Panda Express — Restaurant in Honolulu

Note: I was so hungry I forgot to take photos.

What I appreciate most about Panda Express, especially in this economy, is their great pricing comparing to similar foods in Hawaii. We got two orders of the Bigger Plate, which consists of one starch, and three entrees. Even after choosing a premium dish which costs $1.50 extra, each plate comes out to $15. The amount of food you get for this price is greater than other quick service Chinese restaurants, and much cheaper than dine-in actual restaurant versions.

The sides we chose this time was stir-fried noodles, and chow fun. I prefer the chow fun as it's more soft and digestible. The entrees were:

Plate A: honey roasted walnut shrimp, Beijing beef, beef with black pepper sauce (forgot the actual name)

Plate B: honey roasted walnut shrimp, beef & broccoli, orange chicken

My favorite is the honey roasted walnut shrimp(that's why I got it two times). It's not the best version of this dish, but PE does it pretty well - 7/10.

The beef in black pepper sauce was a close second. Pretty big chunks of tender beef. Awesome - 8/10.

The Beijing beef is good, crispy and tasty. But because it was battered, the actual beef part is tiny - 7/10.

The beef in the beef broccoli is good, but the ratio is skewed too much of broccoli - I would say it's 7 to 3, which is way too much broccoli. I don't recommend this dish if you want a lot of beef, unless you really love broccoli - 6/10.

The orange chicken this time was too chewy, not tender at all, really disappointing - 5/10.

The saving grace was they gave us a lot, and in total the employee who serviced me was generous for all the portions, so in the end this makes a big factor in my review.

Here in Hawaii, a Korean plate lunch with this generous of portions would cost at least $20. Other quick service Chinese pick and choose places would give 2/3 of these portions at most. I don't think there is any other local Chinese place that gives us this big of servings for this price.

So in the end, when you're starving for Chinese food and want to be on a budget, I think Panda Express is the...

Update 10/27: You say you're open until 10:30 PM everyday. I come on a Sunday at 10 PM. You tell me at the drive thru that you're closed. Your sign right above the speaker even says you're OPEN UNTIL 10:30 PM EVERYDAY. You say it's because it's Sunday.... FALSE ADVERTISING!

Update 10/1/24: Do better. These are shiesty portions...and look at the noodles--clearly whatever is left instead of making a new batch and serving it with it....

Now been here more than 3 dozen times since my original review and it's getting worse.... ‐--------- Been here about a dozen times in two months lately, all through the drive thru, all times of the day.

Bottom line, the prices have gone up, the portions have shrunk, and the service through drive thru has become more and more aggressive/ with attitude, especially when they're the ones who get your order wrong because they didn't read the notes on the online order, etc

You're better off going to the other Panda Express, by the Home Depot and Starbucks, even if you...

I stopped by and got the “bigger plate” which included three entrees. Went half and half on the fried rice and fried rice noodles. My go to entree is the honey walmut shrimp. That took care of my honey walnut craving. I also tried out their crispy chili shrimp. It was very dry and lacked flavor. I also got the tofu and eggplant which was served is a separate smaller box. This vegetarian entree was good. The service here is great. People behind the counter are friendly. Ample seating space. Parking is hard to get as the lot was full when I arrived for dinner. This is not a new issue for Hawaii. I parked on the street and walked a bit to the restaurant. Overall, good...