Coty "Ragdoll" S.'s Profile

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• 
  11/15/2009

  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of food here and the dining experience.  Sad to say that Pei Wei is more Asian than many of the "authentic" Asian places in Bradenton, FL.  So based on my grading scale by location, the score here is fairly high.  They actually give you chopsticks on your table, you do not have to ask for them.  You are encouraged to eat with chopstix and have to go to the drink bar to find the silverware.  You can ask for dishes to be mild or even extra spicy, and they actually make them really spicy if you ask (which is nice for a change).
  
  The atmosphere is casual and contemporary, just like some of the similar places that I am used to in Gainesville, FL- like Bento and Momoyaki.  But there is also a San Francisco style feel and taste to their food.  They do play 90's and current American alternative music, which is not to my taste, but it gives the place a younger vibe.  I love the animated flat screen menus when you enter that show various dishes.  The food does look better in person than it does in photos.  The wait staff and counter staff here was also on their toes to make sure that we had everything that we needed.  We arrived right at 11:00AM when they opened and were the first customers there.  The places was almost packed within 30 minutes.  Our food came out as it was cooked, dish by dish, and was all delivered to us within 5 minutes.
  
  The drink bar was pretty impressive as well.  There were regular free refill soda fountains, but I loved the Black Chai Tea and the Mandarin Orange Green Tea.  Both were either lightly sweetened or unsweetened.  There were even oranges and lemons on the bar for the tea.  On the top of the bar is a Maneki Neko (money cat) and many vinegar, soy, chili sauce, and hot mustards to take back with you to your table.  The take-out boxes are also on the drink bar, and are of the cute Chinese take-out variety.  
  
  I really enjoyed their Sweet Chili Sauce, which is included as a side to many of their dishes.  You can make it at home with corn syrup and chunky Sriracha, but Pei Wei's is much better.  The Crab Wontons actually have real crab meat inside of them and are cheap (4/$3.95).  They match perfectly with the Sweet Chili Sauce served underneath them.  The Thai Wonton Soup is light and delicious, and I recommend getting a large bowl instead of a cup (cup $2.25/bowl $3.95).  One of my favorites foods in the world is Vietnamese Salad Rolls (Goi Cuon) and I have had them many ways at many places.  Here they are not so authentic, but very tasty.  They are wrapped more precisely here than I have ever seen before.  The filling is the usual bean sprouts, cilantro, and lettuce.  But, there is pre-marinated and cooked chicken inside, as well as peanuts and dressing.  So you do not really need a dipping sauce, but it comes with two; Sweet Chili again and a Sweet Coconut Cream Peanut sauce.  I really hope that the peanut sauce does not have mayo in it, but I think that it might, ugh.  I recommend mixing the hot Chili Paste condiment with the peanut sauce if you are looking for something more authentic (3 rolls for $6.95).
  
  The Kung Pao Chicken ($7.95) was right on, other than the carrot and the snap peas.  It actually had peanuts and chunks of hot pepper.  They definitely understand Wok Hai here as well as how to make a delicious sauce out of dark soy.  Not floating the food in the sauce, but just enough to coat the food.  The use of dark soy also makes the dishes here look darker, richer- but that may also be where there are complaints of saltiness.  They do not dilute the dishes with sugar, unless you order Sweet and Sour foods with gelatin sauce that call for that sort of thing.  This is where I complain a little about the rice:   I do like the slight dryness, smell, flavor, and chewiness of the grains of steamed white rice here.  But, the rice does not stick together enough to eat easily with chopsticks, and the fact that they serve it all on a flat plate does not help either.  They do serve Chinese short grain rice, but I do not think that it is well rinsed or cooked for long enough.  The Dan Dan Noodles ($6.95) are the same as PF Changs with ground chicken and I asked for mine extra spicy.  You will want to pull the cucumbers off and set them to the side, and ask for the noodles Al Dente.  My noodles were way too mushy.  This dish is not authentic Dan Dan Noodles, but it does come close to curing my craving.  
  
  They can make many of the dishes vegetarian.  I have not tried their tofu yet to see if it is a good consistency and if it is crispy fried or just braised.  Just ask for any special suggestions and see what they can do for you.  There is nothing wrong with testing the cooks to see if they can come up with something amazing.  Overall, for Bradenton, this chain restaurant is fairly badass!

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