Trying Peter Chang Again

Since my husband can no longer eat spicy food or tomatoes or coffee or wine or a lot of everything else he loves, we thought we would try something different from take out at Peter Chang Chinese restaurant. We used to order spicy pork along with the fried rice combo. This time we had to eliminate the spicy pork and thought we would try fried noodles and vegetables. I had a very different idea about how fried noodles looked. The fried rice and spring rolls were good, and the what you could call potstickers were also good, but we didn’t care for the egg drop soup. The fried noodles were shriveled up - sort of like chop suey noodles. We tried putting the noodles on the soupy mixture, in the soupy mixture, next to the soupy mixture. The vegetables were not familiar, but we did recognize the pea pods and the broccoli and the carrots. It actually didn’t taste too bad. I’m sure we will order most of this again, but we are still in search of the perfect non spicy option. 

Peter Chang Chinese Restaurant Pick Up for Dinner

We were first introduced to Peter Chang Chinese restaurant when we visited our family in central Virginia about eight years ago. It was an unexpected delight. Our son usually orders a bit of everything so you can taste all of the different offerings. Then they opened a restaurant in Arlington. We went there once and ended up ordering out because the place was packed. Last week Peter Chang opened a new place in our neighborhood. So we gave it a week and decided to order pick up for dinner last night. The menu was a bit different and more interesting than the typical items, which are also included. We usually go for the more traditional things, but this time we ventured out a bit. We ordered Amish multigrain veggie soup, pan fried vegetable gyoza, combo fried rice, shredded pork with spicy garlic sauce, Amish mushroom and eggplant stir fry, and farmer’s Dan Dan noodles. We knew our order would last for two or three dinners. When we went to pick it up at 5:45PM the place was packed - which was not surprising. It took over in a place that used to be a Chinese restaurant. We were very happy with our selections, but I have to say the hot stuff in the eggplant stir fry was overwhelming! Next time we will skip the hot stuff. The eggplant was delicious! So we will make some white rice to mix with the shredded pork to stretch out the entrees. We will need to ask what our kids would they would have ordered from there - for whatever reason they know what to pick, but we were glad we tried it. We will be back! It’s nice to see new restaurants back in the neighborhood. 

Chinese Fortune Cookies

After a couple of months, we finally started to have food delivered for dinner from our favorite neighborhood  restaurants. We started with Moby Dick and Persian food. It was always good and remains so. Then it was Greek; then Italian; then Persian again. In between we have made chicken fajitas with margaritas and the whole nine yards. I was really looking forward to Chinese. Yesterday we got shrimp fried rice, fried spicy chicken, wonton soup, egg and vegetable rolls, crab Rangoon, and green tea with fortune cookies. After dinner we had the tea and cookies. My husband’s fortune was right up his alley - “a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance.” He’s always so upbeat even in the worst of times. Mine, on the other hand, was nothing like me - “the night life is for you.” I was never in to the nightlife - except for the fact that I do like to stay up late at night. So technically speaking it is somewhat accurate depending on your take. I do have to say that overall neither one of us is thrilled with take out or delivery. It was never the food that made dining out what it was. It was the experience that made the difference - the ride, the dinner, the wine, the friends, the leftovers. Now it just feels like leftovers and a real hassle to unpack everything to avoid cooties. I’m not sure how much more of this we will do. Our own cooking tastes so much better. It’s kinda sad.  

Peter Chang Chinese Restaurant

We went to a Peter Chang restaurant in Lynchburg with our family. Apparently, he got great reviews in the New Yorker, or something like that, and the restaurant is a diamond on the rough. The food was quite good - mostly because we always order a huge variety of things and everyone shares. The Washington Post also had a review a few months back because Peter Chang opened two new restaurants in Arlington and Rockville. So Sunday evening we decided to try one out. The restaurant in Arlington is located in a strip mall, and there was hardly any parking available. When we walked in, the place was packed with a thirty minute wait. So we decided to just order take out and bring it home. As we waited for the order, the place just got more packed and the wait time extended to an hour. I overheard someone say that the review in the Post created the mess. When we got home, we opened the stash and it was quite good. My husband prefers a meal that has bread and salad, so Chinese is okay but never great. And when you are used to Persian rice, Chinese will never do! We would probably go back, but not any time soon. I think we like the idea of eating with the family and sharing. It's just not the same with take out.