Panda Express

No matter what time of the day, there always seems to be a line. But that’s understandable, everybody loves Panda Express. Everybody. I deducted a star because the rice sometimes lacks flavor, or sometimes the broccoli is overcooked (i.e. speaking of the beef broccoli). I usually try to take advantage of the survey completion deal — complete the online survey, fill out the back of your receipt, and get the third entrée of your order for free. What’s not to love?

As a Chinese, this place is a big nope. It’s really hard to understand why Americans enjoy Panda Express so much. They put way too much oil into everything, and sugar and salt. Please, find yourselves a better place to eat.

Generally Panda Express is a pretty solid choice for a meal when you’re at the Stamp Student Union. Their Chinese American food is as good as any, and there always seems to be a line so they have to be doing something right. Their food is also pretty consistent from chain to chain.
At my latest visit, servings were skimpy and service was slooooow. They were out of several entrees and said refills would be out in 10 minutes. While waiting in line to pay, the servers were nice and offered a free sample of the chicken for waiting.
My usual is the Panda bowl with fried rice and orange chicken (pictured). I’ll be an optimist and say that my bowl was «half full» instead of «half empty.» The server filled my bowl about three-​fourths of the way full, then decided that was too much rice and scooped some out! Half-​full, indeed. The rice was good, I gobbled it right up. The orange chicken (one measly scoop for a serving) flavor was off this time. Although it had a good crunchy texture on the outside, it was really sour — the first bite tasted vinegary. The next couple of bites tasted very orangey/​acidic. Not your best, Panda Express (that almost rhymed!) — but not un-​BEARable.

I went at the end of the day and there weren’t many options left but on my plate I got chow mien and 2 chicken entrees and it was amazing. I haven’t had Panda Express since I was a kid and I forgot how much I love it!

The only Panda Ive been to with no Eggplant Tofu.

I have to say that this is one of the more disappointing Panda Express locations I have been to. From the size of the line, even during the summer, you would expect that the food would at least be fresh from the high turnover rate but I have found that this isn’t always the case.
There are two things that really irk me about this location. One is that the mixed veggies are sitting in a large layer of oily water. I know what you’re thinking, who gets mixed veggies at a fast food Chinese place when there is fried rice and noodles? But yes, I always get the veggies as my side and have found that at this location in particular they are soggy and old. Another thing that annoys me is that the timing is not good at this location. I am often forced to wait 10 minutes or so for the dish I want as they make it. While I appreciate the fresh cooked food, I am understandably annoyed when I spend so much of my lunch hour waiting in line. I understand that the lunch rush is hectic but the problem could be avoided by making a new batch of food when the dish is running low, not completely out.
Overall this will do for warm food in a pinch or if you’re craving some Chinese food but if you have any extra time I’d recommend going off campus.

It’s a Panda Express inside a university food court. You can’t expect too much.
I was here for an event during the weekend and Panda Express looked like a tasty choice for lunch. There were plenty of choices and it seemed like things were moving quickly enough that nothing was sitting around getting old. The shrimp, chicken and fried rice I had were all delicious and filled me up for a pretty low price.
For a food court place this went above my expectations and I wouldn’t mind grabbing some fast food here again.

I DEDICATE MY 100TH REVIEW TO PANDA EXPRESS.
«Panda Express, of all places!» You’re thinking.
Well, Unilocaler Ben Y., also known as the love of my life, and I shared our very first meal together at this Panda Express after class one day. He dedicated his 100^th review* to Panda Express several months ago, and I will do the same now.
We sat across from each other at a food court table eating our Panda Express entrees, and all I could think was «does he like me does he like me does he like me» and I’m not sure what he was thinking but I know for a fact that our Panda Express experience «danced on our tongues» as «we danced in each others hearts,» as Ben Y. put it.
This Panda Express is a staple at the University of Maryland. In the food court we have on campus, people generally choose Panda Express over everything else. The line at lunch is ridiculous, but if you’ve ever had the orange chicken, you know why and you 167% agree with the decision to wait in line. The people who work there are very friendly and always offer smiles to weary-​eyed college students who want nothing more than quick Chinese food and a nap.
I usually go with the panda bowl, filled with fried rice and orange chicken. It’s a great serving size and the value is great too, plus a free fortune cookie with amazing fortunes is always a win («ask your mom» is still the best gem from this Panda Express).
«I OWE IT ALL TO YOU, PANDA EXPRESS,» Ben Y. wrote in his review. I owe it all to Panda Express for making our first pre-​relationship food experience one to go down in history.
*

