Panda Express

Had dinner here on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, before flying out to Dallas. What a great airport — quiet, not a lot of people. It is actually enjoyable to travel when you aren’t wrestling with a bunch of strangers. Same was true for this Panda Express. Quiet, relaxing, good food.

This was my first time ever having Panda Express and if this is an indication of how their regular restaurants are, I wasn’t impressed. The orange chicken was just «OK.» It was obviously sitting under the heating lamp for quite a while. It had «that» feel when you went to chew on it.
That’s not why I’m only issuing two stars on Unilocal,though. It’s because of their fried rice. That was the poorest excuse for fried rice I have ever seen in my life. That wasn’t fried rice. No, that was slightly colored white rice with a few small pieces of a vegetable cooked into it.
I should have gone to the busy Mexican Restaurant next door. Almost all the restaurants share the same dining area at Sunport.

I’ll be honest, I don’t care for Panda Express. I had a roommate who worked at a Panda Express and would always bring home boxes and boxes of leftover Orange Chicken. It was ridiculous. I think I may have actually gone the whole semester eating only Orange Chicken. Hence my lack of desire to eat at Panda Express ever again.
The other options at the airport seemed so blah that we decided to eat here. Plus I hadn’t had white rice in quite a while. Trying to cut back on carbs and all.
Got Orange Chicken and … something. I don’t remember anymore. I ordered two things that I thought would be the freshest due to high demand from other customers. I will admit it tasted pretty good, and most of the food sitting in the prep pans actually seemed fairly freshly made. Good job, Panda!

It’s been a long flight and was looking for a place to eat. Haven’t had rice in hours and my inner Asian was in need in need of rice. I decided to get half chow mein/​fried rice with orange chicken and walnut shrimp.
The food was fresh and hot. I always love walnut shrimp. The walnut shrimp here is pretty decent for a fast food quick fix.
Customer service was good. I don’t remember his name but he was the cashier and was friendly.
Best part about Chinese food… fortune cookies!

Orang chicken is tasty. The service is good too. I enjoy visiting Panda Express. The selections are large and filling.

It has been an unusual travel week. Between Amtrak, planes and rental cars, there has been plenty of ground covered.
In my travels, I have had the opportunity to experience Panda Express at both Albuquerque and Denver airport. While this was certainly not something I planned, it seemed to be fortuitous in my review experience… and I was greatly motivated by the firecracker chicken I experienced in Albuquerque.
As expressed in other reviews, it is standard Panda Express… and when the orange chicken is fresh, you cannot go wrong.
At Albuquerque’s airport location, in combining the chow mein, orange chicken and firecracker chicken, I was anticipating tangy sweet and snappy hot. Probably the biggest disappointment was being handed a styrobox of food with spots that are hot and other spots that are not.
At the gate, I found a spot to settle and eat. The firecracker chicken was, hands down, the hit of the meal. With red and yellow pepper, onion, chili, chicken and sauce, the only thing missing was significant spice from chili. What I anticipated as a 5 on a scale of 10 actually came out as a 3. Thank goodness for sriracha.
After I enjoyed the firecracker chicken, I attempted to find pleasure in the chow mein. The noodles were chewy, a bit dry and with a large amount of celery. This was certainly a presentation that had time to sit under the warming lights. After 3 forkfuls, I abandoned the chow mein and started on the orange chicken. This, too, was a victim of sitting too long under the heat lamps. The breading had dried out to a crunchy consistency on several pieces.
For the time spent and the investment made, I derived pleasure from the firecracker chicken. Service was quick and the facility was clean, so here’s to 3 stars.

Standard Panda Express stand — can’t go wrong with FRESH orange chicken. Anything that’s been sitting in the pan for awhile looses it’s wok-​fried texture. But if you’re looking for a quick decent meal, I recommend the chowmein bowl with one entrée. Easy to take onto the plane when you’re in a jiff.

It’s fascinating to see at this Panda Express how much effort goes into preparing that Orange Chicken, the giant wok with lots of dark brown sauce. You must admire the average worker creating this ever so mundane yet simply good food.
When i eat panda express i dont think it as real Chinese food. I think it as fast Asian style food. It’s fast, it’s dirt cheap, and what more can i ask. I grab it when I am fleeting into or out from the airport

The Albuquerque Airport food court is a pretty lonely place. A sandwich shop here, a salad place there, or something else stereotypically American, disgusting, and uninteresting. With this this selection, Panda Express is, in my opinion, the only way to go. Sure it’s cheap Chinese fast food that’s pretty much a disgrace to real Chinese cooking, but it’s a lot better than what the other places offer.
When I came, most of the trays were either half full or less. Don’t be put off by this. Just tell them what you want, and they’ll cook up a fresh batch for you right away. Rey Jimenez, who was working behind the counter at the time, hooked it up big time by making me a fresh batch of surprisingly pretty good walnut prawns. His attitude was very down to earth and welcoming. I’d say he provided the best customer service I’ve ever gotten at a Panda Express. I know I definitely wouldn’t be that upbeat if my job was serving people Kung Pao Chicken and Chow Mien every single day. Props to Rey for maintaining a positive attitude and making my journey back to San Diego that much better.
The food quality wasn’t too bad at all. Good tasty batch of chow mien, some walnut prawns, fresh brocolli beef, and you’re set to go. Don’t waste money on a bottled water and just ask them for a free cup. If you think you’re going to lose weight by getting a Diet Coke and paying $ 2 for it, you couldn’t be more wrong.