# Rate Panda Express as Chinese Food - 1 to 10 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031 "2016-02-03T05:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/1 "2016-02-03T05:36:30Z")
Since there may be some variance between franchises (I’m guessing the mall versions are on the low-end), stack your _best_ Panda Express meal ever to your best Chinese food eating experience (10) and your worst (1). Personally, although I haven’t traveled to Asia, I have had some mighty fine americanized Chinese in the Northeast (along with some more-than-decent samplings on the west coast of the US). I’m not super adventurous with my dish choices, (i.e. no lung), but I consider myself fairly rounded, having tried such things as Winter Melon soup, Slippery Chicken, Peking Duck, Crabs in black bean sauce, cold noodles in sesame paste, etc. On the flip side, I’ve managed to hold down some borderline-nightmare orders of the most basic Chinese dishes from the heartland of America as well. All in all I give Panda Express a solid 4. I’ve only eaten at one PE, if that matters. You? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/2 "2016-02-03T05:41:55Z")
I’ve never had a good panda express meal. And with my BEST PE meal as a 1, my best chinese meal ever would have to rate at like 10,000. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/3 "2016-02-03T05:44:41Z")
My Panda Express experiences have all been a 1; even the rice is bad. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/4 "2016-02-03T06:42:10Z")
I’ve had Chinese food in China and don’t care for it. I actually prefer Panda Express. But there is excellent Chinese food to be had in nice American Chinese restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/5 "2016-02-03T06:52:06Z")
Yummy! Not super-great; clearly “industrial” mass-prepared, hyper-processed. But yummy. It tickles the taste-buds and pleases the palate. It fulfills one of the biggest requirements of Chinese take-out: it’s still good in the morning, after being put in the fridge. Now, sure, I’ve had the joy of really top-notch, high-end, superlative Bay Area Chinese food, and Panda Express can’t match that. But it’s…yummy. I’d compare it to Carl’s Jr. or Jack in the Box, rather than to McDonalds. Chipotles, not Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/6 "2016-02-03T07:08:24Z")
I’ve eaten various Chinese dishes in China a number of times and they rate between 6~7. Panda Express around 3~4. Some of the Chinese eateries I’ve been to in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Seattle and Tijuana (yes, THAT Tijuana) rate closer to 10 for me. By the way, I’ve never had good-tasting Peking Duck in China, but I did in Vancouver. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/7 "2016-02-03T08:51:03Z")
I’m from Hawaii, and it astonishes me that we have Panda Expresses here. We have genuinely good Chinese food all over the place, and Panda is universally shit. I have never once been happy I ate there. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/8 "2016-02-03T09:51:56Z")
It’s better than La Choy. I give it a 5. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/9 "2016-02-03T12:01:41Z")
A new PE opened near me this week, and I tried it yesterday. I’d give it a solid 2. Yeah, it’s better than La Choy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/10 "2016-02-03T12:28:17Z")
Never eaten at one and can’t imagine I ever will. For me, Chinese food is all about family owned and operated restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/11 "2016-02-03T13:59:00Z")
Overpriced. Small portions. Only average quality. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/12 "2016-02-03T14:04:34Z")
I think a 4 is pretty on target. Is give Taco Bell a 1, McDonalds a 2.5, and Chipotle a 5\*, so that’s where it stands on my spectrum. \*Only because you said best experience, and there was this one time I got a steak burrito that was nearly sublime. I don’t know who didn’t follow what directions from corporate, but it was the best burrito ever. I chase that burrito dragon… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/13 "2016-02-03T14:14:40Z")
Odd, this poll coming now. we’ve just lost two of the most visible Panda Express outlets in the Boston area – Meadow Glen Mall in Medford just closed, taking the Panda Express with it, and they closed the Food Court at the Prudential Center, which also had a Panda Express. the only one left in a Mall in the immediate Boston area is in the Cambridgeside Galleria. (There’s also one at the airport, as my daughter pointed out, and one near the airport I was unaware of. That’s pretty out-of-the-way. For others, you have to go out to Worcester. Panda Express, except for the airport area and one mall, have virtually disappeared from eastern MA. I like their food, realizing that it’s not high cuisine. They try to be creative within their limitations. And their stuff is much better than China Wok, which seems to be the fast food Chinese in all the other area malls. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/14 "2016-02-03T14:23:50Z")
