A Snowy Date Night

Last night Drew and I had a little date night, which was really nice. It seems like every time we attempted to go to P.F. Chang’s over the last few months, one of us was sick, so when Drew said he was starting to feel some sinus pressure, I thought for sure we’d have to cancel again, but we didn’t 🙂 I’d heard mixed reviews of the one at The Westchester, so I wasn’t sure if it was going to meet our expectations (his mom and aunt love the restaurant). I’m glad I thought ahead and called for reservations because when we got there around 8:30, the place was absolutely packed and there were quite a few people waiting for tables. But we were seated right away! I ordered an Asian Pear Mojito (Bacardi Limon with a hint of pear), and it was fabulous! It wasn’t too strong, but I could tell they didn’t wimp out on the alcohol. For an appetizer, we shared an order of the Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps, which were just delicious! If I could make tofu taste that good at home, we would eat a lot less meat, I can assure you! Then we shared a bowl of hot & sour soup. I had no idea how enormous the bowl was going to be, though! We each ate a cup and took the rest home. I thought the soup was really yummy — nice spice, not too thick. I enjoyed it.

We picked two entrees to share (knowing full well we’d be taking leftovers home because we planned on ordering dessert — how often do we actually get to go out alone). The Singapore Street Noodles were better than I expected — shrimp, chicken, vegetables, and rice noodles in a nice curry sauce. When they set the plate down I was a little off-put by the chunks of tomato, but they actually were lovely in the dish, absorbing some of the spice. We also order mu shu pork, because I’d never had it before. We both enjoyed that as well. For dessert we shared the banana spring rolls. The pineapple-coconut ice cream was the best! The spring rolls, however, we both found a bit on the greasy side. That was probably my least-favorite dish of the night. Honestly, we both would have enjoyed some warm bananas over ice cream more than the spring rolls, but that probably wouldn’t sound as intriguing on the menu.

One thing I can say is that even though the restauarant is a bit pricey, you get much more food than you can (or, should, rather) eat. I really had to watch my portion control because I’ve lost 5 lbs since Christmas and I wasn’t about to let one meal completely undo it! For lunch I’ll enjoy a little of the leftover soup and one mu shu roll. I’m sure I could make those mu-shu rolls at home, though. I have the hoisin sauce, the cabbage, the pork… I just need to find a suitable pancake. I suppose I could use tortillas, but if was motivated enough, I think that crepes would work better and be tastier. The restaurant was a little loud, but as I said it was packed. I would go back, though. There are a few other dishes that sound interesting (the Coconut Curry Vegetables for instance), and I’d like to give them a try someday.

It was snowing when we were leaving and it seemed that as soon as we hit Ossining (we stayed at Drew’s mom’s) there was a whole lot more snow on the ground than in White Plains. It’s like 15 minutes away! How is that possible? Getting up her driveway, which is a hill, sucked, and I slipped on the snow and fell. It still hurts 🙁 But all in all it was a great night, even if I am going to have a huge bruise on my heinie!