11.287 Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps

11.287

18 (Sun) October 2020

Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps

3.0

at PF Chang’s (Lotte World Mall)

-Jamsil, Songpa, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with UJK and RK

PF Chang’s is a Chinese restaurant chain.  Founded 1993 in the US, currently over 300 locations in 24 countries, including 8 in Korea (when did that happen??).  Specializes in American-style Chinese food.

For no particular reason, I had never been to a PF Chang’s while living in the States, even though there always seemed to be one nearby.  Maybe I didn’t see the appeal in going to a place that makes a point about American-style Chinese food when most restaurants in America serve American-style Chinese food by default.  In Korea, however, where American-style Chinese food is virtually non-existent, I could see the appeal.

Located in Lotte World Tower – currently the tallest building in Korea, and the 5th tallest in the world.

Lunch with UJK and RK (with 121 shared meals on GMTD, including today, RK holds the current record among non-family members; he would have much much more if I’d counted all times we ate lunch at work during the nearly 6 years we were together in Manila, initially on the same team).  Good to see RK again, the first since dinner at the Korean Embassy 10 months ago (see 11.038 Black Sesame and Pine Nut Porridge), soon after which he bugged out to Korea when the city shut down due to the pandemic.  Already the 3rd time seeing UJ in Korea (see most recently 11.262 Garlicpeno Pasta).

From the website, how absurd is this photo?! Presumably, this is a dining table, so why are there raw vegetables scattered among the plates? What is that purple cauliflower? There’s no mushrooms or star anise in any of the dishes.  Why are the napkins under the plates?

Of course, the conversation over lunch was exclusively about WHO, bitching and moaning about WHO.  Though only 3 months have past since I left the Organization, it felt like it had happened in another life.  Reliving the recent past, I was so smugly glad to have washed my hands of it, like coronavirus, good fucking riddance.  RK has also tendered his resignation, effective at the end of the year.  Good for him.  UJK has accepted a better position in a different region, effective at the start of next year.  Good for her.  Good for all of us.

Hot & Sour Soup (2.0): bland.
Vitamin(?) with Garlic (2.0): pretty much just raw vegetables, with a sprinkle of soy sauce and deep-fried garlic chips.
Mongolian Beef (2.5): okay.
Shrimp Lomein (2.0): meh.

The food was disappointing.  The lettuce wraps were pretty good, but everything was mediocre.

So much for PF Chang’s.

(For more details re food, see WHAT)

(For more details re venue, see WHERE IN KOREA)

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