I DEDICATE MY 100TH REVIEW TO PANDA EXPRESS. Why a chain you ask? Well the first meal that the love of my life Laura and I ever ate together was from this Panda Express. She got the orange chicken rice bowl and I got orange chicken/​broccoli beef with rice. As orange chicken danced on our tongues, we danced in each others hearts. We are now Unilocalers together and one day soon she’ll be near 100 reviews and maybe she’ll choose to review this place too. I OWE IT ALL TO YOU, PANDA EXPRESS. And through all the days I felt stressed after class and just felt like being wrapped in a blanket of broccoli, beef, rice, chicken, and fortune cookies, Panda Express was always there for me.
Anyways it’s a Panda Express. So how is it different than other Panda Express’s’s’s’?
Well I’ve been around the block and popped more orange chicken into my mouth than my closest loved ones even know about so I’m standing on solid ground when I say this Panda Express has got it goin on.
Their orange chicken is great and well made. Their beef broccoli is incredible too. I always order both with white rice. At one point they had something called «Garlic Lovers» which was a limited time chicken and broccoli dish which I loved with every ounce of my body, but it only lasted for a couple weeks.
Some Panda Express joints accidentally make their food way too spicy, but this place whips their food up with precision, passion, and love.
The servers are nice and very efficient. They don’t care how many fortune cookies you take because they’re barely paying attention anyways.
As all places in Stamp do, they accept Terp Express which I love. It feels like I’m spending a gift card there every time I get food instead of real cash.
If you’re lucky, the Panda in the logo will wink at you. That’s when you know you’re home.

This is typically crowded during lunch time because most people come to the food court to get this (or Saladworks or Chick-​fil-​a).
I recommend the pineapple chicken dish as well as the orange chicken. Definitely avoid the general tso’s chicken items

Alright I know this is a chain food joint, and perhaps doesn’t deserve a review, but recently, I had a discussion with a friend about what panda Express represents. Is it real Chinese food? He argued that it’s not, and he’s right, but should this downgrade the place as bad food?
And who is to say what is real or not. What is real is often distorted. Realism is often subjected to bias because someone wants to keep their form of reality as the status quo, thus misrepresenting what in fact is real, and the truth. Furthermore, the misrepresentation of the true realism often creates a form of illusory, containing fallacy and lunacy.
If that didn’t make sense, it’s okay. My point is that panda Express is GOOD food. It’s like a drug lol.
But don’t do drugs kids.

This is one of those places that one might argue as not being worthy of a review, just as one should desist from stooping too low (Taco Bell?). Most fast food chains belong to that category: garbage in, garbage out and we all know that. This place produces edible food (ironically, the ever so popular orange chicken tastes inordinately sweet to me) generously bathed in oil, and visibly unhealthy. They have a bunch of items — rice, broccoli, kung pao chicken and shrimp, some beef variety, fried rice and noodles, soup and rolls. It’s easily accessible in Stamp. But that’s about it.

(For Sushi at Panda Express) This little takeout sushi bar has pre-​made rolls and sushi daily. The California rolls are pretty good — slightly sweet imitation crab meat, with a little bit of avocado. The rolls are HUGE so usually one package fills me up. I’ve also had the sushi pieces (they seem to only have tuna and shrimp) and it’s hit or miss. Sometimes they are okay, and other times the tuna is dry or oddly colored. The miso soup is okay but I pick out the seaweed in it ’cause it’s too overwhelming (it’s the really thick, rough pieces of seaweed and not the thin, delicate pieces, so it’s kinda blech). They also usually have seaweed salad and edamame but I’ve never had it there. I eat here a lot though ’cause it’s almost always the shortest line in the food court.