• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

How do you feel about Panda Express?

Status
Not open for further replies.
We don't have any Panda Express locations except inside malls, and nobody seems to go to malls anymore, so...

As for local family-owned stripmall Chinese restaurants, there are several local to me but I've found the quality to be all over the place. Most of them just aren't very good. You have to try them all to find the good ones. To no one's surprise the better ones are more expensive and far enough away to be a pain. I will admit I eat from the lesser ones on occasion because of this.
 
There are almost none in my Seattle area, although the CEO is really nice, he's come into my work for meetings a couple times.
 
GoldenEye 007 said:
Panda Express is usually like $7.50 for a two entree plate. How much less can a random Chinese place be? Like $.50 - $1 less?

I haven't run into places that get much lower than that.
Click to expand...

The chinese restaurant in the strip mall down the street from my work has 3 items (rice or noodles and two sides) for 5 bucks. Four item combo is 6 dollars. You're not saving a ton, but it's definitely cheaper for a neglible difference in quality.
 
honestly panda is better than the copypaste chinese takeout places. i dig it, $7.50 gives me two meals easily. the firecracker chicken is super good if they still have that. orange is da GOAT but can't handle more than 1 portion of it.
 
While I usually prefer my fast Chinese food to come from seedy looking places with portions as large as the Grand Canyon, I must say Panda Express's Honey Walnut Shrimp is the best thing on the menu (despite it being $1.25 extra).

It's ok if there's nothing else around but ugh the price you pay and the portion you receive is madness!
 
Never had it and I would probably never try to actively seek it.

I heard more of them are popping up around NYC and that's a damn shame. Just go to your block's Chinese take out place and I'm sure you'll get something 10000000x better.
 
Its actually pretty decent once you realize the food you're getting comes from a corporate chain restaurant with a drive thru.
 
It's awful and it hurts my stomach. The worst Chinese place here is better than them. Ours doesn't even have a drive thru, didn't know they did that.
 
It's some hate in here sheesh.

For me it's GOAT fast food when I want the gourmet aspect that McDonalds can't offer. It provides me with calories other places can't match. The food is great and the environment is wonderful.
 
Born in China, love Panda Express. Their Kungpao chicken is probably the most delicious dish I've had in a American Chinese establishment.
 
I haven't been to one in over a year but they're alright. Anymore I usually go to a Chinese restaurant near me where I can get better food that's actually a little less expensive.
 
Pretty solid and cheap fast food American Chinese. Nobody is going in there expecting a dish prepared by the Emperor's chef himself, but it's tasty and made fresh.
 
Man. That place is terrible. I went there once with some co-workers for a quick lunch about 6 years ago. The prices were outrageous for the portions, and the food was pretty bland.

Any local chinese restaurant is easily better. The only advantages Panda has is quick service, and a drive-through.
 
I enjoy it when the food is fresh, sadly the only one nearby is in a mall and it's unlikely I'm going to walk into a mall food court just to eat Panda. If I'm there for something else I might get it though. I really like their Beijing Beef.

I honestly haven't tried much other Chinese food other than buffets when I was younger, 10+ years ago. There's a lot of places local but the food is pretty expensive especially if I order delivery. They have minimums and it doesn't make sense to me to order in a weekends worth of Chinese food if I only want one meal out of it. I guess there's always pickup.
 
Too expensive. Im lucky to have a legit chinese takeout in my town that gives 2 choice 2 lb combos for like $6 and this is the Bay alArea so that's cheeeeeap.
 
Normally it's beneath me, but I live in the SGV.
However, I recently went to their Panda Inn restaurant for a sit down Sunday brunch buffet... And we got our undignified grub on.
 
Skel1ingt0n said:
It's cheap
It has a drive thru
It's bad for you

Yet it gets ignored in all the fast food threads. No doubt, this shit is awful for your health - but if you get it fresh, it's surprisingly competent Chinese for dirt cheap.

Of course, if I lived near a China Town or authentic options, I'd go for that. But at Panda, I can be out the door in 5 minutes with a couple pounds of food for like $8.

And every receipt gives you a 2m survey, and if you fill it out, you get a free extra scoop of meat on your next visit.


On the fast food scale, the price to content to quality ratio feels pretty high.
Click to expand...


so tired of the gig economy
 
I use to think it was mediocre and bad many years ago but then I didn't have it for 10+ years. Ended up eating it under the Comcast building in downtown Philly and it was really good. It's probably because they sell so much that it is constantly fresh.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Poll
How often do you nap?
2
61
685
Sticks replied
How do You overcome laziness?
2
63
1K
German Shocks replied
How much do you love tacos?
2
75
1K
Tunned replied
How much do you love tacos?
7
423
Avid Reading Horse replied
How do fat people do body workouts?
2
91
827
Dr.Morris79 replied
Top Bottom