I work at Panda and as our ACO said during one of our meetings, “Panda never claimed to be an authentic Chinese restaurant. We are an American, Chinese inspired restaurant.”
As a Chinese Canadian, we tend to make this analogy: "Calling Panda Express 'authentic Chinese food' is like calling Taco Bell 'authentic Mexican food.'"
@@smbcollector It's easy to say when it's not your country's food. When I lived overseas in Asia, there was no shortage of North Americans cringing at the Asian "non-authentic" version of American and European food, and ranting about how "wrong" it was. I was like... Welcome to my world, bud. lol
It’s funny because Panda is more authentic than most restaurants in the U.S. claiming to be authentic. They got the ideas for their dishes from the culture and it was made by a Chinese person so…
The main difference is that Panda Express is founded by Taiwanese Americans. In no way am I saying Panda Express is authentic. Far from it. But it allows them to create a menu that blends Chinese techniques into American foods.
My uncle used to be a cook for Panda Express for many years and well past his retirement age, somehow he crossed paths with the owner at some point late in his career and realized they were childhood friends. When the owner realized he had worked so many years for the company and was still working because his home wasn't paid off yet the owner instantly retired him with a nice pension and paid off the rest of his mortgage. Definitely a company that cares for their people!
There’s only one Panda Express anywhere near my city. I wouldn’t have thought they were that big. The vast majority of Chinese and Asian restaurants are locally owned.
Majority of the “Chinese” restaurants in my area are also locally owned. It doesn’t make them any more authentic as they tend to offer the exact same stuff as Panda at twice the price. Their menus also tend to cover more of a pan-Asian assortment rather than just Chinese. A Korean cooking Thai, Japanese or Vietnamese food in a restaurant claiming to be Chinese. lol
I’ve worked for Panda Express years back and it was the best. Most of their food is prepped from fresh vegetables, sauces are made in store and meats are panned out daily. They always pay more than other restaurants and they definitely care for employees. We had outings fully paid for, bonuses, free food, lower healthcare and the list continues. They also promote quick if you put the effort. I would’ve stayed if it wasn’t for the fact my passion was with HVAC…
It's nice to hear that they haven't gone to mostly food service and make some semblance to try and treat their employees better than most places of that type. I avoid chains, franchises and even many independent restaurants because of that. Out of the scores of Asian restaurants near me, there are only a couple that still make their own chicken stock instead of using chicken base, they also take care in there menu items. What's much worse is going into a medium to high end restaurant where you drop $60 dollars or more per plate and immediately discern they are taking short cuts. You can always tell right away with the taste of the soups and sauces. HVAC lol, that's another world altogether, lots of learning in many aspects. My son does HVAC for industrial plants and complexes. I have another relative that's in charge of HVAC for a major city sports arena, they do pro basketball and hockey besides the other events. Anyway, good for you, good luck, and stay safe.
sounds like you were 1 in 100 employees that were treated with a little dignity. good for you. i see no reason why this comment deserves 200+ thumbs ups when you are pushing panda propaganda.
I used to work as a assistant manager for a top performing location in Texas. I can attest everything that was said in this video. Everything was pretty spot on. They do care about their workers as the front of house staff get bonuses based on performance. Which many fast food restaurants don't give FOH staff anything. I mean there are tons of things I can say but this video pretty much sums it up. I'd recommend panda Express to anybody working in the fast food industry. If I ever went back to working in that industry I would go back to panda 10 times out of 10.
it's because the owner is Taiwanese and this is how Taiwanese run their businesses - treating employees like family. Taiwan is just about one of the only places real Chinese culture remains so it's kinda rare now days.
@@Not-very-cash-money-of-you they did but the raises we got are amazing. My last bonus was in January and that was 350$ after that we got a 2 dollar raise and I was making an extra 140 on every paycheck so I could care less about the raise my store recently got another 2 dollar raise so since we lost bonuses my wage went from 15/hr to 19/hr as cook and I love this job.
I hope they expand to Australia one day, and like McDonalds [and sadly unlike our local Taco bells] bring the tight regulation with them. After living as an expat in both England and California, I can definitively say we aussies have easily the worst chinese takeaway on the planet. Its horrendously overpriced, most places serve nothing but super high margin rice or noodle bowls, and the places that do classic American-Chinese: the food taste like it was under seasoned and sitting in a fridge for over a week.
I'm Currently Working At panda express and it's honestly crazy how much they care they started me off 3 dollars above Minimum wage and I've received two raises and a promotion and I've only been with the company 9 months They truly Make me feel loved
15 dollars an hour ain't that much more than others, I cross trained and make 15.50 but I'm from Chicago so it might be dif to you, but the Walmart across from me starts at 17 in the deli
As a native born Chinese, my American friends often ask me if I like Panda Express. My answer is always yes. Sure, it's not "authentic" and remotely resembles the food we eat back home, but its delicious in its own right. To me personally, it's not just Chinese food, but American Chinese food, and I say this out of the respect to the Chinese American culture. As much as I like the food we eat back home, I appreciate teriyaki chicken for its deliciousness.
Im chinese but born and raised in another asian country. I must say the food they serve is still very much considered chinese food. The basic elements are there. It might have an american element like in certain ingredients but it still is ok. I bet if this same food is served in a usual chinese resto, no one would complain. My fave in Panda is the hot sour soup! Super cheap but so good! I'll have 2
This is what "cultural appropriation" is supposed to be. Just cultures sharing and riffing on each other's best notes and coming up with new things together, in a spirit of mutual respect and celebration. I wish attitudes like this were more common.
@@Ruiluth but i think there is no cultural appropriation that happened bec the owners of Panda Express are chinese and the food is still chinese. They own a chinese restaurant and panda express is their mainstream "food on the go" type of restaurant. Only food snobs will say it is fake chinese, but it really is still chinese food. Any chinese from China will have no problem with the food.
I work for a taiwanese company and we feed Chinese and taiwanese in a foreign country supervised by two Chinese supervisors depending on which canteen you choose. got the same food though the one from northern china is more like general tso like flavor...heavily fermented soy sauce like dishes. We got sweet sour fish or pork Kung Pao chicken. Fried rice. Spring rolls. Hot sour soup, egg drop soup. Etc etc. Pretty much the same at panda express. And you actually can find general tso flavor chicken in taipei. There are too many regional variations if you visited china and some dishes, northern Chinese would say...'this ain't authentic!" Vice versa. Chinese food isnt homogenous. Soy sauce is a northern traditional condiment and soy beans and wheat used to make soy sauce do not grow in southern china.
true, I'm Indonesian Chinese, and while all my ethnically Chinese and Asian friends don't like it, I myself like it. Of course there are other better Americanized Chinese food out there.
I’m a shift lead at panda, I was going thru rough time, but trying to promote to assistant manager. My ACO (my bosses boss) decided to put my mental health first so instead of just throwing in into training which is hard work he told me I needed to improve myself first and learn to love myself. It’s amazing how the big bosses are trained to put the employees first more than anything
Facts. My manager use to chase me down because I refused to take my breaks. He always put his staffs first and make sure they don't over work themselves.
I'm a cook at panda and my boss took more time training me and being patient so I don't overstress myself so I can be better. Love my boss and has been a big help in my life, sure sometimes there's things I don't like but overall has been amazing.
I'm surprised and happy you had a good experience. I worked for 6 months getting paid 14 an hour, 1 more dollar than the McDonald's across the street. From my experience, working at panda express is horrible. The managers at my place didn't give a shit about our mental health. They also put way too much stress on us teen workers for 1 dollar more than Mcdonald's. Usually, at every other fast-food place, they have two windows, one for paying and one for pickup. I'm not completely sure, but I think normal fast food places have either 2 or three people working the drive-thru, one taking the order through the headset, one at the payment window, and one at the window where you pick up food. Well at panda express, there's one window and they make one person take the order through the headset while talking to the customers at the window, WHILE PUTTING EVERYTHING IN THE BAG. Sometimes when the runners are on break, the poor drive-thru worker has to make the food as well. You also get yelled at for basically anything. They have stupid ass rules to save money like one single napkin for one order like a bowl or plate and you get scolded if you give more... Then you also get yelled at if you give them more than 7 pieces of honey walnut shrimp per order, which is stupid cause you're already paying an extra 1.25 per order. Anyways, the work environment is horrible, besides the 10-minute meal break, you're basically working nonstop for barely any money. Anyways, I switched to being a waiter at a sushi restaurant, and you make double the amount, and it's less stressful. I would advise anyone to work as a server and not at fast food if they're looking for a job. You get paid more and its less stressful
Worked there in high-school. Genuinely one of the nicest places I've ever worked. They really care about their employees and take the term "part of the panda family" very serious.
It’s almost as if treating your employees well and being loyal to them is better for your business. What a novel, revolutionary, (and sadly) foreign concept in today’s world, among large corporations. I salute Panda Express. And the food really is great.
It's not that simple. Panda Express and Chick fil A naturally attract and vet the top fast food talent for a variety of reasons. Would you want to work at Burger King? Exactly. Burger King (and others) are analogously trying to deal with their reality of trying to "date" employees, being a broke single mom with four kids. They have to take what they can get.
Eh, their orange chicken has poor quality control so I won't eat there any more. I got tired of hurting my teeth with random hard pieces in their chicken
@@BossItUp911 I mean your message holds no sense. What you stated are causal relationships that comes from those companies' politics. "Top talent" isn't really a thing, it's fast food, not nuclear science, if anything the broke mom has more talent because she's dealing with more clients and has to be way more effective.
I used to work with Peggy back in the early 80s at a small electronics company in Altadena where she was a software engineer. She left one day to start a restaurant in Pasadena. The rest is history.
I honestly also feel that the way they treat us as employees makes one heck of a difference. For example, when all of my managers are extremely flexible when it comes to working with my school schedule. On top of that, I also had the opportunity to earn their Panda Scholarship program which helped alot with school. On top of that, they just recently increased my pay as a cook which all and all makes me feel appreciated and I genuinely like working with my coworkers. PS yes if you want to gather such as being a chief assistant or managers and above we have little small book clubs and management courses were you get to talk to other leaders and share how you feel about your situation. You literally feel like they do want you to grow as a person and not just “another manager” . Another note to value is the way they personally know you. My area managers and region managers literally always say hi to me and ask how I am, well not just me but as a cook and other people I work with they speak to all of us not just the managers. Not like others.
No billionaire on this Earth exists without the exploitation of labor and even human rights violations. Talk about unionizing your workplace and see what happens =).
The lack of competition is the key factor for me. When we want Chinese(-ish) food, the choice is either a proper restaurant (slower and more expensive but you get leftovers) or Panda.
There's always the old dirty Chinese takeout place though! Every community has one and those are usually the best. Don't taste the same without the health code violations. lol!
I just discovered Panda Express. This last July 4th, my wife and I wanted to eat Chinese, but I found that both restaurants where we usually go for take out were closed. The only restaurant I came across was Panda Express. I bought the food there expecting a lower experience than what we usually get from the restaurants we have patronized for the last 30 years. Both my wife and I were pleasantly surprised at the quality and the price of the food. We now have a new favorite go-to Chinese-American restaurant.
The fact that Orange Chicken has been a standard on Chinese restaurants all over the USA illustrates the amazing influencing of Panda. I think it is a variation of Lemon Chicken, which also has a sweet thick fruit-flavored sauce.
Cherng has mentioned that Orange Chicken is a a mild variant of General Tso's Chicken. That latter dish was mostly cooked by Taiwanese that moved to the US.
@@TimmyTickle - Mine too. It's my acid test for judging Chinese restaurants, because it is very easy to ruin, but delicious when made right and served hot.
I currently work there as a cook, and I’d say the job is pretty good. I am getting paid more than other fast food jobs. All the veggies are freshly cut and the meat is real meat. So far in my area, my location and another keep bumping into first and second place of being the most busiest Panda Express
@@saulenrique1460 so the vegetables that you can see in the refrigerators are pre-cut, frozen, and shipped to the restaurant? I always assumed they just cut them at the restaurant. Regardless, they seem like quality ingredients.
I dated someone that works at panda and pushed them to work their way up the chain. From crew to running her own restaurant as a manager. It’s true they do invest into their employees and help them succeed not just in the job with panda but in their personal life’s. They have amazing health care and like I’ve said before invest into their staff. 401k, school, retirement. I had the liberty to meet Andrew and he is a genuine humble person that cares about their stores, staff and customer care.
