Spicy Panda Kemah — Restaurant in Clear Lake Shores

A typical Chinese restaurant. I went here because my sister in law spoke positively aigh about there g.iood. I piiursonally think they food is good, but portions are a bit small.small. H ju As for the prices they are a bit higher whats I see around the Asian parts of town, but are in line with the area the location is in.

The time I went here was about 4 pm on a Saturday and my party was about the only customers here. From what I saw most pf the orders were take away.

The menu is small, printed on both sides.

I first had the red oil wontons (8.99) as a appetizer. They were firm and had a good amount of meat filling. They were drenched in good amount of chilli oil with a fair amount of spiciness to it.

Secondly, the fried flat noodle with beef (13.99) was served. The portion was small. It had a fair amount of beef and the noodles were previous dried. They were firm, but do not have the resistance present in fresh noodles. Some wok hei was present, could use a bit more time in the wok for a more smokey flavour.

Next up were the sizzling black pepper and beef. (15.99) and the sizzling seafood with three delicacies (17.99). I combine these together since the had the same sauces on them and were both done fresh and well.

I especially liked the mamasan green curry. Mostly because I could happily tolerate the spice level it had and had it all to myself. The price 14.99 was amenable to me. It had a good amount of tenderized chicken breast. The curry sauce was especially creamy and savoury and I shocked every one by drinking all of the remaining sauce all in one attempt.

The ma pa tofu (12.99) was fine, not my thing, but the dish was done well.

I then had the stir fried vegetables and shrimp (17.99) which is so calles chef speciality. Not sure why it that is is that it is blanched vegtables and shrimp stired fried briefly in a corn starch slurry. The dish was fine, not exceptional. Maybe because the shrimp was of a larger size?

Peking duck (55.00) was the last dish that was served. The soup made from the duck bones was an especially flavourful clear soup with napa cabbage. It was a good palate cleanser As for the duck (a whole one comes in two duck shaped dishes) itself I was ok with it. It did taste it was made in advance as it was not as crisp as a wholly freshly prepared one. I would not hold that against them in that regard.

This is a decent place considering the lack of chinese/asiatic restaurants in the area. Not a must go place, but if you live here and craving Chinese food, this...

First off, they have a delightfully clean and cozy restaurant when you walk in. The staff are friendly, helpful, and kind. Their meals are sold family-style, with enough for 2-4 people per dish.

The staff took away our empty plates and cups without being obtrusive. Our waitress was extremely polite.

The meals - we each ordered an entrée and shared an appetizer. The starter was 8 pork dumplings, which came out just perfect. Not rubbery, not too soft.

My entrée was the fried fish in Thai sauce. If you like fish sauce, the vinegar kind, it is AMAZINGLY good. The chopped birds eye chilis really gave a good kick.

My partner's entrée was Mongolian beef. The veggies played a nice background role to that delicious beef - it had the kiss of the grill in it. Fried rice was on point and not embellished with unnecessary ingredients like corn or onion.

The hot sake really made the evening since we just had a cold snap. 10/10. We'll be back many times. I love this hidden gem.

Update: 5/20/25. It's been 3 years or so since my first review. This place is still my favorite Chinese food in the area. My partner got the Dry Hot Pot, my order was the Crispy Fish in Thai Sauce, and we split some Crab Rangoons. The whole order was to-go, and we LOVE their take-out boxes. They never leak, they never sweat, and they hold up well in the fridge for a few days. Thank you to the gentleman at the counter for the Dry Hot Pot recommendation. We had never eaten fried lotus before, and the beef was both sweet and savory with just a bit of heat. The next day we ate the leftovers as a stir fry. I wish I could give this place more...

I was sad to see Szechuan Garden go since my family had been eating there since I was a child, but I wanted to give Spicy Panda a chance and I'm very glad I did! The food we ordered was delicious and the new menu options look great.

I was most excited to try the Soup Bao and they were delicious. My notoriously picky mother who pretty much would only eat Chinese food from Szechuan Garden was also very happy with her food (she requested some customization which was happily arranged.) Overall, we were all happy with what we ordered! The service was also friendly and the staff informative and happy to assist.

There are definitely differences in the food compared to Szechuan Garden, I think most noticeably with the rice (it seems like the grains are a bit smaller so I'm wondering if this is why other reviewers have described it as "mushy," though I thought the rice tasted fine) and the chicken dishes we ordered seemed to be a little less breaded and sauce-heavy.

That said, when I was placing my order I was informed that the chefs could still prepare food in the old Szechuan Garden style upon request. My family and I will be happy ordering food in the Spicy Panda style going forward though! I'm looking forward to trying more new dishes...