Dining at PF Chang’s Asian Table, London *

I was very kindly invited to review PF Chang’s Asian Table with Love Pop Ups London in return for a review.  However, as always, all opinions are entirely my own.

I have some really fond memories of visiting PF Chang’s when in America with family when I was younger! We decided to dine there one evening, forgetting we were in America and portion sizes are HUGE, we ordered enough to feed a small army, typical Squibb family manoeuvre! Once we had filled ourselves to the brim with all the amazing foods we could, we asked the waiter if they could box up our leftovers into boxed with some rice or noodles at the bottom and the meats on top.

It may seem like a strange request but we took the 10 or so boxes we had left and vacated the restaurant. We then proceeded to feed as many homeless as we could on our walk back to our hotel which was such an amazing feeling leading to these really fond memories that we always talk about whenever someone mentions PF Chang’s.

But why am I waffling about times that happened at least fifteen years ago, I hear you ask?  Well, PF Chang’s have a branch in London, not far from Leicester Square station so I obviously had to go and check it out!

Heading there with 5 other lovely ladies meant we were most certainly in for a good night filled with cocktails, wine, plenty of food and even more laughter.

I kicked off my meal with the Vegetable Spring Rolls were the crispy rolls stuffed with julienned veggies served with a sweet
chilli dipping sauce. The rolls crackled with crispiness when I bit into them, they were filled to the brim and the dipping sauce was most certainly homemade as it was delicious and not too sugary!

Due to the menu not being hugely vegetarian-friendly and not wanting to just order a large portion of Lo Mein vegetable noodles. As great as wok-seared egg noodles tossed in dark soy sauce with shiitake mushroom, fresh carrot, red onion, cabbage, bean sprouts and celery does sound, it’s not something I’d order in a restaurant as a substantial meal.

With this in mind, I ordered three veggie-friendly side dishes that were all divine! I had the Chilli Aubergine made with Chinese aubergine, Thai basil, ginger, spring onions, Fresno peppers, and sesame seed powder, the Wok-Seared Tempura Cauliflower
served with a sweet and spicy Korean Gochujang sauce, and the Fried Rice that was Jasmine rice, soy, egg, carrots, bean sprouts, and spring onions.

All of these dishes were so good and I’d happily go back and have three sides over the main course option again but this does work out a little pricey; the average cost of a main dish is around £9 to £10 so after you add a side, ordering what I did would be £4 to £5 more expensive which is slightly annoying in 2019 when being veggie, and even vegan, is usually so well catered for. Don’t let this put you off going though, just check the menu before you visit.

Although I was filled to the brim, I did make room for a small portion of Hazelnut ice cream as I’m such a sucker for it! The other ladies had far more adventurous options than I did in the form of Kaya French Toast, a White Chocolate Bomb and Flourless Chocolate Cake! All of the desserts are veggie-friendly so that’s always good!

We did have a cocktail whilst perusing the menu and I’d highly recommend the Purple Colada made with Coconut Rum, Amaretto, Pineapple Juice, Lemon Juice, Blue Tea and Coconut Cream which was the perfect refreshing drink before delving into a spicy meal.

We had fantastic service with great food but I do wish they had some vegan options and more veggie main courses!