Fun fact: Former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime worked for Panda Express in the 90s and piloted their first stores outside of malls. Reggie worked directly with Andrew and Peggy to test out the concept before their IPO, but the founders decided not to branch out at the last minute despite initial success. Reggie left shortly after for his next job, and eventually they did open those standalone stores to great success. This is all documented in his new book.
I'm an American living in Japan. I've been here for 6 years now. I was talking to one of my friends living in Arizona a few months ago reminiscing about stuff I miss from the states, and Panda Express being one of the big topics we talked about. A month or 2 ago, I went with my wife and friend to the outlet mall somewhat near Tokyo and I freaked out when I saw Panda Express there. I immediately went in and ordered a 3 entrée plate. Orange chicken, Kung Pao chicken, and Shanghai Angus steak with chow mein on the side. Oh man, I almost started crying with how good and nostalgic it was.
Something I love about Panda is it's pretty much always ready. I don't need to wait for them to make my order. I can go up and get a lot of food in less than 5 minutes. There's not as many cumbersome questions with the server ("what was that?? ") as Chipotle or Subway. Simple menu, food is right in front of you for you to see, it's substancial, it's tasty.
I hope the Cherng's see some of the testimonials in comments below, from customers but especially from employees. Apparently it is actually possible to become fabulously rich while remaining a human being. They should be proud of what they've built.
I love working for Panda Express. It's the only food industry where my boss treats me like a human being and genuinely wants me to progress in my job. Sure, i may have some stressful days, but the people i work with are worth it
I don’t care if it’s americanized Chinese food, there’s no denying that Panda Express is delicious. And by the way, the fact that their orange chicken was invented by a chef working for them in 1987 is the most interesting fact
@@Kylefassbinderful I call it Chinese-American food, since quite a lot of it was made by Chinese-Americans. The USA isn't alone in Chinese food being given a local flavor. The "father of Chinese cooking" in Japan, Chef Kenmin, also tailored his recipes to the local palate. It's how new cuisines and foods get created. That being said it's fun to go to a place that serves the more authentic stuff alongside the Americanized fare. I've been to quite a lot of places that do both which is nice depending on how I'm feeling at the moment.
One advantage they’ve had for years over other “fast food” type places, is the ability to have a low carb option. Being able to get a small box of chicken or steak or some other protein has been why it’s my go to choice. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that a lot of other restaurants became aware of things like keto or low carb, meanwhile Panda has been offering choices like that for at least 20 years.
I love to get super greens instead of rice, the steamed broccoli, spinach, kale and other stuff pair with broccoli beef and mushroom chicken is so good and healthy AF. Maybe high on the sodium side so I allow myself this once a week but what a treat.
Another great thing about Panda Express is that their owners are really down to earth and very nice people. I used to work a job where I did many corporate parties, weddings and any high end social gathering events and had a chance to meet them. Had a chance to go to their home and they all literally drive Toyotas. Nothing fancy and just look and act like everyday people.
Surprisingly enough Panda express tends to be quite innovative with their menu. They added beyond meat variants of a lot of their offerings over the last couple years which have been very popular with younger demographics
I’ve gotta disagree. it’s not bad as in it tastes awful, but it is bad. I like panda express BUT every time I order, no matter what the dish is, that dish tastes like sugar. if it’s a glazed dish, it’s (obviously) going to be very sweet. if it’s a basic noodle dish, it still tastes a little sweet. I know traditional chinese noodles are supposed to be savory… not sweet. panda express isn’t “good”, it’s just different. it’s fast food….
@@user38373_ Saying every dish tastes like sugar is a bit of an exaggeration, but I agree some of the dishes are overly sweet. For instance, the Sweetfire Chicken, Sweet, and Sour Chicken, Orange Chicken, Teriyaki sauce and Beijing beef have 15-27 grams of sugar per serving.
Depends on who you are. If you're not Chinese, it tastes okay. But for us Chinese folks, it's not very impressive or appealing. Partly due to its lack of authenticity.
Been working at Panda Express for a year and a half. They definitely pay a lot more than the average fast food restaurant in my town and take care of their employees too with some minor exceptions. In my town, the average fast food restaurant pays about 10/hr but I’m making 18/hr with a promotion under me. The starting for the front is 15 and the kitchen is 16 so already that’s a good start. Our manager is a really chill guy that’s super easy to talk to and has great communication skills. Panda gives me as a student good flexibility with my hours and works with my schedule and since I might transfer soon for school, I might transfer restaurants as well since I heard the process is easy, I got better job security, and the pay is just better overall. Since we’re always busy, it’s not an easy job but it’s one where young hard working people can make it in this world
Panda is oddly better than half the traditional restaurants around me. My only real pet peeve is that there's no deals on the app/websites compared to other fast food joints. The best you'll get is that very small box of entrée if you do the survey on your receipt
Uhhh, maybe because the whole menu is a deal? American's are so dumb with that. There are literally studies that shows Americans are happier buying deals at a higher price, than just shop for lower prices for the same product.
@Safwaan thank you, I get tired of people thinking their superior just because we’re “American”, we’re all humans, being American or anything else doesn’t mean much
@Safwaan I wonder why it's always Americans? I never see people talk down to Canadians or Russians or anyone from any other country and it's almost always Americans.
@@PeterGriffin11 because in other countries, the kids learn core subjects in school. In the usa they waste a lot of time doing active shooter drills or having actual active shooters murdering kids.
When it comes to Panda Express's authenticity in terms of its relation to Chinese Cuisine, I think I'd most definitely side with its authenticity, and I think such a view adds a lot to the enjoyment of the food! Though I completely understand the viewpoint at 6:12 about not wanting to participate in the somewhat contentious issue of whether it is authentic. I recall a really good argument one of my professor's of Chinese culture and history made during my undergraduate studies, in which he said that the question of authenticity too often has become an elitist term meant to exclude anything that doesn't conform to pure traditionalist guidelines. Chinese food today is VERY different then it was a century ago, and when looking at China as a whole, a uniform idea about what its cuisine is, and what counts as "authentic", has only developed in modern times with the current socio-political nature of China's culture. Many different types of foods with different flavors, spices, and cooking methods exist all across China's very diverse regions, and historically many of these wouldn't have been considered Chinese enough to be authentic, but in our modern interpretation of these foods (and especially amongst the Chinese community), a lot of these diverse, non-traditional foods have become part of the Chinese Cuisine Canon. I think Taiwan is a good example of this, in that post-revolution in China a lot of people from many different parts of China moved there, and brought with them many different types of food from all across China's regions. These different recipes and styles influenced each other, creating a synthesis that we today would never consider to be "un-authentic". So when it comes to Panda Express, a Chinese fast food restaurant founded by Chinese-Americans who took diverse, multi-regional, traditional recipes and simply synthesized them with American and western flavors, I don't think that in anyway disqualifies it from being authentic. Fusion between different cultures is a cornerstone of any culture's foods, and I think a purist would be hard pressed to try and deny that. As someone of Chinese/Taiwanese descent, a lot of people in the community don't (though some hardcore purists continue to) see Panda Express or similar "Americanized" foods as less authentic. It tastes good, and you shouldn't buy into views by cultural elitists that such food is not worth your time just because it has been influenced by another culture. Enjoy what you eat, and great video as always Company Man!
come on, panda express is as authentic as taco bell is to mexican food. It's a bastardized version of generic chinese food. Their success comes from making it cheap and accessible to the people not familiar with chinese food.
Grad student I worked w/ in early 2000s always brought in "authentic" chinese food that he would prepare for lunch. Often these lunches were either stir-fried heart ($.25 a pound from the butcher) or tripe. IMO they were pretty good (never minded offal myself, kidney is an underrated foodstuff). That being said all I don't see people who clamor dismiss food as not authentic food ordering this.
With varying nuances, but I see this come up constantly with other forms of cuisine that also exist in the US, notably the Italian and Mexican cuisines. Being Mexican in Mexico I know a lot that complain loudly about amerianization of "authentic" food, but it seems so shallow. Like, within Mexico, depending on where you order a quesadilla you will get a very different dish, in one places it will be a puffy, wheat flour and lard tortilla with a specific kind of cheese and a side of guac or beans, or a huge corn tortilla with fillings (cheese optional) or some corn masa based turnover with a different kind of cheese inside deep fried and then covered in salsa. All of them are valid, all are authentic, just a variation based on local tastes and availability of ingredients. It's the exact same thing with americanized Mexican food, and even Tex-Mex food. Get off the high horse and enjoy it ffs.
Many Chinese food recipes we love here in the states comes from Asian immigrants who updated their recipes with items they could find here because the normal ingredients they’d use weren’t available. In a way one could argue that many Asian dishes are authentic in a way.
Born and raised in China, I know for sure Panda isn't authentic Chinese. But I still crave for Panda every now and then. The orange chicken, the walnut shrimp, the slightly smoky kongpao chicken... it's such a well designed menu and such a consistent outcome every single time. It may not be authentic Chinese, but surely is an iconic California cuisine.
I feel like panda express does something different that sets them apart from the competition. When you think fast food you probably think of burger places which it mostly is. Panda Express is different in the sense that they offer a different kind of food from another country. There aren't any other fast food restaurants that offer Chinese food. And it's not just what they offer that makes them different it's also how they layout their stores. You walk in and instead of ordering to a cashier you walk next to the food and you tell them what you want and it's similar to a buffet. No other restaurant does that. You can also see all of the veggies in the fridge and you can watch the cooks make the food in a wok. Panda Express just feels different from other places.
@@RickShi yes but they don’t make Chinese inspired food. Which is the appeal. It’s fast Chinese food. Which is the main reason I don’t go get Chinese all the time. Or at least I didn’t until I moved 3 miles away from a Panda Express
I've eaten at PE only a handful of times and never really thought about it until I saw all the testimonials from current and former employees about how the company cares for their employees. I will definitely make a point to eat there when I see one.
@@lpnp9477 use to be called THE BROADWAY. Miss a lot of the mom & pop businesses that are gone? This mall is getting hollow & is constantly being taken over by shoppers parking & going to THE AMERICANA? GETTING HOLLOW AS WELL? Need a couple bookstores?
I'd say two other significant factors: speed/ease of ordering and cost relative to portions. You can get in and out of a PE in 5 minutes flat, critical if you have a tight lunch "hour"/are on a schedule. The menu is straightforward, you can see everything available in front of you and ordering takes two seconds. With portions, every so often you get a stingy PE, but for the most part, they give you an ass-ton of food--really fill the Styrofoam container. It's psychological--you feel you're getting a lot of what you paid for, and depending on your appetite, you can have enough for leftovers. And then, the food is quality, relatively speaking--no suspicious chicken, especially if you stick to the white meat options. It's hyper-Americanized Chinese food, but it's decently-made, fast, the restaurants are clean, and it's not too expensive. My faves are the honey sesame chicken and sweetfire chicken--they're basically sauced fried popcorn chicken + veggies--and the peppers/pineapple/greenbeans are always generous/numerous and fresh!
All of the other take-out Chinese places in my area give a lot more food than Panda Express does (most other places fill each compartment, then add some more of the entrée items on top so that they are overflowing - Panda Express has NEVER done that around here). Most charge less and some even have significantly better food. Panda Express is by no means the worst option in my area, but it is also a far cry from the best option.
@@daltigoth3970 Hmmm they're not stingy with portions in Los Angeles, in my experience. Honestly, it's not a great market for quality Chinese takeout where I am (which is not in San Gabriel Valley!)... everything is overpriced with meh quality at most places (no better than Panda, often). When I'm out & about, Panda's easiest and cheapest for a single meal experience. ymmv!
I love their drive thru, since I know if there's a few cars i'm guaranteed to get to work on time (at 10 min). Sometimes if the line is full you can get out in 10 min but there's a ways that car that takes their sweet time ordering like 6 plates, and has questions
@@ChantelCarter-cc7cu I mean, I do live very close to the OG Panda and would not be at all shocked if a lot of the LA ones are quality-controlled by the founders.
I’m a shift lead at Panda Express. I recently got promoted and the thing is my ACO saw potential in me when I didn’t, so did my General Manager. It’s not just about working but what you can do to improve on your work ethics and your life outside of work.
I live about 2 blocks from the Panda Headquarter shown in the video. As big as they are they don't muscle themselves over the competitors. My family owned a Chinese restaurant similar to Panda for over 20 years, which we closed down in 2018 after my dad passed away. So with easy access to any Chinese food and being able to make any of their items myself, I visit Panda maybe once a year or two picking up dinner for the family so can relax from a long day of work without doing any cooking. The walnut shrimp is good. Like their Beijing Beef.
