Restaurant Review:

By John Reger

May 28, 2009 12 AM PT

The explosion of Pei Wei restaurants since their inception in 2001 has been pretty impressive. The offshoot of P.F. Chang’s, which was established to be a more relaxed establishment, now has more than 150 locations across the country.

It isn’t surprising when you think about it. P.F. Chang’s is successful and the Chinese food can be packaged for a diner who doesn’t have much time to dine.

But I wouldn’t call Pei Wei fast food. The menu is a lot more sophisticated and the dining room much nicer than plastic chairs and chipped tables.

At the Newport Beach location there is both indoor and outdoor seating, though finding a table at lunch time can be a challenge. There aren’t a lot of dining options in that area and it is often packed at noon.

The bigger obstacle may be finding a parking spot. There are several businesses and parking appeared not to be a real big consideration when the mall on the corner of Jamboree and Bison was built.

This can be easily avoided by dining after 1 p.m. or at dinner. The menu does not change between the two meals either by selection or price.

The good thing is that no item costs more than $10, which is perfect for lunch and dinner.

There are 11 main entrees, and the format is simple. The dishes can be ordered with either 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, while the chicken is a natural choice. The sauce is not like an orange chicken sauce you might get at a comparable place. It is not sickeningly sweet, but instead provides a mellow flavor. The circular-cut carrots and fresh snap peas go nicely with the dish.

Another combination that I think works well is the honey-seared shrimp. The chicken is OK with this, but I prefer the 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 a perfect lunch. I was a little disappointed with 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 I think it would have 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.

Another item I would recommend the beef for 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 has Thai basil, ginger and red bell pepper and is best with chicken. It is a dish I found to be very good.

Rice and noodle bowls are often overlooked. Most of them are pretty routine, pad Thai and lo mein among them, but I did find the Thai blazing noodles intriguing. This dish has tomato black pepper sauce mixed with snap peas, carrots, cilantro and Thai basil. This is a flavorful dish and the rice noodles weren’t too heavy.

A lot of people come in just for the appetizers and I can 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 in them, but they do pack a pretty good punch with the spice added.

Though P.F. Changs would not be my first choice to spend an evening eating Chinese food, Pei Wei is high on my list for casual, convenient dining.

Pei Wei

ADDRESS: 1302 Bison Ave., Newport Beach

PHONE: (949) 629-1000

WEBSITE: www.peiwei.com

CUISINE: Chinese

SPECIALTY DISH: Mandarin Kung Pao

ALCOHOL SERVED: Beer and wine

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $6.75 to $9

FAMILY FRIENDLY: Yes, separate children’s menu

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: American Express, MasterCard and Visa

RATING: ***