Restaurant Review:

When I was first introduced to Pei Wei I was reluctant to visit.

I knew they were a national chain and usually I am dubious about chain restaurants, especially one that stretches from coast to coast.

The explosion of Pei Wei restaurants since 2001 has been pretty impressive. The offshoot of P.F. Chang’s, which was established as a more relaxed establishment, now has more than 150 locations.

My friend Andre had raved about the restaurants and took me to the Newport Beach location. With the nice tables and chairs and the quality of the food, I didn’t feel like I was in a fast food setting.

I am glad to see the Huntington Beach location is just as nice. It is in the Bella Terra Shopping Center and fits in well with the Corner Bakery and Kings Fish House.

Just like those two facilities, Pei Wei was an upscale dining experience. It would be in the same category as a Panda Express, but is far ahead of Panda in quality. I wouldn’t call Pei Wei fast food. The menu is a lot more sophisticated.

The good thing is not one item costs more than $10, which is perfect for lunch and an even better deal for dinner.

There are 11 main entrees, and the format is simple. The dishes can be ordered four ways: with chicken, shrimp, beef, or vegetables and tofu.

I have found that certain combinations work best. For example the orange peel is much better with chicken than it is with shrimp or beef. The beef and the orange flavor doesn’t work at all. The sauce is not sickeningly sweet but instead provides a mellow orange flavor. The circular cut carrots and fresh snap peas go nicely with the dish.

Another combination that works well is the honey-seared shrimp. It has a nice crunchy texture and again the sauce is not too sweet. It is a generous portion of the shellfish and mixed with the optional brown rice they offer is a perfect lunch. I was a little disappointed in the bell peppers.

They seemed to be advertised in the menu description like they are a prominent part of the entrée, but in actuality they are so tiny you hardly know they are there, which is a shame because it would have only enhanced the dish.

While I have championed chicken and seafood for entrees I don’t want you to think that I am anti-beef. There are several dishes where the red meat works well.

The obvious one is the Mongolian. The sweet garlic soy sauce and white mushrooms make beef the obvious choice for this entrée, though I had a friend try it with chicken and he said it was just as good.

Another item I would recommend with beef is the ginger broccoli. The ginger soy sauce is blended with an oyster sauce and the slightly sweet dish puts in plenty of al dente broccoli.

If you like curry, the green curry coconut features Thai basil, ginger and red bell pepper and is best with chicken.

One area that gets overlooked on the menu is the rice and noodle bowls.

Most of them are pretty routine, pad Thai and lo mein among them, but I found the Thai blazing noodles intriguing.

This dish has a tomato-black pepper sauce mixed with snap peas, carrots, cilantro and Thai basil. This is very flavorful and the rice noodles weren’t too heavy.

A lot of people come in just for the appetizers and I can certainly see why. The crab wontons are almost addictive and the spring rolls have a nice mix of shredded cabbage, carrots, black mushrooms and glass noodles.

I did wish there was more ginger, but they do pack a pretty good punch with the spice added.

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants and may be contacted at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.