I worked at Panda Express as kitchen help/Cook and they honestly care so much about how you are as a human. They push you forward to limits you didn’t know you were capable of. Such a good business to work for.
I'm glad to hear they treat their employees good, the restaurant industry can be absolutely horrible to their workers. Panda express used to be one of my favorite restaurants as a kid.
I work at pandas currently and instead of firing you they remove almost all your hours, we lose our bonuses for small reasons, or it gets spent back to the store, everyone hates working there from my store. the managers lie about their store to make themselves look better than they actually are, really hard just to call off work when needed or using your sick hours. constantly bugging managers just to get anything done. many managers and stores refuse to replace ANYTHING just to get a higher bonus for themselves. Many stores take advantage of minors and make them work full time and getting mad at them for calling off if they have any school event, take advantage of people's willingness to move up and make them do the jobs of others without the higher pay (for a while). managers constantly lie to their employees for self-benefit. you can be slammed, and many managers will leave at 8pm even if it means you leave at 12 am. they are some of the pettiest people I met. they will lie about the companies' policies to get things their way that usually conveniences them and not the store or just lies in general. will intimidate you and take advantage that you don't know the policies. anything that is manager and above is extremely shady and many of our benefits have been taken away ever since Andrew and peggy let their kid take over. What I learned is there are two types of people who work at pandas the first type that sucks up to the managers and let them walk over them while having a smile on their face and the second type that realizes how terrible it is to work there.
Panda express really helped me when I was at my lowest and was able to get a pretty steady income from working as a cook and they provide decent health insurance and dental.
@Ninja tank I had an interview with them. Of course, they asked why they should hire me instead of other applicants. I automatically dismiss a company when they ask this. It is a sign that the company demands absolutely loyalty and will mistreat you if otherwise. Anyway, I proceeded with "what's your turnover rate?" Manager's face turned red. I smirked and walked out.
I think their multiple size dinner options are genius. Small if you just want one item only. Plate has two items plus rice or noodles. Larger plate has every thing the plate has plus one more item.
As a Chinese-American, I didn't respect Panda Express as "authentic" Chinese food when I was growing up. I now have mad respect for them for introducing Chinese cuisine to so many Americans who would have not discovered it otherwise. Sure, their food is definitely adapted to fit American taste but I can't deny that it *is* pretty tasty. Also, I didn't know until watching this video that Panda Express basically came from my backyard. I grew up in Pasadena and drove by the original Panda Inn countless times but never made the connection.
I have found this mindset in food to be very prevalent in immigrants here. It is something I think has no ground. Of course these are never authentic but you cannot deny they’re pretty much always good. I am a Mexican-American, and while I know Taco Bueno is not authentic Mexican food, I still like it. Sincerely, son of a first generation father and immigrant mother
i love panda express but taco bell ehhh pretty mid but i never go to panda express thinking "im craving authentic Chinese food" i go wanting what PANDA EXPRESS has to offer never affiliating/thinking their food as authentic Chinese food only as PANDA EXPRESS food, and yea I also love authentic food especially authentic Mexican food over taco bell any day.
Former Panda employee here! Few things I wanted to add: 1) Not only did they begin using a POS system before many other chains, but Peggy Cherng was critical in the CREATION of the POS system! 2) They did pay AMAZINGLY well! They gave me a total of 3 raises totaling to a $4 pay increase in just under a year. Not to mention in the 3rd calendar year of a pandemic. 3) Andrew would try his best to visit EVERY store at least once per year. Sometimes, he would come through the drive through and nobody would know it was him until 2-3 days later when his office would email the store. His signature order is a bowl with half brown rice/half super greens & Kung Pao Chicken! 4) HR really takes complaints seriously. If there is any kind of report (in my case, about a hostile work environment created by our GM) they call every single employee and have an intensely thorough conversation and gather as many details as possible. I’ve never worked for a company that cares that much about their employees. 5) They reeeealllly like monopolizing. There came a point where they saw that the company that manufactures their woks was marking up the price significantly higher than wholesale. So…. they bought the company! Same deal with the manufacturer of the fryer system, reach-in coolers, etc. Why pay more per piece when you can buy the whole business??
Wouldn't say it's americanized. I eat Chinese food everyday at my company serving Chinese and taiwanese workers. Got the same thing: spring rolls, hot sour soup, sweet sour pork, kung pao chicken, etc etc. There's a lot more dishes I can cook that are Chinese but many Chinese actually don't know: because of regional availability.
I never understood the appeal of Panda Express. I can get much more and higher quality Asian food from a local restaurant, oftentimes nearly as fast, for a lot cheaper. Panda is fine but just super overpriced.
I'm glad I watched this video because I used to have a less positive image of the company, I've never been to panda express and I just assumed they were a subpar fast food restaurant that only exists because of lack of competition, but watching this showed me how great the company is in general, stuff like this is the reason I subscribed to you
You should try Panda Express one of these days. My go to order is a plate with chow mien, beef and broccoli, and honey walnut shrimp. My mouth is drooling as I am thinking about it.
My daughter caught that bug while working for them in the early days of the thing. The company was *very* good to her. When she was explaining the policy I had trouble believing it. I would never expect such a progressive stance from a fast food company. Already loved orange chicken. Two snaps up for the Panda!
Believe it or not, in all my 25 years I have *never* been to a Panda Express. I've mostly gotten my Asian food fix from local restaurants. But after watching this video...I'm heavily reconsidering. They sound like an amazing company worth supporting (plus I bet their food tastes *soooooo* good.) Thank you for making this video! You're always so good at putting every essential detail of a business into a concise video that is easy for the everyperson to understand!
Hi, I just wanted to add that when I worked at Panda Express between 2009-2013, I personally felt that there was a lot of nepotism, micromanaging, superior complexity, favoritism, and intense rush hours. I loved the company's mission and values, which further inspired me to have a positive mentality while emphasizing the importance of personal growth. There is a lot of training for shift leads, which end up succeeding as managers, but if your heart isn't in customer service, you will tend to dislike working there.
I’ve had a very inconsistent experience with the Panda Express restaurants in my area. I actually really like their food, but the issues I typically experience are: 1) you get dry rice and meat where the food has clearly been sitting out for a long long time 2) you get skimped really hard sometimes when they’re low on something you order so they just don’t fill the box all the way That combined with orders being about 9-12 dollar range in my area puts them at a higher price point versus other fast food places and also higher than the lunch specials of the local Chinese places. Occasionally I’ve gone to Panda and had a great experience, but I got burned pretty bad the last couple times so now I mostly do lunch specials at local restaurants. This may be atypical though, I hear Panda is great depending on location. There was one near my old work place I liked quite a bit.
one in my area always skimped on the extra cost items. if im paying more why give me less? to add further insult that one restaurant would usually not have half the menu available...
I like how they stay close to the "source material" by keeping the food relatively simmilar to real Chinese cuisine instead of experimenting too much with the ingredients
@@MegaZeta You're right. But for me as a foreigner, I feel that, unlike other brands such as Taco Bell, Panda Express managed to retain a feel of originality that doesn't feel like it overly caters to the american public
Honestly, the more I ate Panda Express, the more I realized that their food is just way inferior to local Chinese take-out. It's just more addicting because most of their entrees are overloaded with sugar. But the advantage is that they're usually cheaper, more consistent and hygienic, and way quicker than local take-out. Though if you can find a good local place, it's almost always better and cheaper during lunch hours.
@@chiensyang The food at Panda is about as Chinese as you’re gonna get in America unless you live in Cali or NY. Most asian restaurants serve similar Orange Chicken / Peppers and Beef dishes nowadays because its what the customer wants.
@@XrayTheMyth23 you must've not been around enough. There's plenty of authentic Chinese in Washington state where I'm from. I've even been to a lot of authentic Chinese food spots in Texas and Arizona, I'm sure there are plenty others considering how many Chinese immigrants are in America.
Oof Panda Express' food is not good. You're right on about the sweetness. I find it over bearing. And depending where you live you can find far better Chinese take-out than PE.
I don’t eat here often but I do really enjoy this chain and I can see why it’s so popular. I first found them when I lived in Texas. My favorite thing is the walnut shrimp 🍤.
I never saw a single Panda Express growing up in Michigan, but in Texas, I saw this place for the first time in my life in 2004. I rarely ever had any Chinese food in my life. But my first experience was delightfully delicious. Sadly, they got rid of the Mountain Dew drinks.
I get reminded of the Philippine version, Chowking, in that it's a localized version of Chinese cuisine. Interestingly, when Panda Express launched in the Philippines, it was seen as a more upscale kind of restaurant, rather than simple fast food.
I currently work at one as a student in high school. Every regional manager or higher up person I've met have always been super nice and respectful, and every coworker I have helps each other out and are some of the nicest people I've met. I can definitely say the Panda Family energy exists
#6 is very underrated. Publicly traded companies have the quality of their products go down significantly because you have to answer to shareholders and wall street. This makes you slash costs and cut quality to make your numbers. I don't know why any company would want to go public.
@@ogcr2008 I mean, I get it. The purpose of a business is to make money. It just seems that once you go public you don't have control over your business. Even if you own the company and feel you've made enough money, you're now responsible to make money for shareholders... and you have to keep making money to keep your stock price up. Although if you don't go public, you usually get bought by a company that is.
Meal delivery like DoorDash, UberEats, etc. has RUINED the walk-in dining experience at Panda. The workers always looked stressed trying to fill online orders while a line builds with actual customers in the store. Top that with the hiring challenges here in 2022 and I swear most of the time it's like one or two people tops working the front line.
I agree that the delivery companies have made it harder for PE workers and all places. I do deliveries and see it often. I would remind others though, that these orders are still customers. Many sales wouldn't happen if people had to come in person. As we adapt to this newer way, things should get smoother.
@@bruceh4180 You have a point, which is why I didn't mention it being bad for the company. It's great for our company, we've had the best two years in our history, but the staff is receiving none of those profits while doing more work. Our togo staff gets paid less per hour now than pre-covid, and about 50% of the orders they prepare are GH, Door Dash, and Favor, of which they get none of the tips. It has greatly hurt morale, and created a bit of animosity toward drivers. It's not fair to anyone.
I see this at my local Panda Express. Maybe 4 people working. 1 in kitchen, 1 on register, and 2 people filling orders at the counter. 1 of those counter people usually will ignore you and do 3 online orders, then 1 person waiting in line (that's now out the door), then another 3 online orders... just to keep up with the machine constantly spitting out DoorDash and UberEats orders. I also don't understand people that order that way (especially from a money perspective - you might as well go to an actual takeout Chinese place between the food, paying for Uber, and tipping driver). Overall, this has caused in-store customer service to be far below the standards of pre-COVID and I'm usually left pretty disappointed with quicker and better service given to orders for people that aren't even physically there.
it's their two most underrated entrees... Mushroom Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken (which somehow still stay on the menu). My two all-time faves on Panda Express. But as of now, I have fallen off from eating Panda Express for more favorable sit in chinese food. (not PF Changs but some other ma and pa places)
I had Panda Express for the first time this year... And I have had it like 6 or 7 times since. It is cheap, fast, and good food. I find it to be more affordable than going to McD's or other chain fast-food places at this point and the food quality is way better.
I've never had Panda Express. There's one across the street from where I work but I just never thought to actually go there. Gonna give it a try today because of this video!
@@happygilmore5948 Way better than I expected lol I've basically become a regular there now. That Honey Walnut Shrimp is actually to die for. Dude wasn't lying.
Panda catering is also some of the cheapest, yummiest catering you can do. When I got married, we had it at our wedding reception. Major expense cut at less than $7 a plate (this was 2019) and people had food they actually recognized and liked. In general, Panda feels more like a quality meal than other fast food, too. I feel like I've treated myself if I go grab food there, while still having the advantages of that convenient, casual fast food setup.
@@codycastdo you know how foolish it is to spend a bunch of money on a wedding? Go cheep on the wedding and put that money towards a down payment on a house. She married a person with some basic financial intelligence
@@Seliz463 I had a nice wedding and live in a fat house. If you have to have fast food at your wedding, you’re poor. Nothing wrong with being poor but facts are facts.
