Panda Express

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Panda.jpg

Location
1491 West Covell Blvd.
(In The Marketplace shopping center)
Hours
Sun-Thu 11:00AM-9:30PM
Fri-Sat 11:00AM-10:00PM
Phone
(530) 757-2332
Web site
[WWW]http://www.pandaexpress.com
Slogan
Chinese for: Yummy

Panda Express is fast, cheap Chinese food, and is known for their signature orange-flavored chicken dish. Panda Express is a chain that is most commonly found in mall food courts, where the prices are less than those found in the Davis location. Similar to the Chinese Buffets in town, the food is pre-made and served cafeteria style to customers. Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. also owns Hibachi-San, which used to share their building. One can smell the oil from Panda Express all over The Marketplace parking lot.

This Panda Express is notably more expensive than its analogous mall locations. A two-entree plate costs $6.25 after taxes. An experiment was performed to determine just how cheap their food is, and found that a downtown restaurant that makes food to order, Davis Noodle City, was cheaper by the pound and was arguably quicker if you permit calling in an order ahead of time.

Nothing at Panda Express is vegetarian. Even the mixed vegetables are cooked in chicken broth. Don't bother if you're vegetarian.

Upon purchasing food here, go home and take their online survey. Upon completion of the survey, you will be given a code that you can use to get a free entree on your next two-entree plate purchase.

Comments:

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2005-10-19 07:01:24   There aren't enough Asians cooking at this place —ApolloStumpy

2005-10-30 19:43:27   I find their "Gourmet Chinese Food" slogan to be quite humorous; I can't think of anything further from gourmet. However, they're the only Chinese place in town that provides nutritional information even if their serving sizes are way off when it comes to steamed rice. —AnnaJones

2005-11-03 10:26:05   In terms of quantity, is this place all that much cheaper than other Chinese places? I've heard their Orange Chicken entree costs $6.59. Do they at least give large portions? —CraigBrozinsky

2005-11-22 15:24:51   who actually goes here. jade garden has lunch specials for under 5 bux and you get a whole lot more. those boxes PE uses holds less volume too. —WillYan

2005-12-15 17:35:06   While my only experience with Panda Express is at mall locations (where I was rather unimpressed), I think Panda Express is not unique enough to Davis to breath added life into this otherwise cursed location. I think they should put a cool restaurant like a DINER in there. How about Mel's coming back? They used to be in the U Mall before it "rennovated". —JaimeRaba

2006-03-05 20:53:33   This place serves up greasy bowls of nasty. —KarenaAslanian

2006-05-21 20:04:00   Possibly the worst foods you can buy in Davis— I get cold chills everytime I pass by that place. Not to mention that they are so overpriced. —TonyWong

2006-08-16 14:32:49   This place is neither authentic nor gourmet, but I gotta give some props to their teriyaki chicken. That stuff is the bomb. I don't like the "cheaper by the pound" experiment. The food is totally different at Davis Noodle City. —WinstonLee

2006-08-22 12:34:37   panda express is the typical chinese fast food, lots of grease and rice to make you full and very little of what the flavor you want. —PorkFoo

2006-11-08 21:05:28   not authentic but fast and not as greasy as alota take out places. I usually only go for their fried rice and orange chicken. —AnnThiNguyen

2006-11-08 21:06:22   not to say the food is great, but i eat here once in a blue moon when im in a hurry —AnnThiNguyen

2007-02-12 20:23:36   Only in California can a Chinese food restaurant like Panda Express be run entirely by Mexicans. —GreggAlexander

2007-07-21 22:00:40   Goood if lazy like me and in a hurry but it is good what can i say it is run all asian people i think if not anyone can make food does not matter what background you have unless authentic place yes i see your point —dickjones

2007-08-04 03:42:52   Pretty good fast food i like it and seams to be clean will be back! —Brians

2007-09-02 23:11:52   nothing special, the same panda express food in your local mall back home —DonaldJaye

2007-09-11 20:12:44   The Hibachi-San side was remodeled to no longer have a customer counter and it looks like the store is only a Panda Express now. —JasonAller

2007-11-26 15:02:47   The panhandlers around The Marketplace have invaded this restaurant, and the staff doesn't do anything about it. On Saturday, my husband and I took our 16 month old there for lunch. There were only a few people in the place; as we were sitting down, a scratched and disheveled homeless man approached us. He would not leave and started to make a move towards my son. We blocked the homeless man, but he kept trying to get around us and go for my boy. My husband screamed repeatedly at the man to leave, I grabbed my son, and began calling 911. All this time, the staff actually cowered in the back. Not once did they come out or try to help. A 20-something guy sitting nearby came over to guide the homeless man out the door, but the bum attacked the guy! He began hitting him, and still the staff hid. I relayed this to 911. Once the bum realized he was outmatched by the guy, he left quickly - before the cop came of course. On the way out, a staff member cleaning tables mumbled to me (I don't think she spoke much English) something like, "Oh, bad thing." If you have to go into this place, keep your cell phone handy, your small children away, and be prepared for aggressive panhandling seemingly condoned by the staff. —NoelBruening

2007-12-03 00:36:37   Unfortunately, the title is misleading. When I first went there, I had expected them to serve panda, but well, it seemed too good to be true. Anyway, I've been there many times, and here's what I have to share...

