I like their tofu lettuce wraps. I haven't been there in years, but I have a gift card so I should go soon.

Last time I was there, my fortune cookie said, "you need to exercise more." Cheeky!

All of the locations near me except for the ones in malls have closed. I didn't go there often, but I always enjoyed it when I did go.

Oooh, those are yummy!

We love PF Chang's and go there at least once a month. I usually order either the Crispy Honey Chicken or the Ginger Chicken with Broccoli.

Ginger Chicken with Broccoli.

YES!

Love the lettuce wraps and crispy green beans. Haven't been to one in at least 3 years. Sometimes we find a restaurant that serves the beans.

Love lettuce wraps. Sometimes that is my meal. I like the orange peel chicken or shrimp. It’s probably my favorite main dish. And yes to the ginger chicken with broccoli too.

I love both of those. My crew fights over the green beans. We don't live close to one anymore so pretty much don't eat there anymore. They also got rid of the wok charred beef which was our favorite.

I was thinking, "holiday? What holiday?" I had to look it up. I see it's Columbus Day. My employer doesn't give that holiday to us.

I think there is a place for both local Chinese and the chains. 99% of the time we patronize the local places but my husband has tried the honey walnut shrimp at all of them and still says PF Chang's version is the best.

Sometimes the chains also work better for me as a vegetarian. We've gotten to know the local places a lot more so they work with me now, but generally it's difficult to find vegetarian meals in the truly authentic places.

I have never eaten at PF Changs but I do love lettuce wraps. I prefer local Chinese restaurants but I do stop at Panda Express for a healthier fast food meal now and then. I like having options and stay away from their heavier battered items. Funny thing is I once asked a lady from China (immigrated as a young adult) who was in a group I belong to where the best Chinese food was. She laughed and said was that so many restaurants have over-westernized their menus so badly that she often just hits Panda Express for simple basic Chinese. I know chow mein is pretty much westernized, but I will only eat it at Panda Express. Unlike most Chinese restaurants it is "drier" and "crispier", not that bloated noodle slime that most places call chow mein. For Chinese restaurants I prefer those with Sichuan dishes on the menu.

As someone who travels often to China for work, what the Chinese woman told watchme is spot on. We tend to "Americanize" Chinese food. Authentic Chinese restaurants tend to be in Chinatown parts of town. I like some of the local chains, but I'm also aware that the food isn't often authentic.

Like this dish. It's called "Chinese worm jelly." It's native to Xiamen. That's not the real name though. It's the translated version of the word. It was being served in a hotel I was staying. Probably not going to find this dish in the local neighborhood chain restaurant. And no, I didn't try it ;>)

One of our favorite local places has two menus - the Americanized menu and the authentic menu. The Americanized menu has all the classics, and the authentic menu is full of things like "pork intestine fried pepper" and "duck feet in dried pot."

Chinese from the coastal south have been present in the Bay Area for over 150 years. I suspect so-called "Cantonese" food and dim sum are pretty westernized, I agree. In the last 30 years, immigration of folks from all over China, from Taiwan, and so-called "overseas Chinese" have come to Silicon Valley in large numbers. I get suggestions for restaurants from Chinese people I know and the suggestions are often accompanied with the description of "authentic". And when I can, I like to go to Chinese restuarants with Chinese friends so that they can do the "off the menu" ordering. Again, I know many don't have such access.

What is authentic? food evolves with what is available and what people want to eat. I don't see that as a bad thing. Are the multitudinous peoples of China cemented to a set in stone cuisine? Well the word cuisine isn't Chinese is it? Big world.

In the context of the conversation, I think it's understood "authentic' suggests that specific dishes are cooked with ingredients and with a style of preparation as would be found in the area where the dish originated and would be recognized as such by someone from that area. When transplanted to new countries, of course old country dishes change. Much (not all) of "Italian" food in the US is different from what you would find in the UK and from what you would find in Italy. Same progression of differences and local assimilation with Chinese dishes.

Some Chinese food is set in stone pots (sorry for the stretch for a pun) but Chinese food is very regionalized and different. Just for a start, it varies based on what ingredients are available where and you can be sure over such a large country with wide variations in climate, the diversity is huge.

Interestingly, our local Chinese places aren't all that great. They are edible, but wouldn't direct someone to eat there. I have Chinese neighbor friends and sometimes the wife cooks me food. She is an excellent cook. She is overseas right now. Sometimes she makes me authentic food. Sometimes, she uses American ingredients, and sometimes she makes food from the middle east where she is currently living. She orders for me when we go to restaurants. I've tried some interesting things. My favorite is still American Chinese. PF Changs is one of my favorites for that.

I've been to a couple of places in China Town. No complaints about the food from me. Unfortunately, the area isn't all that safe. My Chinese friends are hesitant to go there which is a shame.

Haven't been to PF Changs in years. I recall the food being very salty. That said, I do love good fried green beans, meaning not greasy. We had a Pei Wei (also owned by PF Changs) for about a year. Don't know why they closed. Loved their spring rolls.

The closest PF Changs to me is at the airport, but I won't be going to the airport to eat unless I am flying. I will look for it the next time I am at LAX, however.

In Los Angeles County, the best Chinese restaurants are in Monterey Park, and the last one I went to gave us the bill written all in Chinese. Chinatown here has some mediocre restaurants, and so I don't go to them unless I am in Chinatown to pick someone up at the bus station. I do like Chinese food, and there used to be a good Szechuan restaurant down the street from me in Venice, and we went there often because it was walking distance - about two blocks. We have a much better selection of Japanese restaurants here than Chinese, as there is a large Japanese population on the West Side. We also have a lot of Japanese markets - much more than we have of Chinese markets. For Korean food, we go to Koreatown.

When I lived in San Francisco, the worst Chinese restaurants were in Chinatown, as they catered to tourists, and the best were in the Avenues, around Clement Street.

Where I grew up in Texas (Temple) there were good Chinese restaurants. The town was started by the Santa Fe Railroad and some Chinese workers stayed there after the railroad was built in 1881. Temple TX was a junction of the railroad from Houston, and one branch went north to Chicago and the other branch went west to Los Angeles. The Santa Fe Railroad also built a hospital in Temple.

Glenda....Is PF Chang's usually good? We've never tried them. I've seen the BIG Tang horse. Cool exterior decor. I usually do mom 'n pop eateries.

nicole, the food is great! My group has eaten there three times in the past and no complaints. Their service is excellent. Always busy. Yes, I recommend.

We do have mom 'n 'n pop Chinese food restaurants. Two that I frequent are New China and Chop Suey Inn. Being as these two are family run and small, they cannot accomodate groups.

We had a PF Changs at the mall in Lexington but I think I ate there once or twice and didn't care for it. Neither did my daughter. I vaguely remember eating something with peanut sauce there and that may be why I didn't like it.

When I lived in San Francisco, the worst Chinese restaurants were in Chinatown, as they catered to tourists, and the best were in the Avenues, around Clement Street.

Agree!

If I had to eat those jelly worm things, I'd just have to starve to death! And, I'm not a picky eater either! GAG!

The title started me thinking about the Thai lettuce wraps at the Cheesecake Factory. Only problems was the serving was enough to feed 3-4 people a full meal easily.

There's a Thai restaurant that I love that serves their salad with peanut sauce, yummy.

I'm not familiar with Changs, but the food in the photos looks yummy! We do have Panda Express and I've also seen it at a couple of airports, but have never tried it. Maybe next time I'm out running errands, I'll give it a whirl so I'll know what everyone is talking about.