My father and I have lunch at the Panda Inn every month, sometimes more. It's easily the best restaurant in town. The food can be a little spendy but the portions they give are pretty big and the quality makes it worth it all. I've never tried the Express but have seen them around. The Inn is less than a mile from where I live and considering our town is fairly small I guess it's really lucky that we have one.
As a kid growing up in the early 80s, I lived close to Glendale, CA, so the Glendale Galleria was where we shopped- I even got my first job there. And the only place I even remember eating there was Panda Express, because that is where we'd have lunch on every trip. I was likely one of their very first customers.
As a customer, I can tell anyone I have NEVER been disappointed with Panda Express! I have always received fresh tasty food, never got sick... cannot say the same thing for a few other places!!
There’s a Panda Express in my area but I don’t go to it often, not because I think they have bad food but the area that they’re located at makes entering and exiting their parking lot too much of a hassle.
Am I the only one who always gets double teriyaki chicken and fried rice for my plate? 😂 I've had the orange chicken and it sucked. It was hard as fuck. So I just stick to the chicken now.
I've never actually been to a panda express. I live in a small college town of about 10k people. We do have a panda express being built here along with a Chipotle. We have a family owned asian restaurant that I go to all the time. I'm perfectly fine with waiting 10m for hand made orange chicken with pork fried rice that I can watch get made in front of me than the fast food alternative.
Panda will actually make the food right in front of you if you catch them when they're refreshing a dish, or if you special order something not in the trays (like their eggplant dish). So it's literally fresh wok cooked and their kitchen/line design is completely open and you can watch them do it.
I used to work for Panda. Like other fast food restaurants, they make you go through a company “school.” Owners will often come in every other week and check on not only the quality of the food, but the restaurants. We were always pushed to ask customers to take a survey. When I started (wok 1) I was making $13 an hour and got a $1 raise. It’s a lot of work keeping the standards but the benefits were worth it. I just couldn’t keep up because of school. If you don’t plan on going to college or are just looking for a job, I would definitely recommend working at Panda.
As an Asian, I've honestly never met another Asian who didn't like Panda Express. We're not under the impression it's copying Chinese food nor does it pretend to be. It's just good food.
As a cook at Panda, I cam agree with most of these statements. I've been there 4 years and I have never met anyone else in the restaurant industry near me who gets near the same benefits as we do. If you have good management in place, it can be a fantastic workplace. That being said, we get paid more because it's a tougher job than most other fast food places. Well worth it tho👍🏽
Their eggplant tofu dish totally changed my perspective on what I was eating Tender eggplant, crispy tofu, doused in a slightly sweet garlic soy based sauce
I've been wanting that dish for years but no place in metro Atlanta carries it In fact they don't even carry the Mixed vegetable entree that they used to have I have to ask for super greens as an entree and that always confuses the people working there
What's really strange is, they closed the Panda Express in the mall that I grew up going to. They all seem to vanish from places that I traveled around the East Coast. But then all of a sudden I found one in Tennessee, and now I've gotten to have that orange chicken that I've missed for so many years. I had assumed that this was going to be a video about their decline, but quite the opposite. Very interesting, nice work!
There are Panda Express here in Seattle area but I never tried it for some reason until I was just on a drive to Boise Idaho and it was raining hard and dark out and I had to stop for a break so I ended up in the town of Le Grand Oregon and there was nothing open at 8pm so I went to the Grocery store I think maybe a Safeway? And there was a Panda Express there and I tried it out and found it was really good, amazingly cheap and very fast. I will keep them in mind next road trip for sure. Smart idea that they have a Panda Express inside of a supermarket.
Their prices have stayed near-steady for the past decade. I have always been able to enter with a $20 bill and have more than enough combo meal food for three people. No other fast food restaurant can say the same.
@@TastySnackies Idk where you live, but all 3 regions I know of have increased their prices. Plate went from $7.90 in December 2021 to $9.00 currently.
@@Hellcat-to3yh gotta keep up with labor demand, shortage of food supply and inflation no? other brands can raise prices but restaurants can’t? Gas is at 5$ a gallon even 6 so I think they have the right to raise their prices too? you do know that they competitively? how are they gonna make money if everything else is hiking up prices but them? 😂
Panda Express opened a branch here in Saudi Arabia; however, the prices are outrageous and it was transformed into some kind of a casual dining setting. This killed the "express" vibes of panda express, and the one we have over here does not even taste similar to the original American branches!
We had a panda express in my college food court, most of my meal plan was spend on orange chicken. I really hope we get one nearby me in the future, I'll be a regular customer
If you say so. Very limited menu that sells American Chinese food. The McDonalds of asian food. They are successful too but there is no accounting for taste.
One factor that wasn’t discuss was the fact that Panda Express has drive-thru options (I guess this could fall under flexibility). There are very few Asian inspired restaurants with that option, so it serves as a huge advantage for people who want that cuisine and want the convenience of not leaving their cars.
I frequent various Chinese restaurants, and while moo goo gai pan is one of the most common things out there, Panda Express' take on Mushroom Chicken is actually really good. I also buy their kung pao sauce for home cooking, as despite kung pao chicken also being a 'classic' of Chinese American food their sauce is great. I'd argue it's better than P.F. Chang's alternative. Despite the 'credibility' and authenticity of traditional Chinese restaurants, Panda Express' food is pretty good. While other comments have pointed out that their food might not be seen as 'Chinese' among other Chinese communities, they deserve kudos for doing quite well and making decent food. I've had chow mein noodles with the texture of sandpaper. There are certain lows that the "Taco Bell of Chinese food" has yet to reach
Not that long ago we were down in Las Vegas and not wanting to spend $15-20 for lunch and often disappointed at that, we stumbled upon a Panda Express at a food court. We enjoyed their fare as much as any we sampled and emptied our wallets on in Vegas...including PF Chang.. cheers from 🇨🇦.
I used to say Panda Express was my "guilty pleasure" back when I was getting my degree, as I had one both by my apartment and at my college campus and ate there when I was driving home by myself. Now as a 30+ adult I proudly eat Panda Express. Unlike other fast food restaurants I eat there when I want it, not because its convenient, but because it taste good. Plus its the only fast food joint where I can get vegetables so I feel like I'm making a better choice than a lot of other fast food joints.
I work for a panda express and this is spot on the one competition aspect of it is usually what them so busy I've worked at locations where the surrounding restaurants are empty but our store is packed full of people definitely a great video and well researched.
I remember their Orange Chicken from one of their independant stores 20 years ago and it was consistantly good among various locations vs other chains(nvr cared for PF Chang's) where it was a hit or miss situation. I've lived in both major Chinatown cities in the US and "consistantly good" trumps "occaisonally great or potentially bad" anyday. Especially when lunch hour is off the clock and half an hour(traffic) see: LA Americans travel and occaisionally work so time is a commodity just as Ray Croc simply explained it decades ago.
If only America had been built on the promise of vertical expansion versus its currently horizontal landscape then maybe, traffic wouldn't be such an issue.
@@badlaamaurukehu There are other countries that don't experience these types of issues like traffic jams and lack of public transport due to their infrastructure. Of course it's about logistics.
I work at Panda and as our ACO said during one of our meetings, “Panda never claimed to be an authentic Chinese restaurant. We are an American, Chinese inspired restaurant.”
As a Chinese Canadian, we tend to make this analogy: "Calling Panda Express 'authentic Chinese food' is like calling Taco Bell 'authentic Mexican food.'"
@@smbcollector bad
@@smbcollector It's easy to say when it's not your country's food. When I lived overseas in Asia, there was no shortage of North Americans cringing at the Asian "non-authentic" version of American and European food, and ranting about how "wrong" it was. I was like... Welcome to my world, bud. lol
It’s funny because Panda is more authentic than most restaurants in the U.S. claiming to be authentic. They got the ideas for their dishes from the culture and it was made by a Chinese person so…
@@XrayTheMyth23 Debatable. Not because you're wrong (you could be right) but because there's no one type of Chinese food. Just too big of a country.
The fact that the Chinese equivalent of Taco Bell is successful enough to expand to Japan and South Korea of all places is very impressive.
The main difference is that Panda Express is founded by Taiwanese Americans. In no way am I saying Panda Express is authentic. Far from it. But it allows them to create a menu that blends Chinese techniques into American foods.
How is panda the taco bell of chinese food. Isnt it just slightly different seasonings.
@@cousinparty7266 Is Taiwan part of China?
@@NecroBanana I have no idea why you asked this question...
@@TomCareyUK like what
My uncle used to be a cook for Panda Express for many years and well past his retirement age, somehow he crossed paths with the owner at some point late in his career and realized they were childhood friends. When the owner realized he had worked so many years for the company and was still working because his home wasn't paid off yet the owner instantly retired him with a nice pension and paid off the rest of his mortgage. Definitely a company that cares for their people!
Sounds like nepotism 😂😂
answer to the question "Why are they so successful?" = they pay most of their workers a less than a living wage
That's an awesome story
@@alexmarvin3093you sound like a tool
That's ridiculous @@alexmarvin3093
There’s only one Panda Express anywhere near my city. I wouldn’t have thought they were that big. The vast majority of Chinese and Asian restaurants are locally owned.
Majority of the “Chinese” restaurants in my area are also locally owned. It doesn’t make them any more authentic as they tend to offer the exact same stuff as Panda at twice the price. Their menus also tend to cover more of a pan-Asian assortment rather than just Chinese. A Korean cooking Thai, Japanese or Vietnamese food in a restaurant claiming to be Chinese. lol
@ThotSlayer69 Same, and people like my mom eat that stuff up when really it’s not the best quality.
@ThotSlayer69 based username
Exactly
I have a place nearby named Beijing and it’s really good
I’ve worked for Panda Express years back and it was the best. Most of their food is prepped from fresh vegetables, sauces are made in store and meats are panned out daily. They always pay more than other restaurants and they definitely care for employees. We had outings fully paid for, bonuses, free food, lower healthcare and the list continues. They also promote quick if you put the effort. I would’ve stayed if it wasn’t for the fact my passion was with HVAC…
It's nice to hear that they haven't gone to mostly food service and make some semblance to try and treat their employees better than most places of that type. I avoid chains, franchises and even many independent restaurants because of that. Out of the scores of Asian restaurants near me, there are only a couple that still make their own chicken stock instead of using chicken base, they also take care in there menu items. What's much worse is going into a medium to high end restaurant where you drop $60 dollars or more per plate and immediately discern they are taking short cuts. You can always tell right away with the taste of the soups and sauces.
HVAC lol, that's another world altogether, lots of learning in many aspects. My son does HVAC for industrial plants and complexes. I have another relative that's in charge of HVAC for a major city sports arena, they do pro basketball and hockey besides the other events. Anyway, good for you, good luck, and stay safe.
sounds like you were 1 in 100 employees that were treated with a little dignity. good for you. i see no reason why this comment deserves 200+ thumbs ups when you are pushing panda propaganda.
I used to work as a assistant manager for a top performing location in Texas. I can attest everything that was said in this video. Everything was pretty spot on. They do care about their workers as the front of house staff get bonuses based on performance. Which many fast food restaurants don't give FOH staff anything. I mean there are tons of things I can say but this video pretty much sums it up. I'd recommend panda Express to anybody working in the fast food industry. If I ever went back to working in that industry I would go back to panda 10 times out of 10.
it's because the owner is Taiwanese and this is how Taiwanese run their businesses - treating employees like family. Taiwan is just about one of the only places real Chinese culture remains so it's kinda rare now days.
I'm an Assistant Manager currently. They just got rid of bonuses permanately for anyone under management level.
@@Not-very-cash-money-of-you they did but the raises we got are amazing. My last bonus was in January and that was 350$ after that we got a 2 dollar raise and I was making an extra 140 on every paycheck so I could care less about the raise my store recently got another 2 dollar raise so since we lost bonuses my wage went from 15/hr to 19/hr as cook and I love this job.
I hope they expand to Australia one day, and like McDonalds [and sadly unlike our local Taco bells] bring the tight regulation with them. After living as an expat in both England and California, I can definitively say we aussies have easily the worst chinese takeaway on the planet. Its horrendously overpriced, most places serve nothing but super high margin rice or noodle bowls, and the places that do classic American-Chinese: the food taste like it was under seasoned and sitting in a fridge for over a week.
@@Not-very-cash-money-of-you they are starting cooks at $19 an hour in Phoenix - you can't make that working two jobs here cause this state pays shite
I'm Currently Working At panda express and it's honestly crazy how much they care they started me off 3 dollars above Minimum wage and I've received two raises and a promotion and I've only been with the company 9 months They truly Make me feel loved
I am amazed to heat that
Most retail places I worked started $3 and more above minimum wage. Granted the last time I worked retail was 2006 so things may have changed.
