Panda Express
While synthesizing our first ten years of food here in another
article I'm putting together, I realized I had never been to a Panda Express and
we visited one last evening. It isn't far from here (in a
small strip mall in El Cajon, where Krispy Kreme used to be) and we checked out
the menu online. We knew exactly what we wanted and cruised
on over for an early dinner.
Unfortunately, what you see online is a far cry from the
partially stocked, already congealed, humble steam table offerings they deliver.
It was easily the worst attempted Chinese food I've ever
had, with soggy Orange Chicken, which is usually twice fried and crispy.
And they said it'd be a 10 or 15 minute wait until they
could knock out another batch of their current special (Samurai Surf & Turf)
as it would have to be defrosted first. The vegetables were
just that, possibly a defrosted melange a la Birdseye and the spring rolls were
so much mush, no texture and room temperature as well.
It's not that they don't have the personnel to do it right as
I counted half a dozen people standing around behind the line, mainly stirring
the stuff from the half empty steam table.
We'll never go back, of course, and our total for the 3 Way
meal with iced tea was $11 and coin.
The web site: http://www.pandaexpress.com/
