The Main Course 9-10-08
Rating: 
So far, the Arizona-based franchise has two locations — one on City Avenue on Bala Cynwyd’s edge (in front of a Target store and a large, public parking garage), and a second in Springfield. Another will soon open in Moorestown, N.J.
I went to the one on City Avenue, which opened last October, and was fairly pleased with the experience.
The brand-new, casual, contemporary restaurant was spotlessly clean, and strikingly furnished in smooth surfaces of black (chairs and booths), bright, shiny red (floor), wood grain (tables) and whites (porcelain dishes, napkins, upright containers of wrapped chopsticks).
The foods I tasted were fresh and zestfully seasoned to please my spice-loving palate. Most are from the Chinese wok-seared dishes cookbook. Some are among the favorites also appearing on parent company P.F. Chang’s much larger menu.
Everything is ‘priced to go,’ i.e., very reasonable. The highest-priced item is only $9!
Pei Wei employs what I call the “new cafeteria” style, like a Cosi or Saladworks restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant, you immediately place your order and pay the cashier at the “Dine In” counter. You receive a number card and self-serve drink cups, select your seat, place the card in a special clip holder on the table and wait for your food to be brought out to you.
The wonton soup was listed on the menu, but was actually recently discontinued, so I started with a cup of hot and sour soup ($2.25 per cup, $3.95 per bowl). I am not a big fan of this classic Chinese soup, but it was one of the best I’ve tasted, notwithstanding its lack of eggdrop.
One of the noodle and rice bowl dishes that I tried at Pei Wei was Dan Dan Noodles ($6.95), egg noodles seared in chile, garlic soy sauce, with minced chicken, scallion, bean sprouts and cucumber — a great noodle dish.
This was the spiciest of the three main dishes I tried, and also the most delicious. It was a large portion served in a large bowl with two serving spoons for sharing, as are most of the selections. Also, the several ingredients were nicely presented side-by-side in the bowl. I expect that the similar noodle bowl I almost picked, the Pad Thai ($6.95) with tofu, is equally good.
I chose two of Pei Wei’s “Signature Dishes,” which include ten styles for which you further choose either chicken or pork, shrimp, beef, or tofu and vegetables ($7.25 to $9). You also choose between fried rice and steamed white rice.
The Mongolian-style dish, for which I specified shrimp and fried rice, had a sweet garlic soy sauce, scallion and white mushrooms. It had a decent amount of medium shrimp and a pleasant sauce, and was laced with crunchy, grated carrots. The fried rice was very good.
I next picked beef as the main ingredient in a bowl of the “Spicy Korean” signature dish, which features white mushrooms, onion, carrot, long beans, garlic and roasted sesame seeds in a Korean hot pepper sauce. It was another spicy dish, though not as hot as the Dan Dan Noodles.
There might have been more beef and veggies, and less steamed rice. The beef was very tasty, but also quite salty.
Unexpectedly, in addition to the soft drink selection of sodas, iced teas and premium brand hot teas, there is a small list of wines and Asian-brand beers.
Pei Wei marks hot and spicy dishes with a red icon, and also uses a leaf icon to denote dishes that can be prepared vegetarian, with tofu and vegetables and not meat or shrimp.
For kids under 12, the “Kid’s Wei” mini-menu offers chicken teriyaki, honey seared, or lo mein ($3.75, $4.25 with drink). For something sweet after the piquant spices, a home-baked chocolate chip cookie made with Ghirardelli chips is available for $1.
Overall Rating: MMM 1/2 (out of 5 M’s) Pei Wei serves inexpensive, palate-pleasing Asian cuisine in casual, clean surroundings.
Contact food reviewer Mitch Davis at MdavisMainCourse@aol.com.
