Panda Garden — Restaurant in Brooklyn Park

We decided to give this place a try since we didn’t know that Vietnam House was temporarily closed. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this place but we were getting hungry so anything would suffice. We didn’t have high expectations because it’s a buffet style restaurant but the fact that customer service at the pho bar was horrible during our time there, it ruined everything.

The lady who served us pho at the pho bar had a horrible attitude and the audacity to yell at my dad in front of other customers! All because my dad used a smaller set of tongs to grab the vegetables and not the bigger one (ridiculous!!) Instead of explaining the pho bar “rules”, she assumed he purposely used the wrong tongs and started to call him out on it. My dad tried explaining how he didn’t know and the set of tongs were already in the jalapeños bin so he assumed it’s for all the vegetable toppings on that side. She didn’t even care to listen and kept yelling at him about how disrespectful, illiterate, dumb, customers are when they come grab pho etc etc. I was furious because it’s nothing to get angry about. A simple “oh, please use the other set of tongs because those are only for the lime and Thai chili peppers” would have been fine. But to call him out and start complaining about how customers act is outrageous! All over a small set of tongs?!

I get it, there are some rules for customers to follow at buffets but when there’s a set of tongs already in the bin, wouldn’t one assume it’s the correct ones?! Plus, if it was that important, shouldn’t the lady explain the rules to everyone or have signs/labels for the utensils?! We couldn’t even enjoy our pho after returning to our table. We were all speechless and left the restaurant with a bitter taste in our mouth. How can someone speak like that to their customers?

To the owner: Customer service is what brings in customers even if the food isn’t always consistent. Also remember that your staff is a reflection of who you are as the...

3.5/5 stars The restaurant has flourished very well from several years ago, pre-covid and post-covid. Arrived at open time of 11am today, Tues, 01/07/2025. The price was decent for an adult lunch at $16.99+tax. The oven wasn't working yet this morning so they gave a 15% off for everyone (No pizza, bbq pork, or other baked goodsz but I'm okay without it).

The food is so much better than several years ago. The flavors of the stir-frys were very well done and not overcooked and looked very great & fresh. The food bars were very clean and maintained constantly. Self serve beverage bar (included in buffet price). The noodle soups were very good- not spectacular but very well done for a buffet. Better than some restaurants. Fruits were very fresh, condiments (pepper, etc.) were good, and clean!

Service was excellent compared to before. The servers were very attentive and polite. The noodle bar lady was, eh. She did the look at you, tossed the noodle in the bowl very abruptly, poured the broth, unhappily set the bowl on the counter for you, and turned away) type of employee- that appeared to hate their job. But, when I sat down, another person (not Hmong) went for a bowl, she was happy-go-lucky and "How are you?" with a huge smile. Mind this, I asked for fish sauce and she looked at me and said in Hmong, "Nyob tos rooj nes!" (At the table), like I've been there yesterday. Rude.

Would I go back? Absolutely, if I'm craving a variety of Hmong food. But I won't be nice if you're not nice lady. Tipped my server well because they...

I've been going to this place for about 15 years, so this place is sort of a unique place for me. The food in my opinion is a better than average in taste. Over the years they've had some bad days where the food wasn't great, and I've had fantastic days where everything is fresh. That's what you get with a buffett. They have a good selection of Chinese and some American food. My favorite thing that I get everytime is their red chicken sticks. Theres enough variety in my opinion to make it a better value than Panda Express across the way. My family and I used to eat in house, but we found out that you can fill a to go box and take a lot of food home for a cheaper price than eating there. Plus we can usually get 2 meals out of it. As for the lady at the front, she has worked there all 15 years I've been going there so I assume shes the owner of the place. Her English isn't the greatest, and sometimes she can come across as rude, but I think it's honestly just the language barrier. I really wish I could understand her a bit better. The interior of the restaurant is a little worn down with a lot of the original paintings and decor from 15 years ago, but its good enough to get the job done. Overall I still like this place over all of these years and is my go to take out place when I'm super hungry. Brooklyn Park doesn't have a ton of great options, but this is still one of my favorites. If you're skeptical, the to go prices are great and you can get a full meal for about 6-7 bucks....