15 dollars an hour ain't that much more than others, I cross trained and make 15.50 but I'm from Chicago so it might be dif to you, but the Walmart across from me starts at 17 in the deli
Yeah they look out a lot I love them
Pays is great
As a native born Chinese, my American friends often ask me if I like Panda Express. My answer is always yes. Sure, it's not "authentic" and remotely resembles the food we eat back home, but its delicious in its own right. To me personally, it's not just Chinese food, but American Chinese food, and I say this out of the respect to the Chinese American culture. As much as I like the food we eat back home, I appreciate teriyaki chicken for its deliciousness.
Im chinese but born and raised in another asian country. I must say the food they serve is still very much considered chinese food. The basic elements are there. It might have an american element like in certain ingredients but it still is ok. I bet if this same food is served in a usual chinese resto, no one would complain. My fave in Panda is the hot sour soup! Super cheap but so good! I'll have 2
This is what "cultural appropriation" is supposed to be. Just cultures sharing and riffing on each other's best notes and coming up with new things together, in a spirit of mutual respect and celebration. I wish attitudes like this were more common.
@@Ruiluth but i think there is no cultural appropriation that happened bec the owners of Panda Express are chinese and the food is still chinese. They own a chinese restaurant and panda express is their mainstream "food on the go" type of restaurant. Only food snobs will say it is fake chinese, but it really is still chinese food. Any chinese from China will have no problem with the food.
I work for a taiwanese company and we feed Chinese and taiwanese in a foreign country supervised by two Chinese supervisors depending on which canteen you choose. got the same food though the one from northern china is more like general tso like flavor...heavily fermented soy sauce like dishes. We got sweet sour fish or pork Kung Pao chicken. Fried rice. Spring rolls. Hot sour soup, egg drop soup. Etc etc. Pretty much the same at panda express. And you actually can find general tso flavor chicken in taipei. There are too many regional variations if you visited china and some dishes, northern Chinese would say...'this ain't authentic!" Vice versa. Chinese food isnt homogenous. Soy sauce is a northern traditional condiment and soy beans and wheat used to make soy sauce do not grow in southern china.
true, I'm Indonesian Chinese, and while all my ethnically Chinese and Asian friends don't like it, I myself like it. Of course there are other better Americanized Chinese food out there.
I’m a shift lead at panda, I was going thru rough time, but trying to promote to assistant manager. My ACO (my bosses boss) decided to put my mental health first so instead of just throwing in into training which is hard work he told me I needed to improve myself first and learn to love myself. It’s amazing how the big bosses are trained to put the employees first more than anything
Facts. My manager use to chase me down because I refused to take my breaks. He always put his staffs first and make sure they don't over work themselves.
That’s crazy, I started part time like I requested. After 2 weeks I’m working 40+hours a week
@@andrewyco4507 yes they we'll over worked ya ,
I'm a cook at panda and my boss took more time training me and being patient so I don't overstress myself so I can be better. Love my boss and has been a big help in my life, sure sometimes there's things I don't like but overall has been amazing.
I'm surprised and happy you had a good experience. I worked for 6 months getting paid 14 an hour, 1 more dollar than the McDonald's across the street. From my experience, working at panda express is horrible. The managers at my place didn't give a shit about our mental health. They also put way too much stress on us teen workers for 1 dollar more than Mcdonald's. Usually, at every other fast-food place, they have two windows, one for paying and one for pickup. I'm not completely sure, but I think normal fast food places have either 2 or three people working the drive-thru, one taking the order through the headset, one at the payment window, and one at the window where you pick up food. Well at panda express, there's one window and they make one person take the order through the headset while talking to the customers at the window, WHILE PUTTING EVERYTHING IN THE BAG. Sometimes when the runners are on break, the poor drive-thru worker has to make the food as well. You also get yelled at for basically anything. They have stupid ass rules to save money like one single napkin for one order like a bowl or plate and you get scolded if you give more... Then you also get yelled at if you give them more than 7 pieces of honey walnut shrimp per order, which is stupid cause you're already paying an extra 1.25 per order. Anyways, the work environment is horrible, besides the 10-minute meal break, you're basically working nonstop for barely any money. Anyways, I switched to being a waiter at a sushi restaurant, and you make double the amount, and it's less stressful. I would advise anyone to work as a server and not at fast food if they're looking for a job. You get paid more and its less stressful
Worked there in high-school. Genuinely one of the nicest places I've ever worked. They really care about their employees and take the term "part of the panda family" very serious.
It’s almost as if treating your employees well and being loyal to them is better for your business. What a novel, revolutionary, (and sadly) foreign concept in today’s world, among large corporations. I salute Panda Express. And the food really is great.
It's not that simple. Panda Express and Chick fil A naturally attract and vet the top fast food talent for a variety of reasons. Would you want to work at Burger King? Exactly. Burger King (and others) are analogously trying to deal with their reality of trying to "date" employees, being a broke single mom with four kids. They have to take what they can get.
Eh, their orange chicken has poor quality control so I won't eat there any more. I got tired of hurting my teeth with random hard pieces in their chicken
@@TheScrubmuffin69the panda express in your town must have a trash manager or you straight up lyin’
Look up Grenda Buslines. Australian family owned company whose CEO looked after his employees.
@@BossItUp911 I mean your message holds no sense. What you stated are causal relationships that comes from those companies' politics.
"Top talent" isn't really a thing, it's fast food, not nuclear science, if anything the broke mom has more talent because she's dealing with more clients and has to be way more effective.
I used to work with Peggy back in the early 80s at a small electronics company in Altadena where she was a software engineer. She left one day to start a restaurant in Pasadena. The rest is history.
that's a really big flex
🧢 cap or 📠 fax.
She’s a billionaire now 🫠
@@saulenrique1460 He should have hit on her.
You should give her a call to chat.
I honestly also feel that the way they treat us as employees makes one heck of a difference. For example, when all of my managers are extremely flexible when it comes to working with my school schedule. On top of that, I also had the opportunity to earn their Panda Scholarship program which helped alot with school. On top of that, they just recently increased my pay as a cook which all and all makes me feel appreciated and I genuinely like working with my coworkers.
PS yes if you want to gather such as being a chief assistant or managers and above we have little small book clubs and management courses were you get to talk to other leaders and share how you feel about your situation. You literally feel like they do want you to grow as a person and not just “another manager” . Another note to value is the way they personally know you. My area managers and region managers literally always say hi to me and ask how I am, well not just me but as a cook and other people I work with they speak to all of us not just the managers. Not like others.
That's fantastic. Makes me want to support the company more
Sounds like you have a pretty good gig as a P.R. flak
Cool to hear about that!
@@MegaZeta 🌚
No billionaire on this Earth exists without the exploitation of labor and even human rights violations. Talk about unionizing your workplace and see what happens =).
The lack of competition is the key factor for me. When we want Chinese(-ish) food, the choice is either a proper restaurant (slower and more expensive but you get leftovers) or Panda.
There's always the old dirty Chinese takeout place though! Every community has one and those are usually the best. Don't taste the same without the health code violations. lol!
Chinese takeout aren't fancy proper restaurants
Panda is pretty good for leftover-ability, too. They know what their strengths are and they play to them excellently.
@@Brambrew Yup I always have leftovers and I always feel full when compared to fast food you get your money's worth
Proper restaurants are slower and more expensive? Have you ever heard of dim sum?
I just discovered Panda Express. This last July 4th, my wife and I wanted to eat Chinese, but I found that both restaurants where we usually go for take out were closed. The only restaurant I came across was Panda Express. I bought the food there expecting a lower experience than what we usually get from the restaurants we have patronized for the last 30 years. Both my wife and I were pleasantly surprised at the quality and the price of the food. We now have a new favorite go-to Chinese-American restaurant.
The fact that Orange Chicken has been a standard on Chinese restaurants all over the USA illustrates the amazing influencing of Panda. I think it is a variation of Lemon Chicken, which also has a sweet thick fruit-flavored sauce.
Cherng has mentioned that Orange Chicken is a a mild variant of General Tso's Chicken. That latter dish was mostly cooked by Taiwanese that moved to the US.
Lemon Chicken is very popular at Chinese restaurants in Australia (it's my go-to)
@@TimmyTickle - Mine too. It's my acid test for judging Chinese restaurants, because it is very easy to ruin, but delicious when made right and served hot.
Cause it's just so good
Orange chicken is kinda standard on menus in some Chinese restaurants in Taiwan. Or any sweet sour flavor type food.
I currently work there as a cook, and I’d say the job is pretty good. I am getting paid more than other fast food jobs. All the veggies are freshly cut and the meat is real meat. So far in my area, my location and another keep bumping into first and second place of being the most busiest Panda Express
So, the ingredients are not like Taco Bell, where the beans are dehydrated then rehydrated? 🤔☺️
@@Benni777 nope. They’re just frozen (obviously to last long enough) but we thaw them out and keep the in fridge until it’s time to cook
@@saulenrique1460 so the vegetables that you can see in the refrigerators are pre-cut, frozen, and shipped to the restaurant? I always assumed they just cut them at the restaurant. Regardless, they seem like quality ingredients.
@@JM1993951 no the veggies come in fresh and whole. We cut all them
@@JM1993951 the meat is what is precut and frozen and marinated and battered
I dated someone that works at panda and pushed them to work their way up the chain.
From crew to running her own restaurant as a manager.
It’s true they do invest into their employees and help them succeed not just in the job with panda but in their personal life’s.
They have amazing health care and like I’ve said before invest into their staff.
401k, school, retirement.
I had the liberty to meet Andrew and he is a genuine humble person that cares about their stores, staff and customer care.
Fun fact: Former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime worked for Panda Express in the 90s and piloted their first stores outside of malls. Reggie worked directly with Andrew and Peggy to test out the concept before their IPO, but the founders decided not to branch out at the last minute despite initial success. Reggie left shortly after for his next job, and eventually they did open those standalone stores to great success. This is all documented in his new book.
I just remembered I bought his book and forgot to read it.
Reggienator!!!
I'm an American living in Japan. I've been here for 6 years now. I was talking to one of my friends living in Arizona a few months ago reminiscing about stuff I miss from the states, and Panda Express being one of the big topics we talked about. A month or 2 ago, I went with my wife and friend to the outlet mall somewhat near Tokyo and I freaked out when I saw Panda Express there. I immediately went in and ordered a 3 entrée plate. Orange chicken, Kung Pao chicken, and Shanghai Angus steak with chow mein on the side. Oh man, I almost started crying with how good and nostalgic it was.
As Chinese I called these dishes meat candy. Lol but I do want fake Chinese food from time to time.
Way to admit you’ve never had traditional Chinese cuisene
This is fantastic. Greetings from Arizona. I'm going to get Panda tonight in your honor. 😁
@@chinaloe14 Meat candy...roooooofl...that's actually really accurate. lol
Wtf
Been eating at Panda Express often over the past many years. They've never disappointed me and always left a great impression.
This is sad to read. Their food is such low quality trash so it always baffles me that people actually enjoy it
@@cruisinguy6024 yea it’s so ass😂
@@cruisinguy6024 i ok not eat it when I’m starving for Chinese food cause my town doesn’t have much
@@cruisinguy6024 Well, foods with a good amount of sugar and fat are gonna be liked by the public.
Do you not have tastebuds? All their food is bland and flavorless.
Something I love about Panda is it's pretty much always ready. I don't need to wait for them to make my order. I can go up and get a lot of food in less than 5 minutes. There's not as many cumbersome questions with the server ("what was that?? ") as Chipotle or Subway. Simple menu, food is right in front of you for you to see, it's substancial, it's tasty.
I hope the Cherng's see some of the testimonials in comments below, from customers but especially from employees. Apparently it is actually possible to become fabulously rich while remaining a human being. They should be proud of what they've built.
I love working for Panda Express. It's the only food industry where my boss treats me like a human being and genuinely wants me to progress in my job. Sure, i may have some stressful days, but the people i work with are worth it
I don’t care if it’s americanized Chinese food, there’s no denying that Panda Express is delicious. And by the way, the fact that their orange chicken was invented by a chef working for them in 1987 is the most interesting fact
Hopefully they gave them some stock in the company!
most chinese food in this country (USA) is americanized. Not just Panda.
