By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

If you’ve ever had to wait more than an hour for a table at Sunnyvale’s P.F. Chang’s restaurant, take heart. Last week the P.F. Chang’s chain of restaurants opened a new China Bistro in the Stanford Shopping Center.

P.F. Chang’s is Chinese food in a new suit. If you’re looking for painted hand fans and hanging paper pagodas, don’t expect to find them here. Instead, you’ll find mural-sized screen paintings, stone warrior statues, art nouveau fixtures and funky upholstery.

“The Stanford Shopping Center offers P.F. Chang’s a wonderful opportunity to broaden its appeal in the Bay Area,” said Tom Frank, P.F. Chang’s market partner for the three Bay Area restaurants. “Our clientele fit very well with the customer profile of Stanford Shopping Center, with its upscale anchor retailers, specialty shops and specialty services.”

The Palo Alto restaurant will be the company’s first to debut a “new favorites” menu, which, Frank said, includes Sichuan chicken wings, Cantonese barbecue pork appetizer and banana spring rolls.

P.F. Chang’s menu offers guests dishes from five major culinary regions of China: Canton, Shanghai, Sichuan, Hunan and Mongolia. Appetizers include spareribs and pork dumplings. The lemon scallops are tender, with a gooey sweet sauce. Another highlight is the orange peel shrimp, with its pungent brown sauce and strips of orange peel.

Frank said the mahogany bar is inviting for guests who wish to enjoy one of the largest wine-by-the-glass selections in the Bay Area. The award-winning wine list has more than 50 wines available by the glass and the bottle.

P.F. Chang’s is located in the Stanford Shopping Center at 180 El Camino Real, in Palo Alto. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; and 11 a.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 330-1782.