Apologies abound at Paul Lee's when meal is botched
By CRYSTAL PETROCELLI
Get Ou

Wait: We arrived at the recently opened Gilbert restaurant just past 7 p.m. on a Friday. We were told the wait would be 40 minutes and that’s exactly how long we spent in the busy bar before being shown to a table.

Service: Paul Lee’s was a mere five days old when we stopped in so when our server misled us about the type of noodles used in our chop suey chicken, we weren’t too upset. The dish description said it came with “crispy” noodles, which we didn’t want, but our server swore the dish also had soft, flat noodles. It did not. Other than that mix-up, the staff was impressively calm and personable, especially considering the crazed conditions they were working under. And while our wait for a table was long, our food was out of the kitchen in no time.

What we liked: The potstickers — plump with pork and a little Chinese cabbage, onion and ginger — were scrumptious. Loved them, could have eaten another six. Our serving of edamame (choose from regular or spicy) was the most generous portion I’ve ever seen and came steaming hot with a side of salt. The hunan pepper beef is the spiciest thing on the menu and it lived up to its label. The thin slices of wok- cooked beef were tossed in generous amounts of hot pepper sauce along with a few mushrooms, peppers and plenty of Chinese long beans. It was so fiery, it was tough to eat without mixing in a little steamed rice, which is exactly what I expect from a dish that claims to be spicy. The chop suey chicken was a little too salty for our tastes but the chicken chunks were tender and the crispy noodles, while tricky to eat, were quite good.

Scene: Comfortable (cushy seats, relaxed lighting, warm colors) and casual (shorts, T-shirts, jeans and polos). A long sushi-bar-like table gives diners a communal experience and front-row seats to the open kitchen.

Bathroom break: Clean with Asian artwork.

Tab for two: $42 with tax and tip for spicy edamame ($3.99), six pot stickers ($6.99), cup of wonton soup ($2.99), chop suey chicken ($7.29) and hunan pepper beef ($10.99).

If work weren’t buying: Good atmosphere, good food, good prices. Paul Fleming (the brains behind P.F. Chang’s and Pei Wei) officially owns Chinese cuisine in the East Valley.

By CHRIS PAGE
Get Out

Wait: We arrived to a three-quarters- empty restaurant on a Monday night and were seated immediately by a young hostess. However — 

Service: we were seated at a booth without an assigned server, thus resulting in a wait of 15 minutes before someone came by to check on us. After much apology, the server — friendly and courteous — took our orders. The kitchen botched our mu shu stir fry (we wanted tofu, we got chicken), causing another flurry of apologies, this time all the way up the flagpole to the shift manager.

What we liked: My companion is a diehard fan of Paul Lee’s sister chain Pei Wei (she keeps a menu in the car for phoning in takeout), and yet she was underwhelmed by Paul Lee’s offerings. We enjoyed the spicy vegetable spring rolls and the honey-glazed shrimp with candied walnuts was a fun munch, but the hot and sour soup, crab Rangoon and mu shu veggies in lettuce cups tasted overly salty — enough to make us wonder whether someone in the kitchen was working with a heavy smoker’s taste buds. Certainly not what we expected from a restaurant hyping its “balance” of flavors. For tasty takeout, we’re sticking with Pei Wei. And for sit-down dining, we’d rather opt for somewhere more authentic. Another gripe: the red plastic chopsticks we were given were a chunky ergonomic nightmare.

Scene: Crisp, Asian-inspired design with lots of dark wood and dim lighting make Paul Lee’s feel warm and inviting, though the place still screams “bland chain restaurant,” as do Pei Wei and P.F. Chang’s. A modest bar with TV reminded us of the neighboring Fox & Hound Pub & Grill and that it was game night. Guess where we would have rather been.

Bathroom break: Clean and well- stocked.

Tab for two: $54.05 with tax and tip for crab Rangoon ($5.99), vegetable spring rolls ($4.99), hot and sour soup ($2.99), mu shu vegetable stir fry with lettuce cups ($7.49), honey-glazed walnuts and shrimp ($12.99), banana chocolate spring rolls ($3.99), a soft drink ($1.79) and warm green tea ($2.49).

If work weren’t buying: Well, we’re just glad we tried Paul Lee’s Chinese Kitchen on someone else’s dime. Nothing wowing about this trip to the Orient.

Paul Lee’s Chinese Kitchen
1368 N. Cooper Road, Gilbert

Major cross streets: Cooper and Baseline roads
Hours: 4 to 10:30 p.m. Mon.- Thu., 4 to 11:30 p.m. Fri., 3 to 11:30 p.m. Sat., 3 to 10 p.m. Sun.
Reservations accepted: No
Health report: Not available
Kid friendly? Yes
Web site: www.paulleeschinesekitchen.com