried battered shrimp covered with creamy yet tangy explosive spicy sauce. I personally enjoyed it but I would be perfect if they could make the batter crunchy and the seasoning spicy because it didn’t taste spicy at all.

Dan Dan Noodle AED 48
Egg noodles serve with ground chicken, cucumber slices, bean sprouts and dark sauce. The noodle was over cooked it was too mushy and seasoning was also too salty, not to mention the gigantic portion. Definitely not my favourite.

VIP Duck AED 82
Breast and leg of duck steamed and then grilled. P.F. Chang’s did a great job in executing the duck as it very tender and juicy with a well balanced sauce sweet yet savoury altogether, quite enjoyable. As for the bread I personally prefer if they serve it with soft fluffy steamed bun or mantao.

Mongolian Beef AED 71
Stir fried thin sliced beef with scallions. I think this one was also one of my favourite dishes, wok-fried nicely it has this nice charred and caramelised aroma and flavour in it with balance sweet yet savoury seasoning. Perfect companion for a bowl of rice.

Ma La Shrimp AED 82
Sweet yet savoury sauté shrimp with green beans, it’s very good and seasoned nicely. Vegetables and shrimp were crunchy and lovely but I was hoping that I could taste the mala peppercorn since they named the dish Ma La Shrimp.

Oolong Marinated Sea bass AED 134
Sea bass fish marinated in oolong tea and ginger served with wok tossed spinach. Fish was a bit fishy and not buttery tender enough for me, it was also lacks of seasoning. While for the vegetable the spinach didn’t work really well for this dish I think if they switch it with other types of vegetable such as wok fried mini pokchoy it would be nicer.

Seared Ahi with Chili Lime AED 78
Medium rate seared ahi tuna with fresh greens in chili lime dressing. I don’t know why but I found the fish dishes here are generally fishy just like this one the tuna ahi was fishy I didn’t enjoy it. But on the other side, the vegetables were spot-on, crunchy and fresh with amazing refreshing dressing.

Sesame Chicken AED 57
For me this one was my number one favourite, tender yet juicy diced chicken breast cooked in savory yet sweet sauce. The seasoning was very bold but in a good way I enjoyed it very much.

Choco Buchi AED 35
Deep fried chewy rice ball rolled with sesame seed and filled with chocolate and nutella filling. This dish definitely needs an improvement since it tasted bitter maybe from the burnt sesame, disappointing.

Overall, I think that P. F. Chang’s offers something different than the usual Chinese restaurant in Jakarta with their American – Chinese concept. In terms of price, compared to the food scene in Jakarta, I must say that it’s way too expensive they have to cut at least 1/3 of the price to be at least reasonable. As for the competition I think E&O and Ms. Choo could be the major competitors but it’s not really an apple to apple comparison as both restaurants are more into the South East Asia cuisine though. What do you think? Will it work if they open in Jakarta?

Address:
P. F. Chang’s Bistro
Dubai — The Beach JBR
Phone: 04 4190671

Map: