Sponsored: Legendary restaurant P.F. Chang’s celebrates 10 years in the region with new dishes, new restaurant refurbs, but the same humble ethos

Like mother, like son

Even though the first P.F. Chang’s opened in 1993, the story begins thirty years earlier with Cecilia Chiang.

It’s not an understatement to call Cecilia Chiang one of San Francisco’s most beloved culinary figures. Her first restaurant in town, the Mandarin, opened in 1961. Like many restaurateurs, it took Cecilia some time to find her groove in San Francisco, but she did — and by the early ‘70s, she moved the Mandarin to a bigger space in Ghirardelli Square, which she presided for over 20 years. Then came the Mandarin Beverly Hills, feeding celebrities like John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Cecilia’s son, Philip, just out of art school, was realising the woes of finding work as an artist, so he followed her into the restaurant industry, eventually founding the megahit P.F. Chang’s.

An international hit

The restaurant chain started from humble beginnings but has since expanded to more than 300 stores in the United States, and into more than 25 countries around the world, with its first foray into the Middle East in Kuwait exactly 10 years ago. P.F. Chang’s has since expanded to Dubai with 11 outlets in the city, and many more to come.

Anniversary celebrations

As part of their 10th anniversary celebrations in the region, P.F. Chang’s is launching a variety of new dishes and a completely new menu design that is tech friendly. Just scan a QR Code with your phone to unlock videos of certain new dishes, interactive games for children, and exciting facts about each dish. The restaurant will also be introducing a dozen new dishes to the menu that cater for specific dietary requirements – be it vegetarian or gluten-free.

For more information, and for a list of P.F. Chang’s locations in the UAE, visit alshaya.com

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Images: Supplied / Facebook