Panda Express

The food court in Union Station is a nice little food court. Smaller than many malls, but has a decent variety of national chains. This Panda Express was just what I needed after a long trip to St. Louis. The employee was super friendly and loaded me up (there was basically no room on my plate not filled). All the food was fresh and good. Not bad for the price you pay.

The food court is, by far, the last holdout of major activity at Union Station and Panda Express is, by a long shot it seems, the most popular place there. While there are other nationally known food options (Subway, Sbarro’s) and a few local ones too (Tokyo Grill, a Mexican/​Grill place, an African/​Caribbean place), none of them seem to have the line that PEx does at lunchtime.
I visited this outlet specifically for the Samurai Surf & Turf promotion last night and, having survived the non-​existent crowds (there was, after all, the promise of free food. You’d think that’d draw more excitement…), I’m happy to report favorably on the experience.
I’ll admit: my go-​tos for years (on the maybe 5 times that I’ve had Panda in the past couple of years…) have been Mandarin Chicken and the widely beloved Orange Chicken, simple dishes that make no health claims. The Samurai option, per its ads, was supposed to be a combination of steak and shrimp (obvious, I know) with par-​fried potatoes, julienned red peppers and string beans… and all at under 250 calories/​serving.
So, how’d it taste? Surprisingly good! The light sauce (almost more of a glaze than a sauce) paired well with the dish, neither overwhelming the flavors of each ingredient nor masking the different textures. Speaking of texture, there was a good interplay between the various shades of tender offered by the steak, shrimp and potatoes: though they added flavor, I would’ve gladly dropped the crisp string beans and peppers in order to enjoy more of the first three ingredients (forgive me for enjoying a little freckled homogeneity…). The presentation was also quite good. The portion was offered up in a small, bright box and included three sizable shrimp as well as an acceptable amount of the steak; you didn’t get the impression that the Panda chefs were trying to add filler (and when they did, via the potatoes, it was a plus… and adorable).
While $ 2.49 seemed to be a little steep for the small (albeit filling) portion, it’s a nice indulgence. Union Station, as much as I despair the loss of most of its foot traffic, is still a great place to eat a quick meal. There are plenty of clean tables and the space is huge.

Not sure if there was another listing or not… odd i would be the first to review been here for years. The honey walnut shrimp is soooo good! They’re opening up a new stand-​alone restaurant in o’fallon, il I will definitely be stopping there. Food is always good… usually have to wait for something… I just hate having to pull into union station, park a mile a way to pick up food, (and pay to park) I usually just park on 18^th street and run in and grab it and go… this time when i parked came out to a $ 25 ticket (they apparently made it a loading zone now) won’t be back to this location.