Panda Express

This is the location inside the Vons market. My 8 year old wanted Panda Express for his last day of summer vacation dinner and I needed to get a few things at the market. I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and pick up dinner while I was at the Market.
That was a mistake.
It was about 7:30, so maybe they thought that things were winding down for the night, but they were completely out of Orange Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp and Chow mein. Now I don’t know about you, but I am pretty certain that those are items about 75% of their customers order when they order food there. We ourselves order those items 100% of the time.
They told me it would be 10 minutes before any of the items were ready. I went back by 20 minutes later and they were still out of chow mein and Orange Chicken. We won’t be back to this location.

Portions here are way too small. I usually go to the ones in OC and LA. This is by far the worst one.
They are very friendly so I give them one extra star for that. But they didn’t have any teriyaki chicken because it wasn’t fully cooked so they had to take it to the back to cook more. Glad they did that so people wouldn’t get sick but they didn’t have any when I was on lunch break which is only 30 min.
Plus they didn’t have any packages chilli sauce. They were all out. Not coming here for lunch again!

Granted, I don’t eat Chinese food often … and though many may not qualify Panda Express as «Chinese,» it’s good enough to satisfy my craving for orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp. The orange chicken at this place is my go-​to. I have noticed something interesting, however – the orange chicken on the mainland Panda Express locations has more of a kick/​spicy flavor compared to the orange chicken at Panda Express restaurants in Hawaii. But I don’t mind some extra heat. The orange chicken at Panda’s is still my fav.
When I was at USC, I would probably go to the Panda Express in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center about once a month for lunch. However, whenever I was in the South Bay, I would visit this location.
Here are some of my favorites from Panda Express … though I usually default to the orange chicken, I have tried several of these other entrees and was completely satisfied:
«Orange Chicken»: My go-​to. My typical order is a Panda Bowl (your choice of one meat and one starch) with orange chicken and fried rice. Panda’s orange chicken features crispy, boneless chicken bites coated generously with a sweet and spicy orange sauce. This chicken dish is referred to as «Panda’s Beloved Dish» and with the combo of spices and flavors, it isn’t hard to understand why.
«Honey Walnut Shrimp»: If I get one of the plate lunch entrees (two entrees and two sides), the «Honey Walnut Shrimp» is sure to be a part of my order. I love the shrimp tempura that’s wok-​tossed in a sweet honey sauce and topped with glazed walnuts. Though the Panda Express website claims that the shrimp has a spicy kick to it, I’ve always found the shrimps to err more on the sweet side, thanks to the honey glaze. The walnuts add a welcoming texture and crunch to the dish.
«Fried Rice»: Without fail, I’ll always get the fried rice as my side. It features a medley of steamed white rice tossed with wok soy sauce, green peas, carrots, scrambled eggs and chopped green onions. Though I don’t like many veggies (peas and carrots especially) thrown into my fried rice, I don’t really mind that much with the Panda’s version … probably because I need a blander, more mild rice to complement the fiery orange chicken.
«Kid’s Meal»: If I’m not super hungry or want a lighter meal, I’ll go with the Kid’s Meal option because it’s basically a smaller version of the Panda Bowl. You still get your choice of one entrée and one side, but the serving size is smaller and you also get to choose a small drink, and – best part – the Kid’s Meal comes with a soft, chewy, individually packaged chocolate chip cookie.
«Chicken Egg Rolls»: These crispy treats are great for sharing and they serve as a great side as well. Whenever I have a hankering for egg rolls, I’ll get a small side of the ones at Panda. These «Chicken Egg Rolls» feature a medley of carrots, cabbage, marinated chicken and green onions wrapped in thin wonton paper and fried to a crisp, golden brown. I appreciate how these egg rolls aren’t soggy — they’ve been delightfully crispy every single time I’ve got ‘em!
«Sweetfire Chicken Breast»: I think I’ve only gotten this chicken once because I still preferred the orange chicken, but also because I wasn’t a huge fan of the bell peppers, diced onions and pineapple chunks that accompanied the chicken pieces. The «Sweetfire Chicken Breast» in of itself was tasty and flavorful – the dish featured crispy, white meat chicken tossed in a zesty, sweet chili sauce inspired by the flavors of Thailand. I loved the sweet-​tangy sauce that had just the right amount of kick to it. But since I pushed away most of the other components, I haven’t ordered this chicken entrée since.