Peter Chang — Restaurant in Richmond

First off, we had Madison as our server and she was fantastic! She really cared that we had a good experience and ordered the right items. After reading a slew of recent reviews that were negative on this place I almost didn’t go but I’m definitely glad I did. As Madison pointed out, if you’re coming here for standard Chinese food, you’re probably going to be disappointed because you’re paying twice as much for something you could get at any take out Chinese restaurant. This place specializes in Szechuan cuisine so make sure to order what they do best!

We had the dry friend eggplant which was super tasty and I would highly recommend it. Crispy and seasoned to perfection with a slight kick. My only complaint was that the ratio of “toppings” like the green onion and Szechuan peppers was about equivalent to the eggplant. I would prefer to see more of the fried eggplant in there. The pork Bao buns are also amazing! The meat inside is seasoned super well already but the spicy garlic sauce on the side really knocks it out of the park, especially if you like a good kick of heat! Our entree was the three pepper beef which we loved as well! Definitely has a good amount of heat to it but the flavors are delicious! Again my only complaint here is that there was way more veggies and onions than beef which was a little disappointing because I was fishing for meat in the dish.

Basically this place didn’t get 5 stars because I thought some of the ratios were off and also because it took a while once we were sat to get a waitress to come over but once we were going everything was very smooth. But as far as the taste, it was awesome! Excited to go back and try more...

I've had dinner at Peter Chang's many times and tried quite a few of the menu items. The Bubble Pancake is always a good starter and the kids love it. Speaking of kids, some of the main dishes pack a spicy tongue numbing punch and children may not be ready for that.

For appetizers I always get the Dry-Fried Eggplant and the Bamboo Fish. Those are both similarly seasoned with cilantro and some pretty potent hot pepper🌶️ flakes that will ruin your taste buds for the rest of the dinner if you are not careful.

It's a love/ hate thing for me with the heat. Peter Chang's hot seasoning is a different kind of hot than a hot sauce. I literally couldn't taste anything after eating the Bamboo Fish (pictured) dish which I recently ordered as a meal size portion. Stick with the appetizer size portion on the Bamboo Fish.

The Golden Mountain of Chicken or Mongolian Beef is very satisfying and "safe" for kids.

My wife likes the Eggplant in Garlic Sauce (pictured). That's probably one of several vegetarian options. I've tasted it and it's good, but personally I wouldn't make it my main meal.

All the soups I've tried are really good. The Crispy Pork Belly is delicious. Lots of menu items to explore, most with a spicy flare.

Some of the original charm of Peter Chang's has worn off for me, but it's still a unique Asian style restaurant that stands out in the crowd. Service was good. The restaurant can get pretty crowded and tables are maybe a bit too close together for some who prefer...

Happy hour specials were a really good value. We got an order of fried pork dumplings for $3, an order of spring rolls for $1.50 and pork belly for $5.00. I wasn't expecting such low prices for such amazing food. I saw that a lot of reviews saying that the service was bad bit we didn't experience any bad service. The waiter was pleasant and service was quick but not rushed. Be careful when ordering anything spicy. The jalapeño beef was at the top of my tolerance level and I tend to like trying the spiciest things on menus. I definitely broke a sweat and would not have been able to enjoy it if it were any spicier. There were about 9 very large entire jalapeño peppers that were cooked into the dish. The mushrooms and peppers combined with the beef and sauce were all perfect. My wife got the golden mountain chicken and it was crispy and sweet (in a good way). I took several bites of her meal to counteract the spicy beef. The dumplings were good but their sauces were some of the best I've had served with dumplings before. The pork belly was a very generous serving considering the price. It was served on a bed of cilantro and hot peppers(if you avoid eating the peppers there was no heat so both myself and my wife were able to enjoy it). We will definitely be back and are both looking forward to try some of the other items that jumped out to us on the menu like the lotus root stuffed with sticky rice and the sausage dishes that Andrew Zimmerman from bizarre foods has...