For sure it's really good 😄 Love Panda E
@@Kylefassbinderful I’m aware.
@@Kylefassbinderful I call it Chinese-American food, since quite a lot of it was made by Chinese-Americans.
The USA isn't alone in Chinese food being given a local flavor. The "father of Chinese cooking" in Japan, Chef Kenmin, also tailored his recipes to the local palate. It's how new cuisines and foods get created.
That being said it's fun to go to a place that serves the more authentic stuff alongside the Americanized fare. I've been to quite a lot of places that do both which is nice depending on how I'm feeling at the moment.
One advantage they’ve had for years over other “fast food” type places, is the ability to have a low carb option. Being able to get a small box of chicken or steak or some other protein has been why it’s my go to choice. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that a lot of other restaurants became aware of things like keto or low carb, meanwhile Panda has been offering choices like that for at least 20 years.
I love to get super greens instead of rice, the steamed broccoli, spinach, kale and other stuff pair with broccoli beef and mushroom chicken is so good and healthy AF. Maybe high on the sodium side so I allow myself this once a week but what a treat.
Bowl with half rice half greens and steak is great stuff
Another great thing about Panda Express is that their owners are really down to earth and very nice people. I used to work a job where I did many corporate parties, weddings and any high end social gathering events and had a chance to meet them. Had a chance to go to their home and they all literally drive Toyotas. Nothing fancy and just look and act like everyday people.
Surprisingly enough Panda express tends to be quite innovative with their menu. They added beyond meat variants of a lot of their offerings over the last couple years which have been very popular with younger demographics
Much healthier too
They only added the beyond meat orange chicken to a few locations. Doubt they will expand
Also in sell the wrap version of the plates as well as entering the chicken sandwich war
Doesn’t that stuff increase estrogen levels?
@@jokerpilled2535 Unless you’re taking estrogen pills in it, no. Soy ≠ Estrogen. Cow’s milk might though since it contains Estrogen.
Panda express is basically amricanized Chinese food. But that doesn't mean it's bad.
I’ve gotta disagree. it’s not bad as in it tastes awful, but it is bad.
I like panda express BUT every time I order, no matter what the dish is, that dish tastes like sugar. if it’s a glazed dish, it’s (obviously) going to be very sweet. if it’s a basic noodle dish, it still tastes a little sweet. I know traditional chinese noodles are supposed to be savory… not sweet.
panda express isn’t “good”, it’s just different. it’s fast food….
@@claireconoveryeah… everything tastes sugary… what panda express are you going to..?
@@user38373_ Saying every dish tastes like sugar is a bit of an exaggeration, but I agree some of the dishes are overly sweet. For instance, the Sweetfire Chicken, Sweet, and Sour Chicken, Orange Chicken, Teriyaki sauce and Beijing beef have 15-27 grams of sugar per serving.
@@Ryan-wr8fx yeah
Depends on who you are. If you're not Chinese, it tastes okay. But for us Chinese folks, it's not very impressive or appealing. Partly due to its lack of authenticity.
Been working at Panda Express for a year and a half. They definitely pay a lot more than the average fast food restaurant in my town and take care of their employees too with some minor exceptions. In my town, the average fast food restaurant pays about 10/hr but I’m making 18/hr with a promotion under me. The starting for the front is 15 and the kitchen is 16 so already that’s a good start. Our manager is a really chill guy that’s super easy to talk to and has great communication skills. Panda gives me as a student good flexibility with my hours and works with my schedule and since I might transfer soon for school, I might transfer restaurants as well since I heard the process is easy, I got better job security, and the pay is just better overall. Since we’re always busy, it’s not an easy job but it’s one where young hard working people can make it in this world
Panda is oddly better than half the traditional restaurants around me. My only real pet peeve is that there's no deals on the app/websites compared to other fast food joints. The best you'll get is that very small box of entrée if you do the survey on your receipt
Uhhh, maybe because the whole menu is a deal? American's are so dumb with that. There are literally studies that shows Americans are happier buying deals at a higher price, than just shop for lower prices for the same product.
@Safwaan thank you, I get tired of people thinking their superior just because we’re “American”, we’re all humans, being American or anything else doesn’t mean much
@Safwaan I wonder why it's always Americans? I never see people talk down to Canadians or Russians or anyone from any other country and it's almost always Americans.
@@chump8035 there’s a definition for that & it’s called marketing, not American
@@PeterGriffin11 because in other countries, the kids learn core subjects in school. In the usa they waste a lot of time doing active shooter drills or having actual active shooters murdering kids.
When it comes to Panda Express's authenticity in terms of its relation to Chinese Cuisine, I think I'd most definitely side with its authenticity, and I think such a view adds a lot to the enjoyment of the food! Though I completely understand the viewpoint at 6:12 about not wanting to participate in the somewhat contentious issue of whether it is authentic.
I recall a really good argument one of my professor's of Chinese culture and history made during my undergraduate studies, in which he said that the question of authenticity too often has become an elitist term meant to exclude anything that doesn't conform to pure traditionalist guidelines. Chinese food today is VERY different then it was a century ago, and when looking at China as a whole, a uniform idea about what its cuisine is, and what counts as "authentic", has only developed in modern times with the current socio-political nature of China's culture. Many different types of foods with different flavors, spices, and cooking methods exist all across China's very diverse regions, and historically many of these wouldn't have been considered Chinese enough to be authentic, but in our modern interpretation of these foods (and especially amongst the Chinese community), a lot of these diverse, non-traditional foods have become part of the Chinese Cuisine Canon.
I think Taiwan is a good example of this, in that post-revolution in China a lot of people from many different parts of China moved there, and brought with them many different types of food from all across China's regions. These different recipes and styles influenced each other, creating a synthesis that we today would never consider to be "un-authentic". So when it comes to Panda Express, a Chinese fast food restaurant founded by Chinese-Americans who took diverse, multi-regional, traditional recipes and simply synthesized them with American and western flavors, I don't think that in anyway disqualifies it from being authentic. Fusion between different cultures is a cornerstone of any culture's foods, and I think a purist would be hard pressed to try and deny that.
As someone of Chinese/Taiwanese descent, a lot of people in the community don't (though some hardcore purists continue to) see Panda Express or similar "Americanized" foods as less authentic. It tastes good, and you shouldn't buy into views by cultural elitists that such food is not worth your time just because it has been influenced by another culture. Enjoy what you eat, and great video as always Company Man!
Their food doesn’t taste good.
come on, panda express is as authentic as taco bell is to mexican food. It's a bastardized version of generic chinese food. Their success comes from making it cheap and accessible to the people not familiar with chinese food.
Grad student I worked w/ in early 2000s always brought in "authentic" chinese food that he would prepare for lunch. Often these lunches were either stir-fried heart ($.25 a pound from the butcher) or tripe. IMO they were pretty good (never minded offal myself, kidney is an underrated foodstuff). That being said all I don't see people who clamor dismiss food as not authentic food ordering this.
With varying nuances, but I see this come up constantly with other forms of cuisine that also exist in the US, notably the Italian and Mexican cuisines. Being Mexican in Mexico I know a lot that complain loudly about amerianization of "authentic" food, but it seems so shallow. Like, within Mexico, depending on where you order a quesadilla you will get a very different dish, in one places it will be a puffy, wheat flour and lard tortilla with a specific kind of cheese and a side of guac or beans, or a huge corn tortilla with fillings (cheese optional) or some corn masa based turnover with a different kind of cheese inside deep fried and then covered in salsa. All of them are valid, all are authentic, just a variation based on local tastes and availability of ingredients. It's the exact same thing with americanized Mexican food, and even Tex-Mex food.
Get off the high horse and enjoy it ffs.
Many Chinese food recipes we love here in the states comes from Asian immigrants who updated their recipes with items they could find here because the normal ingredients they’d use weren’t available. In a way one could argue that many Asian dishes are authentic in a way.
Born and raised in China, I know for sure Panda isn't authentic Chinese. But I still crave for Panda every now and then. The orange chicken, the walnut shrimp, the slightly smoky kongpao chicken... it's such a well designed menu and such a consistent outcome every single time. It may not be authentic Chinese, but surely is an iconic California cuisine.
I like clouds
LETS GOOOOOOO AAAANDY!!!!
Clouds do go hard
I feel like panda express does something different that sets them apart from the competition. When you think fast food you probably think of burger places which it mostly is. Panda Express is different in the sense that they offer a different kind of food from another country. There aren't any other fast food restaurants that offer Chinese food. And it's not just what they offer that makes them different it's also how they layout their stores. You walk in and instead of ordering to a cashier you walk next to the food and you tell them what you want and it's similar to a buffet. No other restaurant does that. You can also see all of the veggies in the fridge and you can watch the cooks make the food in a wok. Panda Express just feels different from other places.
Chipotle has a similar model of ordering and kitchen in view?
@@RickShi yes but they don’t make Chinese inspired food. Which is the appeal. It’s fast Chinese food. Which is the main reason I don’t go get Chinese all the time. Or at least I didn’t until I moved 3 miles away from a Panda Express
And they put sugar on everything 😂 accept the rice and vegetables
I've eaten at PE only a handful of times and never really thought about it until I saw all the testimonials from current and former employees about how the company cares for their employees. I will definitely make a point to eat there when I see one.
I never realized they started in California nor that their first store was in the Glendale Galleria, a mall I grew up going to.
I live in Vegas and we got the first In-N-Out outside of California. The more ya know man.
I used to work at the Macy's in that mall and went to that Panda twice a week!
@@lpnp9477 use to be called THE BROADWAY. Miss a lot of the mom & pop businesses that are gone? This mall is getting hollow & is constantly being taken over by shoppers parking & going to THE AMERICANA? GETTING HOLLOW AS WELL? Need a couple bookstores?
I'd say two other significant factors: speed/ease of ordering and cost relative to portions. You can get in and out of a PE in 5 minutes flat, critical if you have a tight lunch "hour"/are on a schedule. The menu is straightforward, you can see everything available in front of you and ordering takes two seconds. With portions, every so often you get a stingy PE, but for the most part, they give you an ass-ton of food--really fill the Styrofoam container. It's psychological--you feel you're getting a lot of what you paid for, and depending on your appetite, you can have enough for leftovers. And then, the food is quality, relatively speaking--no suspicious chicken, especially if you stick to the white meat options. It's hyper-Americanized Chinese food, but it's decently-made, fast, the restaurants are clean, and it's not too expensive. My faves are the honey sesame chicken and sweetfire chicken--they're basically sauced fried popcorn chicken + veggies--and the peppers/pineapple/greenbeans are always generous/numerous and fresh!
Yeah, they have the Taco Bell approach: buy the worst-grade food you can feed a human and give that human a ton of it at once
All of the other take-out Chinese places in my area give a lot more food than Panda Express does (most other places fill each compartment, then add some more of the entrée items on top so that they are overflowing - Panda Express has NEVER done that around here). Most charge less and some even have significantly better food. Panda Express is by no means the worst option in my area, but it is also a far cry from the best option.
@@daltigoth3970 Hmmm they're not stingy with portions in Los Angeles, in my experience. Honestly, it's not a great market for quality Chinese takeout where I am (which is not in San Gabriel Valley!)... everything is overpriced with meh quality at most places (no better than Panda, often). When I'm out & about, Panda's easiest and cheapest for a single meal experience. ymmv!
I love their drive thru, since I know if there's a few cars i'm guaranteed to get to work on time (at 10 min). Sometimes if the line is full you can get out in 10 min but there's a ways that car that takes their sweet time ordering like 6 plates, and has questions
@@ChantelCarter-cc7cu I mean, I do live very close to the OG Panda and would not be at all shocked if a lot of the LA ones are quality-controlled by the founders.
I’m a shift lead at Panda Express. I recently got promoted and the thing is my ACO saw potential in me when I didn’t, so did my General Manager. It’s not just about working but what you can do to improve on your work ethics and your life outside of work.
Great stuff homie
That’s not something you hear too often. Usually it’s egotistical suck-ups getting promoted. Not at Panda, just in general.
Did you have to suck their peckers?
Bro your timing is always uncanny. I am going to have a interview to work at a Panda Express tomorrow. Thanks for the vid!
Good luck my guy!
How’d it go?
I live about 2 blocks from the Panda Headquarter shown in the video. As big as they are they don't muscle themselves over the competitors.
