Hello! Good morning!
I’m so glad to see that you guys are as psyched about the Technogel Pillow Giveaway as I am. Just a reminder that the giveaway is open until next Tuesday, so be sure to get those entries in!
Alright, so you all know that I’m always up for a reason to celebrate and get together with friends, right? Well last night we got the chance to do it all over again for our friend Andrea’s birthday!
Her husband, Brook, arranged to have all of us out to dinner at P.F. Chang’s before the two of them arrived so it was a total surprise for her. (I actually almost slipped on yesterday morning’s post, so thank goodness I got my act together and realized it was a surprise. Eek!)
Our group of ten included Brook and Andrea, myself and Jay, Mal and Brian,
Matt and Christina (<—yes, our super talented friend!), and Sarah and Jeff.
It was quite the party! 
I started things off with a glass of Chardonnay; it’s funny, actually, because I’m pretty sure my taste for wine is changing. I never used to be a chardonnay gal, but I blame it all on Mal; she got me into a Kendall Jackson Chardonnay which is really, really good.
When it came time to ordering dinner, I was pretty much an absolute wreck. I had absolutely NO idea what I wanted and must have asked the waitress a hundred questions about what she liked, what her favorites were between this and that, and so on. Yeah, I was a real peach.
Eventually, I decided to order the Wonton Soup, which I almost went back on since she said that the only way you could order it was in a big bowl. Well she wasn’t kidding…
The thing was huge! Jay offered to share it with me, but even still, I was able to get about 2-1/2 cups worth of soup…and it tasted absolutely delicious.
In lieu of ordering an entrée, I decided to just go with the soup and their signature appetizer, the Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
The dish included wok-seared minced chicken, mushrooms, green onions, and water chestnuts, and was served over crispy rice sticks. I’d never really ordered a dish like this before but I’m so glad I did. Not only did it have great flavor, but I love how light it was by pairing it with the lettuce cups.
Good food, great wine, awesome company…definitely a great night out!
I opted to sleep in a bit today (my day off, WOOT!) since I haven’t been getting to bed as early as I should these past few nights, so now it’s about time for me to go make some breakfast. Hmmm, what to have, what to have?
Question for the Morning:
Do you ever eat Chinese food? What’s your favorite dish(es)?
Jay and I barely ever eat Chinese food and I’ve actually never ordered Chinese take-out. Is that weird?
I went to Changs last nite too and had the lettuce wraps as my entree too! What are the odds! They are always yummy and love that you don’t feel weighed down afterwards :)
I love good hot and sour soup and ANY veggie dish loaded with garlic :)
Courtney, I’m with you on the KJ Chard! It’s my “splurge” bottle every once in awhile (that probably sounds funny considering it’s only about $13/bottle, but since wine goes like quicksand in my house, we try to buy cheaper bottles most of the time). Have a great rest of your week!
Great minds think alike! ;)
I prefer sushi to be honest, but I love Chinese food as well! Wonton soup, gyoza and crab ragoon are my favorite! I always feel rather sluggish the next day though :(
I have only eaten there once and I ordered the same thing! I love those lettuce wraps.
I love PF Changs! Their lettuce wraps are amazing. The steamed vegetable dumplings are really good too! :)
Oh yum! We don’t have PF Chang’s in Canada but I wish we did, cause everything you got looks delicious!
I can only go for Chinese food if I’m really craving it, otherwise it usually grosses me out… it’s very weird! haha I’ve always wanted to try PF Changs though!
I love Chinese food! In a more traditional setting I almost always order chicken and broccoli. At PF Chang’s though the lettuce wraps are always my go-to choice. They are so good! :-)
It’s funny you say Chardonnay is a new like for you, because it’s been one for me too lately. I guess I just never knew what I was missing out on? ;)
i LOVE chinese food but don’t feel like i have it often enough! i really enjoy lettuce wraps, and i also love orange chicken with brown rice.
We get chinese here and there. Mostly because torrance loves it. I typically just get some sort of veggie/shrimp/chicken stirfry mix thing
I never order Chinese take out. I used to have it as a kid, but I always felt horrible after. I think it has to do with the MSG or something??
But PF Changs is completely different from random Chinese take-out! I love it! We usually get their orange chicken and Mongolian beef. :)
I love Chinese food but I don’t the greasy, MSG after-effects! Egg fried rice is actually a favorite to make at home- I even have a recipe for Chinese brown rice pancakes which I’m sure you and Jay would love! Let me know if you’d like me to send it to you!
Girl, you know I’m always game for a new recipe! That sounds delicious! :)
Here ya go http://kthadani.com/recipes/rice/ :) …hope you enjoy it!
Thanks Khushboo! They sound awesome – and so easy!!
Was the chicken mixture on the lettuce wraps spicy? I’m such a baby when it comes to spicy foods but that looked really yummy!
No, not at all! I actually had to navigate the menu to try and find dishes that weren’t marked with the spicy symbol because I am NOT a fan of spicy food at all, haha.
i rarely order chinese food. when i do, i love general tso’s chicken (so bad for you) and chicken lo mein from this place in my hometown. general tso’s chicken is usually just breading but this stuff is GOOD – crispy on the outside, tons of chicken on the inside, and just enough of that sweet sauce. yummy!