Only seen one panhandler, though that was probably on the same night as the person above me.

This place is expensive. A two plate entree with a drink and Federal Taxes is a little over $7. If you have more time than money, you can go to Safeway's to buy a drink and come back to Panda Express. However you might need to sign up for a free Safeway Club Card or else the outrageous non-member price will hit you. If you go through all that, you just saved yourself 30, maybe even 40 cents.

As for the food itself, well, if you are experienced with Chinese Cuisine, you might find it so-so for Chinese food, and a little bit too greasy. If you aren't, Panda Express is pretty good, and saucy, right? Most people get a two entree plate. A woman or man behind the counter will then scoop up and plop your choice of a side, and two entrees. As for the sides, there's the steamed white rice, the fried rice, and the chow mein. Personally, I prefer the chow mein. Even though it's tasteless, I enjoy the texture of the soft noodles in my mouth, and the savory softness goes well with some of the entrees. The fried rice sucks. The steamed rice, on the other hand, complements the entrees well (as well).

Of the entrees, never get the Black Pepper Chicken. In their haste to crank out as many bulky restocks of the food, the onion slices that are featured in the Black Pepper Chicken entree are not caramelized probably. That means it is still white and somewhat raw, and will require breath mints afterwards, unless you are alone. The other dishes are okay, nothing memorable. Orange Chicken is featured (which is simply Sweet and Sour Chicken, but orange colored) seems to be able to trick others with it's promoted hype. But I had it, and it's nothing special. I always get Broccoli Beef, because I like Broccoli, and it seems like they can't possibly screw that up. The regular Sweet and Sour Pork is too soggy. The Zucchini Tofu, is interesting. But since it is pretty unpopular, chances are it isn't fresh. (Meaning the cooks don't restock it as often as the other entrees). And since it isn't fresh, it's pretty unpopular...

Bottom line, this place is fast food and you knew that before walking in. —R

2007-12-03 02:57:54   six something for a two item with chow mein/fried rice. Kinda pricey for what you get. Place is clean though. —KaiWan

2008-01-15 05:28:43   i always get a 2 entree plate with chow mein, orange chicken, and mandarin chicken

nothing else seems satisfyingly edible or tasty
—FredChen

2008-01-28 16:51:34   I think basically if you're in a hurry, and just want a quick bite to eat that isn't fast food, unless you are a vegetarian or vegan, this isn't the worst place you could go. If all else fails, there's always the adequate appetizers. —thelonepiper555

2008-09-18 15:28:43   @Porkfoo: "panda express is the typical chinese fast food, lots of grease and rice" You should look at the food your mom makes. Most chinese food is greasy and has rice - not just fast food ones. —shalimar

2008-09-30 22:05:55   Went to panda and got pieces of chicken in my 100% vegetarian bowl. Absolutely disgusting/vomit-inducing. How the fuck did it even get in there? Not going again. DO NOT RECOMMEND to any vegetarians who just want a quick bite WITHOUT PIECES OF CHICKEN HIDING AMONG THE EGGPLANT. —triscuitqueen

2008-10-02 23:11:11   the orange chicken is delicious and the chow mein is tasty —ellenislove

2009-01-19 22:10:21   The manager was very rude here. It is not posted that you cannot bring dogs in, and seeing as we walk there with our dogs, we typically bring them in with us. Tonight she yelled at us, when she could have calmly asked us not to bring them in. We will think twice before coming here again. —jadeeyes1113

2009-03-20 13:27:32   My housemates eat this stuff. Doesn't look too good. To the above poster: It is a health code violation to bring animals into restaurants. It was unfortunate that you were yelled at however. —BenLee

2009-04-04 22:35:45   This place is pretty much what you'd expect, food-wise, and so I wouldn't even bother to comment except to mention how poorly run it is. The times that I have gone, there is always a huge line just waiting to get your plate with rice or whatever, with nothing much going on in the center area or at the cash register. If anyone related to management is reading this: we've known about the assembly line method since the early 1900s. It works. I recommend it. The first person should be doing rice/chow mein, then pass to the next person, then pass to the next person, then to cashier. If one person tries to do many different things, the line doesn't flow. Second bit of free advice: teach your people to talk to one another. The cooks finish a plate of food, but don't tell the people who are dishing the food. Or, someone dishes up a plate of food, but doesn't tell anyone that it is ready. No one expects amazing food here (at least I don't), but I do expect *fast* food, since it's already made!

To the person with the dog above: they have outdoor tables. That's where our dogs hang out while we sit next to them and eat our food... as someone else pointed out, you can't bring dogs into restaurants. Personally, I think it's a stupid law, but that's the law. —CovertProfessor

2009-05-07 12:17:57   While it may not be fair to generalize a chain based on a couple of bad experiences, I have had several with Panda Expresses in other places. The food has been decent, but nothing special. However 2 out of 3 times I've gone there I have been ill. One time was in a Mall, and you can't expect much from a mall food court, but the other time wasn't. Now I'm not saying anything about this particular one, but after that I won't eat Panda Express. —MasonMurray

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