My family owned a Chinese restaurant similar to Panda for over 20 years, which we closed down in 2018 after my dad passed away. So with easy access to any Chinese food and being able to make any of their items myself, I visit Panda maybe once a year or two picking up dinner for the family so can relax from a long day of work without doing any cooking.
The walnut shrimp is good. Like their Beijing Beef.
wouldt u get money back by selling ur late fathers business rather then shutting it down
i've never seen panda express or any chinese restaurant closed in my neighborhood or anywhere in my city
I worked at Panda Express as kitchen help/Cook and they honestly care so much about how you are as a human. They push you forward to limits you didn’t know you were capable of. Such a good business to work for.
I'm glad to hear they treat their employees good, the restaurant industry can be absolutely horrible to their workers. Panda express used to be one of my favorite restaurants as a kid.
I work at pandas currently and instead of firing you they remove almost all your hours, we lose our bonuses for small reasons, or it gets spent back to the store, everyone hates working there from my store. the managers lie about their store to make themselves look better than they actually are, really hard just to call off work when needed or using your sick hours. constantly bugging managers just to get anything done. many managers and stores refuse to replace ANYTHING just to get a higher bonus for themselves. Many stores take advantage of minors and make them work full time and getting mad at them for calling off if they have any school event, take advantage of people's willingness to move up and make them do the jobs of others without the higher pay (for a while). managers constantly lie to their employees for self-benefit. you can be slammed, and many managers will leave at 8pm even if it means you leave at 12 am. they are some of the pettiest people I met. they will lie about the companies' policies to get things their way that usually conveniences them and not the store or just lies in general. will intimidate you and take advantage that you don't know the policies. anything that is manager and above is extremely shady and many of our benefits have been taken away ever since Andrew and peggy let their kid take over. What I learned is there are two types of people who work at pandas the first type that sucks up to the managers and let them walk over them while having a smile on their face and the second type that realizes how terrible it is to work there.
Panda express really helped me when I was at my lowest and was able to get a pretty steady income from working as a cook and they provide decent health insurance and dental.
@@ninjatank4139 yes everything yes
@Ninja tank I had an interview with them. Of course, they asked why they should hire me instead of other applicants. I automatically dismiss a company when they ask this. It is a sign that the company demands absolutely loyalty and will mistreat you if otherwise.
Anyway, I proceeded with "what's your turnover rate?" Manager's face turned red. I smirked and walked out.
They are successful because....orange chicken.
I think their multiple size dinner options are genius. Small if you just want one item only. Plate has two items plus rice or noodles. Larger plate has every thing the plate has plus one more item.
As a Chinese-American, I didn't respect Panda Express as "authentic" Chinese food when I was growing up. I now have mad respect for them for introducing Chinese cuisine to so many Americans who would have not discovered it otherwise. Sure, their food is definitely adapted to fit American taste but I can't deny that it *is* pretty tasty.
Also, I didn't know until watching this video that Panda Express basically came from my backyard. I grew up in Pasadena and drove by the original Panda Inn countless times but never made the connection.
I have found this mindset in food to be very prevalent in immigrants here. It is something I think has no ground. Of course these are never authentic but you cannot deny they’re pretty much always good. I am a Mexican-American, and while I know Taco Bueno is not authentic Mexican food, I still like it.
Sincerely, son of a first generation father and immigrant mother
It's authentic Chinese-American food. You aren't authentic Chinese either.
As an abc I feel the same way!
No thanks. I rather eat at small mom and pop Chinese takeout places any day
both of my parents are chinese and are great cooks, the argument about "authenticity" is rarely an issue for me
Anyone else here love Panda Express and Taco Bell but also loves authentic Chinese and Mexican foods as well?
Authentic is far better than fast food.
No, nobody else on the planet except yourself even finds authentic Chinese and Mexican food palatable. Your tastes and preferences are unrivaled.
i love panda express but taco bell ehhh pretty mid but i never go to panda express thinking "im craving authentic Chinese food" i go wanting what PANDA EXPRESS has to offer never affiliating/thinking their food as authentic Chinese food only as PANDA EXPRESS food, and yea I also love authentic food especially authentic Mexican food over taco bell any day.
Yes! - totally different experiences for different cravings
Sooo.... What is the name of that other person in your head anyway ?
Former Panda employee here! Few things I wanted to add:
1) Not only did they begin using a POS system before many other chains, but Peggy Cherng was critical in the CREATION of the POS system!
2) They did pay AMAZINGLY well! They gave me a total of 3 raises totaling to a $4 pay increase in just under a year. Not to mention in the 3rd calendar year of a pandemic.
3) Andrew would try his best to visit EVERY store at least once per year. Sometimes, he would come through the drive through and nobody would know it was him until 2-3 days later when his office would email the store. His signature order is a bowl with half brown rice/half super greens & Kung Pao Chicken!
4) HR really takes complaints seriously. If there is any kind of report (in my case, about a hostile work environment created by our GM) they call every single employee and have an intensely thorough conversation and gather as many details as possible. I’ve never worked for a company that cares that much about their employees.
5) They reeeealllly like monopolizing. There came a point where they saw that the company that manufactures their woks was marking up the price significantly higher than wholesale. So…. they bought the company! Same deal with the manufacturer of the fryer system, reach-in coolers, etc. Why pay more per piece when you can buy the whole business??
Panda Express is Americanized Chinese food but that is not an inherently bad thing. It had its own kind of taste which I like.
Some people actually call it "fusion" cuisine?
The pizza most people seek around the world is Americanize Italian food.
@@badlaamaurukehu There is fusion Chinese cuisine, but Panda Express isn't it. Fusion Chinese cuisine is more like "cha chaan teng"s.
Wouldn't say it's americanized. I eat Chinese food everyday at my company serving Chinese and taiwanese workers. Got the same thing: spring rolls, hot sour soup, sweet sour pork, kung pao chicken, etc etc. There's a lot more dishes I can cook that are Chinese but many Chinese actually don't know: because of regional availability.
I never understood the appeal of Panda Express. I can get much more and higher quality Asian food from a local restaurant, oftentimes nearly as fast, for a lot cheaper. Panda is fine but just super overpriced.
Same here. I like it, it's good... but it does seem pricey for what you get. I don't eat FF often,, so I usually just got to WB.
It's fast food. Most working people have a 30min lunch & they try to go with whatever is close
I'm glad I watched this video because I used to have a less positive image of the company, I've never been to panda express and I just assumed they were a subpar fast food restaurant that only exists because of lack of competition, but watching this showed me how great the company is in general, stuff like this is the reason I subscribed to you
dawg first of all
go to panda express you got to
Unus
My favorite items in order:
1) honey walnut shrimp
2) orange chicken
3) teriyaki chicken
4) sesame chicken
Fried rice > noodles > white rice
You should try Panda Express one of these days. My go to order is a plate with chow mien, beef and broccoli, and honey walnut shrimp. My mouth is drooling as I am thinking about it.
My daughter caught that bug while working for them in the early days of the thing. The company was *very* good to her. When she was explaining the policy I had trouble believing it. I would never expect such a progressive stance from a fast food company. Already loved orange chicken. Two snaps up for the Panda!
I remember saying, “It’d be cool if they ever opened up a restaurant outside of the mall.” Years later and now they’re all over by me. 😂
Believe it or not, in all my 25 years I have *never* been to a Panda Express. I've mostly gotten my Asian food fix from local restaurants. But after watching this video...I'm heavily reconsidering. They sound like an amazing company worth supporting (plus I bet their food tastes *soooooo* good.)
Thank you for making this video! You're always so good at putting every essential detail of a business into a concise video that is easy for the everyperson to understand!
Did you get it
Was it good
Hi, I just wanted to add that when I worked at Panda Express between 2009-2013, I personally felt that there was a lot of nepotism, micromanaging, superior complexity, favoritism, and intense rush hours. I loved the company's mission and values, which further inspired me to have a positive mentality while emphasizing the importance of personal growth. There is a lot of training for shift leads, which end up succeeding as managers, but if your heart isn't in customer service, you will tend to dislike working there.
I’ve had a very inconsistent experience with the Panda Express restaurants in my area. I actually really like their food, but the issues I typically experience are:
1) you get dry rice and meat where the food has clearly been sitting out for a long long time
2) you get skimped really hard sometimes when they’re low on something you order so they just don’t fill the box all the way
That combined with orders being about 9-12 dollar range in my area puts them at a higher price point versus other fast food places and also higher than the lunch specials of the local Chinese places.
Occasionally I’ve gone to Panda and had a great experience, but I got burned pretty bad the last couple times so now I mostly do lunch specials at local restaurants. This may be atypical though, I hear Panda is great depending on location. There was one near my old work place I liked quite a bit.
The one near me sounds similar. Very hit or miss. Panda Express as a whole is great, but certain ones are to be avoided.
one in my area always skimped on the extra cost items. if im paying more why give me less? to add further insult that one restaurant would usually not have half the menu available...
Mines always been consistent.
Someone skimmed my credit card and charged it to a Panda clear across the country.... I never liked handing my card to their cashiers.
Yeah. You can goto a real Chinese restaurant for lunch and like you said the food is better and cheaper.
Panda Express is successful???
I like how they stay close to the "source material" by keeping the food relatively simmilar to real Chinese cuisine instead of experimenting too much with the ingredients
Don’t know what that means. There are about as many types of cuisine across China as there are in all of Europe, including heavily Westernized types.
@@MegaZeta You're right. But for me as a foreigner, I feel that, unlike other brands such as Taco Bell, Panda Express managed to retain a feel of originality that doesn't feel like it overly caters to the american public
Honestly, the more I ate Panda Express, the more I realized that their food is just way inferior to local Chinese take-out. It's just more addicting because most of their entrees are overloaded with sugar. But the advantage is that they're usually cheaper, more consistent and hygienic, and way quicker than local take-out. Though if you can find a good local place, it's almost always better and cheaper during lunch hours.
Even John Oliver, a non-Chinese, stated you do not get Chinese food by eating at Panda Express
Service dimensions are different but customer experience is superior in panda express.
@@chiensyang The food at Panda is about as Chinese as you’re gonna get in America unless you live in Cali or NY. Most asian restaurants serve similar Orange Chicken / Peppers and Beef dishes nowadays because its what the customer wants.
@@XrayTheMyth23 you must've not been around enough. There's plenty of authentic Chinese in Washington state where I'm from. I've even been to a lot of authentic Chinese food spots in Texas and Arizona, I'm sure there are plenty others considering how many Chinese immigrants are in America.
Oof Panda Express' food is not good. You're right on about the sweetness. I find it over bearing. And depending where you live you can find far better Chinese take-out than PE.
I haven’t eaten there in a very long time but learning about their history and how they treat their employees, much respect to them.
I’ve always said, why aren’t there other fast food style Asian restaurants? Demand is why Panda is successful, as well as pretty good quality food.
I don’t eat here often but I do really enjoy this chain and I can see why it’s so popular. I first found them when I lived in Texas. My favorite thing is the walnut shrimp 🍤.
I never saw a single Panda Express growing up in Michigan, but in Texas, I saw this place for the first time in my life in 2004. I rarely ever had any Chinese food in my life. But my first experience was delightfully delicious. Sadly, they got rid of the Mountain Dew drinks.
Yea as a kid that was the only time I was allowed to drink soda when going to for dim sum 😂.
I get reminded of the Philippine version, Chowking, in that it's a localized version of Chinese cuisine.
Interestingly, when Panda Express launched in the Philippines, it was seen as a more upscale kind of restaurant, rather than simple fast food.
I currently work at one as a student in high school. Every regional manager or higher up person I've met have always been super nice and respectful, and every coworker I have helps each other out and are some of the nicest people I've met. I can definitely say the Panda Family energy exists
Honey Walnut Shrimp is one of my favorites although I have to scrape the walnuts away. I also love the Beijing beef.
i do the same thing with honey walnut lol
#6 is very underrated. Publicly traded companies have the quality of their products go down significantly because you have to answer to shareholders and wall street. This makes you slash costs and cut quality to make your numbers. I don't know why any company would want to go public.
Simple: greed. They want more money and they want it now, not in 20 years
That is why IN-N-OUT will never go public.
I completely agree with the Public over Private. Corpos have conflicts of interest. Down with Corpos!
@@ogcr2008 $1 now is worth more than $1 in 20 years. Time Value of Money.
@@ogcr2008 I mean, I get it. The purpose of a business is to make money. It just seems that once you go public you don't have control over your business. Even if you own the company and feel you've made enough money, you're now responsible to make money for shareholders... and you have to keep making money to keep your stock price up. Although if you don't go public, you usually get bought by a company that is.
