Attention Arizona friends! Did you know the folks at Pei Wei are testing out some of their latest and most innovative dishes in our own backyard?
The Pan-Asian eatery, innovators in the fast-casual realm, recently launched the Pei Wei Test Kitchen at the North Scottsdale location, near their company headquarters. Exclusive to this location, and open to the public, the culinary team is offering customers a glimpse of what is to come with Pei Wei in 2017. Guests can try over 30 new and refined dishes and are encouraged to provide feedback.
I was recently invited to sample some of the test kitchen menu items and can attest everything was fantastic! I’m hopeful it all makes it to the regular menu, so you better believe I gave rave reviews.
My favorite were the Asian Street Tacos, offered in three different varieties. The Bahn Mi-Style taco stood out with tender char-grilled chicken, crisp cucumber, pickled carrot and creamy Sriracha aioli. It was an incredible burst of flavors and textures and had a spicy kick. The other taco choices, Korean BBQ and Teriyaki weren’t too shabby either; I have a feeling these tacos will be available as regular menu items sometime soon.
I also tried and loved a couple fried rice dishes — Kimchi with juicy pork belly and a perfectly cooked fried egg on top and Pineapple Curry, a flavor packed option full of marinated shrimp and pork belly with the interesting sweet contrast of pineapple.
In addition to the Bahn-Mi style tacos, fans of Vietnamese cuisine will be pleased to try out the Chicken Pho, a steamy and aromatic broth, laden with thin rice noodles and hand-pulled chicken, garnished with a garden of veggies and herbs like cilantro, bean sprouts, scallions and Thai basil. The Pork Belly Ramen is another great choice for soup and noodle lovers, a savory soy-miso broth full of noodles, luscious pork belly, swiss chard, and scallions is finished with a soft cooked egg. The yolk adds to the richness and overall deliciousness of the inspired Asian comfort food.
The Korean BBQ Steak Bibimbap is fun to say and a delight to devour! Char-grilled steak is glazed in a Spicy-sweet Korean BBQ sauces and served with cooling cucumbers, pickled carrots, bean sprouts and finished with a fried egg and gochujang sauce. Another explosion of savory flavors and textures.
I also really enjoyed the Spicy Peanut Chicken Satay options, you can get it in a bowl with rice and Asian slaw and spicy cucumber salad or on skewers with all the same accompaniments but minus the rice.
Everything I sampled at Pei Wei Test Kitchen exceeded expectations and like I said I hope to see it all on the regular menu. But for now I have no problem driving a little farther to North Scottsdale to help make that happen. And you should too! Hopefully soon those Bahn Mi tacos will be readily available on every Pei Wei, nationwide.
Please, be advised the above mentioned menu items are available only at the Pei Wei Test Kitchen, located at 20851 N Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85255.
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Disclaimer: I was invited to try out Pei Wei Test Kitchen menu items as part of a media preview. All opinions wishing this post are entirely my own.