I give them a 5, by the way. I discovered Panda Express _After_ knowing about the “Panda” Chain. If you don’t know, Panda Express is the fast food version cousin to the more upscale **Panda Inn** , a regular sit-down Chinese restaurant that is supposed to be higher quality. I’ve never eaten at one, though. > **[Panda Express](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Express)** > > Panda Express is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in American Chinese cuisine. With over 2,200 locations, it is the largest Asian-segment restaurant chain in the United States, where it was founded, and is mainly located in North America and Asia (in addition to other countries and territories). Panda Express restaurants were traditionally located in shopping mall food courts, but the chain now operates units in many other environments and formats, including sta The chain o... I HAVE eaten a number of unrelated restaurants with names like _Panda Palace_. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/15 "2016-02-03T14:36:47Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > If you don’t know, Panda Express is the fast food version cousin to the more upscale **Panda Inn** , a regular sit-down Chinese restaurant that is supposed to be higher quality. I’ve never eaten at one, though. > > [Panda Express - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Express) Thanks…we noticed the “Panda Inn” name on their boxes during our last visit and wondered whether it was a restaurant or a motel chain.😃 Slight oversight in the OP, as indicated by the wiki link…they’re all company-owned locations; no franchises. Also, to add to my original post for comparison, I’d give Pei Wei a 3, and P.F. Chang’s a 5. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/16 "2016-02-03T14:49:48Z")
I’ve only been three or four times, but i/t’s reasonable for American-style Chinese. It’s as good, if not better, than most of the take-out ma & pop type places in my neighborhood. So I give it a 5 for what it is. Now, there’s definitely a few 9s and 10s of various Chinese styles if I head out maybe five miles from my neighborhood into Chinatown. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/17 "2016-02-03T15:16:08Z")
It has a resemblance to mom-and-pop Chinese takeout, which isn’t “authentic” either. Personally I don’t like it; the dishes all have the exact same flavor: hyper-sweet, and that’s it. They give you enough food for 2 lunches at a decent price. For that I give them a 2. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/18 "2016-02-03T15:23:58Z")
During my hangover days, I would drag my ass into the nearest Panda Express at 1100am and order a big plate of Low Mein with a large Diet Pepsi. It was the only thing that brought me back to life. It’s also the only food I find at all tasty there. Everything else is on a scale from “edible” to “ew.” I gave them a 2. ---
**Author:** ![txtumbleweed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@txtumbleweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txtumbleweed)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/19 "2016-02-03T16:00:10Z")
Gave them a 6. Panda Express is middle of the road to me. I enjoy their food but I don’t go there looking for an authentic menu or experience. I am looking for good food at a fair price served quickly and they consistently meet that expectation. It’s nowhere near (and I am not expecting) the quality of a sit-down place that does it’s own food prep and makes its own sauces and dumplings on-site, but Panda Express is similar in quality to many of the local Chinese carry-outs near me. I have long suspected that all the carry-out places order from the same vendors and serve pretty close to the same food and sauces and sampling of local budget Chinese eateries has not disabused me of that notion. They all taste the same. Certainly better than some of the buffets I have been to where the food has sat in steamer trays way too long. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031/20 "2016-02-03T16:02:58Z")
In the Twin Cities I put them on par with the LeAnnChin local chain. For the really good stuff I try to find a Big Bowl Express located inside a Lund’s or Byerly’s grocery store. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rate-panda-express-as-chinese-food-1-to-10/745031.md?page=2)