Favorite Restaurants - Panda Express

In my experience, Chinese restaurants (and Asian in general) can be very hit and miss. Usually, they are local and unique to a certain city or town. My luck has probably run about 50-50. However, there is a fast-food Chinese stalwart that has always hit home runs for me. It isn't particularly fancy, it is almost assuredly not authentic (at least as I understand Chinese food), but when I have a hankering for some Chinese, I think Panda Express. My usual fare is the 3-entree meal which includes three entrees (bet you never would have guessed that) and chow mein, fried rice, or a combination of both.


I Recommend:

Kung Pao Chicken
I am sure there are as many varieties of Kung Pao chicken as their are Chinese restaurants. Panda's is the perfect combination of spicy (via the dried red chili peppers), nutty (compliments of the peanut tribe), and vegi (yes...there are some of those healthy yellow and green things in there). If you choose to eat the peppers, be prepared for a decent kick in the mouth as they pack a bit of a zing!


Mandarin Chicken
This is probably my favorite chicken dish. It consists of small chicken strips, initially cooked in some kind of teryakki (however you spell that!). There is a mandarin sauce that most people choose to put on it, thus inspiring the name for this delectable dish. My preference is to eat it without the mandarin sauce, simply enjoying the taste of the chicken.



Orange Chicken
This entree forms a runner up to the first two, at least for me. It is very good in its own right, but perhaps lacks that certain something to be listed in the top two. The chicken pieces are breaded and the orange sauce is already applied. The last time I was at Panda, the mandarin chicken was going to be a few minutes, so I opted for the orange chicken. I wasn't disappointed.