The US-based global Asian fusion restaurant chain, P.F. Chang's, which is famous for its iconic dishes such as lettuce-wrapped chicken, Dynamite Shrimp and Spicy Kimchi Fried Rice, is opening at the Cyber Hub, Gurugram, on April 21, following its Indian debut in Mumbai.
Brought into India by Ramit Mittal, P.F. Chang's is the creation of the Shanghai-born American restaurateur Philip Chiang and his business partner Paul Fleming. The P.F. in the restaurant chain's name, incidentally, stands for Paul Fleming. The brand also features Chiang's surname minus the 'i'.
Their partnership took shape after Fleming, who was planning to open a Chinese restaurant, dropped in at the eatery Chang had been running in Phoenix, Arizona, since 1983 and offered to onboard him for his project.
They opened their first restaurant together at Scottsdale, Arizona, where the company's headquarters is now situated, in 1993. The chain, which is now owned by a private investment fund and hedge fund company, has a global footprint of more than 300 restaurants.
Chang's mother, Cecilia, in fact, was well-known in the United States as the promoter of The Mandarin, a popular Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown whose major patrons included C.Y. Lee, best-selling author of 'The Flower Drum Song', Vic Bergeron, founder of the Trader Vic's restaurant and bar chain, and the famous journalist Herb Caen.
Speaking to a renowned food agency back in 2019, this is how Chiang explained the chain's scratch-cooking philosophy: "We make every dish to order, from scratch. It is a laborious task, but one that we feel is crucial in ensuring the highest quality of traditional Chinese food for our customers."
The signature wok, where the ingredients will be cooked atop a 700-degree flame, is the highlight of the show kitchen that stands out in the plush, black-and-gold 112-seater new restaurant (with an additional 28 seats outside) opening in Gurugram on Sunday.
Talking about Dynamite Shrimp, Chiang told, "The recipe was inspired from a trip I made to Hong Kong more than ten years ago. We visited a fantastic restaurant that was famous for its use of mayonnaise, which at the time was not a prominent ingredient in Chinese cooking. The British influence in Hong Kong was strong, and it was here that we decided to incorporate it into the dish."
P.F. Chang's standout offerings in Gurugram will include a Jain menu, a robust variety of sushi and dim sum, apart from signature entrees, as well as drinks such as the Asian Pear Mojito and Japanese Old Fashioned.
