Panda House Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Omaha

I ordered tangerine chicken. I got breaded chicken pieces in a sweet brown sauce with quarter-size slices of orange or tangerine rind and dried chilies in the sauce. The brown sauce was ok, but you only got the orange flavor if you bit into one of the slices of orange rind (which was unpleasantly tough and chewy with that slight bitter taste you get from the rind). I was glad I saw the chilies before biting one of them. It would have been a very unpleasant experience. Even though they were present in the sauce I didn’t get any indication of a spicy flavor. I am not a big fan of breaded chicken pieces in a saucy dish. I try to eat healthy and cut back on the unnecessary starch. I think the dish may have benefited more from fresh orange zest instead of slices of rind they offer more surface area and better distribution of flavor. You also don’t get that bitter note that a chunk of rind gives. I think the dried chilies are a suitable source to add some spice, but they should have been placed in the sauce a little earlier in the cooking process so more flavor could be imparted in the sauce. I also think they should have strained out. Fresh chilies are not bad to eat in a dish but dry chewy ones are not pleasant. The breaded chicken pieces, I guess, are a matter of taste. A lot of places do mention that on the menu. The breaded chicken in my dish was a bit on the chewy side. It would have been more pleasant if it had been tender and juicy. I just prefer non breaded chicken in that type of dish. Over all, fresh components seem to make a tastier dish, to me. Once again...it’s a matter of taste. I must say that all the chicken dishes our table ordered seemed to have the breaded chicken pieces in them. Once again, if that is your preference, then you will love the dish, if not it is a bit disappointing. Since I prefer non-breaded chicken I would probably not return for a chicken dish.

Response to the reply....if I am not supposed to eat the chunks of citrus rind in the dish, why are you leaving them in the food you serve the guest? You should not leave inedible components in the food you are serving. I should not have to worry about avoiding inedible things in my meal. It would nice to mention in your menu that the dishes are totally customizable. It is not something I would assume you could do. I kind of expect most restaurant stir fry type dishes to be made with fresh ingredients and not breaded meat components. I have seen that a lot in fast food type venues. I guess that is why I don’t eat at the fast food venues. I guess there is just to much work to extensively question the the server and manipulate my order to get the meal I want. I’d rather just stick to places that make it in the manner I expect. I just don’t feel like working that hard for my meal. I do wish you would fish out the chunks of orange rinds and dried chilies and any other inedible pieces before serving. I know your patrons would greatly appreciate that. Hey, please try using orange zest it is such a great alternative to rinds. I truly love the zing that citrus gives a dish. It is my favorite...

Really good service but the food is strange. They served me the most puzzling dish of almond chicken I have ever had. This is supposed to be a predictable entree, but there was nothing normal about it! First of all the chicken was breaded and fried for so long that it was hard chewy and completely inedible. I have never got breaded/fried chicken when I order almond chicken, literally never. It came with water chestnuts and peas and that's it, and not the pea pods, but just frozen green peas. What the hell planet did this chef come from??? Too bad my server was so friendly, he did great, but the people in the kitchen should be ashamed of themselves for serving their insane concoction of regular american chinese dishes.

UPDATE 7/10 IN RESPONSE TO OWNER: I did not have any questions for the server, otherwise I would have asked, and I did not have time to complain and try to get a replacement. You should list the ingredients for the meals on the menu, that would prevent the surprise. It is not my fault there is an element of predictability with a dish called "almond chicken" and that has nothing to do with me having an open mind! I am open to many things, but I am not really interested in placing an order such as "almond chicken, with regular chicken not breaded, add carrots, add onion, add celery, no peas... does that sound like fun thing for the customer/server/cook? For the record, my dish did NOT contain mushrooms. It was breaded fried hard/chewy chicken nuggets with frozen green peas and canned water chestnuts, THAT IS ALL! It is baffling to me that you are trying to use this "unique" approach to a basic meal as a selling point. Seems to me like they are too lazy to cut vegetables! I was going to return and try again, but now I will not, too many other options to choose from;...

This place stated they deliver online. I spent 45 minutes getting an order together for everyone and attempting to order online. The website gave me trouble and therefore forced me to call. Although it specifically stated it would deliver online, the man on the phone gave me the worst attitude and stated he would not deliver after all my hard work had been done. He said online had the wrong information and simply refused my order and I only live a few blocks away. Without a vehicle, in the winter, they refused to make an exception. And with complete attitude and entitlement, at that. As an avid online consumer of a new generation, one where we rely on social media and the ease of online purchasing, I feel the customer is right in this situation and should have been granted a delivery this time, while they update their systems on their end. Time wasted, horrible service over the phone, and a sour taste left in my mouth. This just happened and I promise to never eat here. By the way... The order was for 12 indivuals and the amount was well over $300. This was all due to a last minute party which again, left me to start from square one after a 45 minute...