Usually the local Chinese restaurants will blow Panda Express out of the water, but I can see it being ok if you don't have other options.
Meal delivery like DoorDash, UberEats, etc. has RUINED the walk-in dining experience at Panda. The workers always looked stressed trying to fill online orders while a line builds with actual customers in the store. Top that with the hiring challenges here in 2022 and I swear most of the time it's like one or two people tops working the front line.
Sounds to me like they should hire more workers and have them work for less hours during a day. Humans are not meant to work like machines.
I'm in food service and the prevalence of of Door Dash and Grub Hub orders has been detrimental to our customers and our staff.
I agree that the delivery companies have made it harder for PE workers and all places. I do deliveries and see it often.
I would remind others though, that these orders are still customers. Many sales wouldn't happen if people had to come in person.
As we adapt to this newer way, things should get smoother.
@@bruceh4180 You have a point, which is why I didn't mention it being bad for the company. It's great for our company, we've had the best two years in our history, but the staff is receiving none of those profits while doing more work. Our togo staff gets paid less per hour now than pre-covid, and about 50% of the orders they prepare are GH, Door Dash, and Favor, of which they get none of the tips. It has greatly hurt morale, and created a bit of animosity toward drivers. It's not fair to anyone.
I see this at my local Panda Express. Maybe 4 people working. 1 in kitchen, 1 on register, and 2 people filling orders at the counter. 1 of those counter people usually will ignore you and do 3 online orders, then 1 person waiting in line (that's now out the door), then another 3 online orders... just to keep up with the machine constantly spitting out DoorDash and UberEats orders.
I also don't understand people that order that way (especially from a money perspective - you might as well go to an actual takeout Chinese place between the food, paying for Uber, and tipping driver). Overall, this has caused in-store customer service to be far below the standards of pre-COVID and I'm usually left pretty disappointed with quicker and better service given to orders for people that aren't even physically there.
I found a Panda Express in El Salvador. I was jumping with joy when I went in knowing I would be eating some great American Chinese food.
it's their two most underrated entrees... Mushroom Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken (which somehow still stay on the menu). My two all-time faves on Panda Express. But as of now, I have fallen off from eating Panda Express for more favorable sit in chinese food. (not PF Changs but some other ma and pa places)
I had Panda Express for the first time this year... And I have had it like 6 or 7 times since. It is cheap, fast, and good food. I find it to be more affordable than going to McD's or other chain fast-food places at this point and the food quality is way better.
I've never had Panda Express. There's one across the street from where I work but I just never thought to actually go there. Gonna give it a try today because of this video!
The Orange Chicken is amazing, although not exactly health food.
How was it?
@@happygilmore5948 Way better than I expected lol I've basically become a regular there now. That Honey Walnut Shrimp is actually to die for. Dude wasn't lying.
Panda catering is also some of the cheapest, yummiest catering you can do. When I got married, we had it at our wedding reception. Major expense cut at less than $7 a plate (this was 2019) and people had food they actually recognized and liked.
In general, Panda feels more like a quality meal than other fast food, too. I feel like I've treated myself if I go grab food there, while still having the advantages of that convenient, casual fast food setup.
You married a brokie
That’s sounds like an awesome wedding.
@@codycastdo you know how foolish it is to spend a bunch of money on a wedding? Go cheep on the wedding and put that money towards a down payment on a house. She married a person with some basic financial intelligence
@@Seliz463 I had a nice wedding and live in a fat house. If you have to have fast food at your wedding, you’re poor. Nothing wrong with being poor but facts are facts.
@@codycast who gives a hot flying fuck if you both are having fun. Panda is great anyways
My father and I have lunch at the Panda Inn every month, sometimes more. It's easily the best restaurant in town. The food can be a little spendy but the portions they give are pretty big and the quality makes it worth it all. I've never tried the Express but have seen them around. The Inn is less than a mile from where I live and considering our town is fairly small I guess it's really lucky that we have one.
Is it authentic chinese food or is it americanized as well?
@@atomknight8361 more authentic
As a kid growing up in the early 80s, I lived close to Glendale, CA, so the Glendale Galleria was where we shopped- I even got my first job there. And the only place I even remember eating there was Panda Express, because that is where we'd have lunch on every trip. I was likely one of their very first customers.
As a customer, I can tell anyone I have NEVER been disappointed with Panda Express! I have always received fresh tasty food, never got sick... cannot say the same thing for a few other places!!
I’ve been working at panda for over a year so it’s pretty cool learning the lore behind their success. Great video, as always !
There’s a Panda Express in my area but I don’t go to it often, not because I think they have bad food but the area that they’re located at makes entering and exiting their parking lot too much of a hassle.
This sounds like Windy Hill in Atlanta/Marietta. Curious if other locations have similar issues.
I have yet to find a good Panda Express myself too.
We have long lines and terrible wait times here. I avoid picking up any orders at PE as a DoorDash driver.
Am I the only one who always gets double teriyaki chicken and fried rice for my plate? 😂 I've had the orange chicken and it sucked. It was hard as fuck. So I just stick to the chicken now.
I've never actually been to a panda express. I live in a small college town of about 10k people. We do have a panda express being built here along with a Chipotle. We have a family owned asian restaurant that I go to all the time. I'm perfectly fine with waiting 10m for hand made orange chicken with pork fried rice that I can watch get made in front of me than the fast food alternative.
Panda will actually make the food right in front of you if you catch them when they're refreshing a dish, or if you special order something not in the trays (like their eggplant dish). So it's literally fresh wok cooked and their kitchen/line design is completely open and you can watch them do it.
There must be a connection between Panda Express and chipotle. I'm consistently seeing them built right next to each other
I used to work for Panda. Like other fast food restaurants, they make you go through a company “school.” Owners will often come in every other week and check on not only the quality of the food, but the restaurants. We were always pushed to ask customers to take a survey. When I started (wok 1) I was making $13 an hour and got a $1 raise. It’s a lot of work keeping the standards but the benefits were worth it. I just couldn’t keep up because of school. If you don’t plan on going to college or are just looking for a job, I would definitely recommend working at Panda.
As an Asian, I've honestly never met another Asian who didn't like Panda Express. We're not under the impression it's copying Chinese food nor does it pretend to be. It's just good food.
As a cook at Panda, I cam agree with most of these statements. I've been there 4 years and I have never met anyone else in the restaurant industry near me who gets near the same benefits as we do. If you have good management in place, it can be a fantastic workplace. That being said, we get paid more because it's a tougher job than most other fast food places. Well worth it tho👍🏽
I’ve never found their food too tasty but if I’m at the mall, imma eat it every time 💁🏻♀️
Mall Chinese be wayyyy better tho.
Their eggplant tofu dish totally changed my perspective on what I was eating
Tender eggplant, crispy tofu, doused in a slightly sweet garlic soy based sauce
I've been wanting that dish for years but no place in metro Atlanta carries it
In fact they don't even carry the Mixed vegetable entree that they used to have
I have to ask for super greens as an entree and that always confuses the people working there
What's really strange is, they closed the Panda Express in the mall that I grew up going to. They all seem to vanish from places that I traveled around the East Coast. But then all of a sudden I found one in Tennessee, and now I've gotten to have that orange chicken that I've missed for so many years. I had assumed that this was going to be a video about their decline, but quite the opposite. Very interesting, nice work!
That’s because there are few Asians in Tennessee opening Chinese restaurants
@@hotdog7346 this is true, it's hard to find a bad local Chinese restaurant up north. They're all pretty solid.
There are Panda Express here in Seattle area but I never tried it for some reason until I was just on a drive to Boise Idaho and it was raining hard and dark out and I had to stop for a break so I ended up in the town of Le Grand Oregon and there was nothing open at 8pm so I went to the Grocery store I think maybe a Safeway? And there was a Panda Express there and I tried it out and found it was really good, amazingly cheap and very fast. I will keep them in mind next road trip for sure. Smart idea that they have a Panda Express inside of a supermarket.
Their prices have stayed near-steady for the past decade. I have always been able to enter with a $20 bill and have more than enough combo meal food for three people. No other fast food restaurant can say the same.
In n out maybe but that’s about it
Not if you go there now mate. I work there now and our prices have increased about 15% in 12 months.
@@Hellcat-to3yh funny, just went last week, and the prices of each plate combo are still the exact same
@@TastySnackies Idk where you live, but all 3 regions I know of have increased their prices. Plate went from $7.90 in December 2021 to $9.00 currently.
@@Hellcat-to3yh gotta keep up with labor demand, shortage of food supply and inflation no? other brands can raise prices but restaurants can’t? Gas is at 5$ a gallon even 6 so I think they have the right to raise their prices too? you do know that they competitively? how are they gonna make money if everything else is hiking up prices but them? 😂
Panda Express opened a branch here in Saudi Arabia; however, the prices are outrageous and it was transformed into some kind of a casual dining setting. This killed the "express" vibes of panda express, and the one we have over here does not even taste similar to the original American branches!
We had a panda express in my college food court, most of my meal plan was spend on orange chicken. I really hope we get one nearby me in the future, I'll be a regular customer
bummed that the cost of a Plate has gone up over $2 since the pandemic.
Brandon did it.
Yeah pretty much same here during the pandemic it was $6.50 for a bowl and now they're charging $8.40
@@paulnubreu6887 If you wanna criticize Biden, at least have the balls to not hide behind coded language
If you say so. Very limited menu that sells American Chinese food. The McDonalds of asian food. They are successful too but there is no accounting for taste.
Panda Express is about as authentic Chinese food as Taco Bell is authentic Mexican food and yet both are very successful.
It's garbage fast food for the unimaginative
Agreed that they aren’t authentic they are just whitewashed for Americans 🤣
I've only ever gone to a Panda Express once. It was nice. But I had NO IDEA they owned the hibachi food chain.
One factor that wasn’t discuss was the fact that Panda Express has drive-thru options (I guess this could fall under flexibility). There are very few Asian inspired restaurants with that option, so it serves as a huge advantage for people who want that cuisine and want the convenience of not leaving their cars.
I frequent various Chinese restaurants, and while moo goo gai pan is one of the most common things out there, Panda Express' take on Mushroom Chicken is actually really good. I also buy their kung pao sauce for home cooking, as despite kung pao chicken also being a 'classic' of Chinese American food their sauce is great. I'd argue it's better than P.F. Chang's alternative.
Despite the 'credibility' and authenticity of traditional Chinese restaurants, Panda Express' food is pretty good. While other comments have pointed out that their food might not be seen as 'Chinese' among other Chinese communities, they deserve kudos for doing quite well and making decent food.
I've had chow mein noodles with the texture of sandpaper. There are certain lows that the "Taco Bell of Chinese food" has yet to reach
Not that long ago we were down in Las Vegas and not wanting to spend $15-20 for lunch and often disappointed at that, we stumbled upon a Panda Express at a food court. We enjoyed their fare as much as any we sampled and emptied our wallets on in Vegas...including PF Chang.. cheers from 🇨🇦.
I used to say Panda Express was my "guilty pleasure" back when I was getting my degree, as I had one both by my apartment and at my college campus and ate there when I was driving home by myself. Now as a 30+ adult I proudly eat Panda Express. Unlike other fast food restaurants I eat there when I want it, not because its convenient, but because it taste good. Plus its the only fast food joint where I can get vegetables so I feel like I'm making a better choice than a lot of other fast food joints.
I work for a panda express and this is spot on the one competition aspect of it is usually what them so busy I've worked at locations where the surrounding restaurants are empty but our store is packed full of people definitely a great video and well researched.
I remember their Orange Chicken from one of their independant stores 20 years ago and it was consistantly good among various locations vs other chains(nvr cared for PF Chang's) where it was a hit or miss situation.
I've lived in both major Chinatown cities in the US and "consistantly good" trumps "occaisonally great or potentially bad" anyday. Especially when lunch hour is off the clock and half an hour(traffic) see: LA
Americans travel and occaisionally work so time is a commodity just as Ray Croc simply explained it decades ago.
If only America had been built on the promise of vertical expansion versus its currently horizontal landscape then maybe, traffic wouldn't be such an issue.
@@BleedForTheWorld That's a logistically loaded statement. Totally different animals.
@@badlaamaurukehu There are other countries that don't experience these types of issues like traffic jams and lack of public transport due to their infrastructure. Of course it's about logistics.