MANILA, Philippines—P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, a restaurant with over 200 branches in the United States and 12 worldwide, has marked its first venture in Asia at the Alabang Town Center.
“When looking for restaurants to bring home, we like to consider a few simple factors: Is our personal experience at the restaurant consistently memorable? Is the food good and fresh, using the best ingredients? Is the service and culture above par? Is the concept sound? Will the menu and atmosphere appeal to families?” said president and chief executive officer of Global Restaurant Concepts Archie Rodriguez. Global Restaurant Concepts is P.F. Chang’s partner in the Philippines.
“We believe PF Chang’s scored high marks in all of these categories. And we are excited to share our experience with the rest of the Philippines,” said Rodriguez.
P.F. Chang’s menu is inspired by different regions of China. “Our menu is easy to digest. It is not a challenging selection ad includes many recognizable dishes,” said Philip Chiang, the restaurant founder.
“We also like to stretch our creativity a little ad incorporate dishes that may be in keeping with ‘contemporary’ trends. With what we do serve, we prepare it with fresh ingredients and our attention to small details is unrivalled,” he said.
“Almost all dishes are prepared to order much like that in China and woks are used to finish the products as well as the utilization of traditional Chinese cleavers during the prepping process,” said Chiang.
Chiang flew in the country for the opening of its 217th restaurant here.
“This is our first foray into a totally Asian environment and I might add, with a large Chinese community. Since I haven’t experience the Philippines yet, I don’t know what might distinguish us, but I feel that so far, we’ve always raised the bar in terms of the Chinese dining experience in the countries we’ve opened,” he said.
Internationally, P.F. Chang’s serves 900,000 guests per week, said Genaro Perez, Director for International Marketing.
Chiang said he thinks the Mongolian Beef (P695), Orange Shrimp (P625), Fried Rice (P200) and Ribs (P650) will be popular dishes for local palate.
A gluten-free menu is also offered at P.F. Chang’s.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez hopes to open at least one more restaurant in the latter part of the year. “A Fort Bonifacio location is already in the planning stage,” he said.