Panda Express

It's alway best to eat at Panda Express at a busy time of day--especially when I visit the standalone one that is near me, not far from the Seminole Mall. I find that the food is the freshest during busy times because they're constantly making it fresh. Going late in the evening or in the middle of the afternoon can find you looking at food that's been held quite a while, or having some selections not available. That said, the food at Panda Express is generally OK for what it is, American fast-food interpretation of some Asian dishes, mass produced.

It was the week before Christmas and a friend and I were out and about, wanting some dinner. Not wanting to cook or venture far or be gone a long time, we decided to head to a nearby Panda Express and had dinner there. It was not bad for fast food and I was hungry.

For my starch I had the chow mein--it was fresh so was pretty good The Sweet-Fire Chicken Breast was pretty good, though being breaded and deep fried, probably not all that healthy. It had just a touch of heat with a lot of sweetness from pinepple and red pepper. I was most disappointed in the String Bean Chicken Breast--some of the beans were nice and bright green and crisp, but others were dark green and soggy--an indication that they mixed fresh and "old" together to serve it. I expect better and we were there at a busy time. I also had the Mandarin Chicken, it was pretty good. To top things off I had a Chicken Egg Roll. It was very hot inside but kind of dry outside. Not terrible, but not really great either.

Over all this was an OK meal but pretty much of a good value for the price and portion.