Funny how wine tastes change over the years. I always was a merlot fan until I realized I had started drinking it to impress a guy I dated in college. Turns out I didn’t actually like it, and now I’m a riesling girl through and through!
The Chinese food around here is less than stellar but I LOVE good Chinese food! …. What a way to celebrate. I used to hate Chardonnay but after going wine tasting in Sonoma- I learned *so* much and learned what I like and what I don’t like. Kendall Jackson Chardonnay is GREAT!
I love Chinese food. We don’t get take out too often but every now and then it is a great treat!
I love their lettuce wraps. They’re the best. Their honey shrimp is pretty good, too.
What a great night with friends, Courtney! There’s nothing like it. :-) I love chinese food once in awhile. I’m a fan of vegetable moo shi! I love the cabbage and mushroom combo!
P.S. – I watched your Party Rock wedding dance. Awesome.
LOL…glad you liked the dance! But I totally just read your comment above and thought you were moo-ing and swearing at me. ;)
Fun! And those lettuce wraps look great. I looooove Chinese food. What I order depends on how healthy I want to be.
Healthy – steamer bowl with shrimp
Medium – cashew chicken
Sinfully Delicious – sesame chicken (the fried goodness, haha)
That looks delish!!! A little jealous, I can’t lie to you. And of course I love Chinese food – although I don’t eat is as much anymore, I’m more likely to go for sushi. But ginger beef was always one of my faves as a kid.
I love their lettuce wraps! I’ve actually made my own version at home a bunch of times since the closest PF Changs is almost an hour away. So delicious :)
And yes, I do think it’s weird you’ve never ordered take out Chinese! How did you get through college without that experience!? haha
Pizza, LOL ;-)
I love lettuce wraps but I usually don’t order them when I’m out because they are SO easy to make at home!
We hardly ever eat Chinese and the few times we’ve had take out we just get General Tso’s chicken. Boringgg LOL
PF Chang’s lettuce wraps are the best – looks like a yummy dinner! I’m totally with you on my changing taste in wine, I used to despise red wine, but lately that’s all I’ve been drinking. Go figure!
I crave Chinese every once in a while.. I like to get just veggies and brown rice. It sounds so simple but it’s SO GOOD! And Chinese donuts?! Basically just fried puffs of dough covered in sugar. I die.
What a fun night, Courtney!
And yeah – a wee bit weird that you’ve never gotten Chinese takeout! Shane and I get it about once every week or two! :)
I always get shrimp and broccoli. I love the sauce but then like 2 hours later I can’t drink enough water!
I LOVE their lettuce wraps!
I don’t blame you for never having take-out, most Chinese place have really shady meat that is in greasy sauces. My favorite place is a tiny local restaurant that makes your meal from fresh ingredients so the chicken is never questionable. Nothing is better than homemade chicken and broccoli that you don’t actually have to cook!
Really? I always pictured you as a person who absolutely loves Chinese food. Guess I was wrong.
I love sesame chicken from the Plum Blossom. The waiter recommended it the first (and only) time I have gone, and he wasn’t wrong. It was the best Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. :) I really hope my family and I are going back there very soon!
I LOVE Chinese food! Whenever my grandparents would come to town they would always take me to my favorite Chinese Restaurant- it was always a special treat!
Mandarin Chicken is by far the best part too! :)
Love chinese food, but the sodium is so bad for you, I just make my own and my favorite is chicken and vegetables with a spicy sauce.
I LOVEEEE beef with broccoli! its my go to comfort food!
I love a spicy shrimp dinner with broccoli! Plus I love eggrolls
The vegetarian lettuce wraps are just as delicious!
I’m a college student and sleep is pretty unorganized. I have to sleep with at least 3 pillows in order to be comfortable at night. Big fluffy pillows are my absolute fave! The anatomic pillow would be awesome to lay and watch movies comfortably!
I absolutely LOVE Chinese food and P.F. Chang’s. I used to always order the lemon chicken but they took it off the menu.
My boyfriend and I went recently and I got the honey glazed chicken which was sweet and crunchy and delicious :D
I have only been to PF CHangs once but was totally overwhelmed by their menu! My husband and I actually really like asian food so we do sushi and or chinese probably once every two weeks. I always go with a simple steamed shrimp and veggies and then put my own Sricha and low sodium soy-sauce. I love chinese but am sooo not a fan of the bloat!!
I tried Moo-shu chicken (or vegetables) a few years back. It’s a chicken/veggie mixture that you spoon onto a thin pancake (not a sweet one though) and a delicious salty sauce. It’s kind of like a Chinese fajita. PF Changs has good ones. Don’t tell your mom I posted on this one… she’ll end up teasing me :)
LOL, I won’t say a word ;)
P.S. – I almost got that entree last night…good to know for next time!
I love your earrings! Where did you get them?
Thanks! I got them at Claire’s, where I buy probably 99% of my earrings, haha. Buy 2, get 1 free, baby! :)
Awesome thanks Court :)