Panda Express

I really prefer mom and pop Asian joints to chains like this and I told the cashier as much while ordering. I stopped in because I was at the Laptop Guy next door and I hadn’t eaten yet. The cashier asked what I wanted and I told him I was a pescatarian and asked what they had that I could eat. They had very, very little vegetarian or seafood items.
I ended up getting a side of chow mein, a side of mixed vegetables and an order of spring rolls. The chow mein was downright cold, the noodles rubbery, and the mixed vegetables weren’t much better. The spring rolls were good, and the sweet and sour sauce they were served with was okay. The highlight of the meal was definitely my root beer.
I haven’t eaten at a Mark Pi’s or Panda Express in years and it will probably be years before I eat at another one. The only saving grace, and the reason I didn’t give the restaurant two stars, is that the cashier was super friendly. He really made the first half of my experience pleasant. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do much for the food.

Oh, how I love Panda Express! When I am craving Chinese food, this is usually where I go. Well, when I’m craving some quick Chinese takeout, that is. This certainly isn’t the highest quality Chinese food you can get, but for fast food it is surprisingly good.
It used to be that I had to go all the way out to Easton, fight for a parking spot, and go in the mall to get my Panda Express fix. Now locations are popping up here and there and I especially like this location in Grandview. It’s clean and parking is a snap. The location on campus is nice enough, but it’s a struggle to find a place to park. Here you can just run right in. Usually when I’m getting Panda Express it’s to go, so I’m not wanting to stick around for too long.
Anyway, when you go in and walk up to the counter, you can choose between either a Panda Bowl, which is one entrée and rice, or a two-​entrée or three-​entrée meal. Each comes with either steamed rice, fried rice or chow mein noodles. When you choose what carb you want, you get to pick your entrée (s). Then they will dish everything up for you and you’re good to go. Unless you want egg rolls or something like that. And then I love their drinks! It’s just fountain pop, but the cups are huge — get the large, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Last time I went to Panda Express I got the veggie spring rolls with my meal. They were really light and crispy — a great compliment to my meal! I don’t usually like egg rolls all that much, but the veggie spring rolls are a delight. I liked them a lot.
My absolute favorite entrée to order at Panda Express is the Orange Chicken. I feel so unadventurous ordering the same thing all the time and getting the most popular entrée, but there’s a reason for its popularity. The Orange Chicken is so good! It’s lightly breaded and fried and coated in this tangy yet slightly spicy orangy sauce. Oh, it’s so good. Try it if you haven’t. (Side note — one time when I went here I was wondering what the Kung Pao Chicken tasted like and an employee put a piece on a toothpick and let me sample it, so try that if you can’t decide)
I have a few other favorite entrees. The Kung Pao Chicken is pretty good — it’s spicy and tossed with vegetables. But none of the spicy stuff here is spicy enough for me. So my suggestion is that if you are in the mood for spicy, ask for a few packets of their Chili Sauce. Then drizzle it over your entrée. And there you have it! Spice! It’s usually enough to make my nose start running and I gulp down my drink. So good.
Moving on, I also liked the Black Pepper Chicken. It’s a pretty unique taste, and if you like pepper on things you’ll probably love this. The Broccoli Beef is typically what I go with as a second entrée. (I usually get the two entrée meal.) I love the broccoli and the sauce it’s in is really tasty. The Mushroom Chicken is great if you love mushrooms — there are plenty of them and they are so good! The menu, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, is much like any typical Chinese restaurant. It’s definitely Americanized, but the food is just really good. And it’s probably not very good for you, especially the Orange Chicken, but I think some of the entrees like the Broccoli Beef and the Black Pepper Chicken really aren’t that bad for you. So it might just be possible to eat healthy here.
And the prices aren’t bad, either. It’s about $ 6 – 7 for my two entrée plate and a drink. More if I decide to get veggie spring rolls. But the good thing is that the serving portions are pretty big. I usually can’t eat my entire two entrée meal, so I have food for later.
This might also sound stupid, but I love to marketing of this place. The little Panda logo that they put all over everything is just so cute. The overall presentation is just great.
When I’m here I tend to request chopsticks from the person at the register because they’re always fun to use. There, I also get my chili sauce and some soy sauce as well. When they bag up your food they will also throw in a fortune cookie for every person you’re getting food for. I think you can also buy extra fortune cookies if you want to.
The service is always friendly at this location, and the food is always hot and fresh. It can make me a little nervous sometimes because you can see all the food sitting there behind the glass, buffet style. Kind of like how Subway keeps their food, only theirs is ready to dish up and go. I don’t really like how the food sits out, but it never tastes like it’s been sitting out all day. It tastes fresh and hot and as for the Orange Chicken, it’s always crispy — not soggy!
If you’re in the mood for some quick Chinese try Panda Express. But if you’re in the mood for Panda Express and you don’t want to fight through the parking garage and the crowds at Easton or deal with trying to find a place to park on campus, check out this location. But don’t expect the best Chinese you’ve ever had, either. It’s just really good as far as fast Chinese food goes.