The Deliciously Greasy History Of Panda Express
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- Today on Weird History Food, we are going to talk about that ubiquitous Panda Express - they are EVERYWHERE! ...But which was the first one ever? We will take you way back to a germ of an idea between a father and son hat grew into what we know today - the company that actually invented orange chicken!
#pandaexpress #fastfood #weirdhistryfood
I like how the owners of the company "gave back" by having employees and customers donate 😂. Wow how generous of them
We're just gonna want to watch this again in an hour.
🫡
So true
Fortunately....it's just as good a second time around...😊
Haha I get it
😂 Good one!
I always like to point out on Panda Express videos: the previous president of Nintendo of America Reggie worked as a senior vice president for Panda Express for a bit. However when they decided to scale back on expansion and going public on the stock market at the time, he left to pursue other endeavors. It's been a while since I read his book but I think they're still on good terms to this day
The Panda from Panda Express in Smash Bros when?
This is my comfort space on the internet
I work for Sygma the company that delivers all of Pandas products and supplies. Their stores are all super clean and we deliver only the best quality products, you can know for a fact that when you go to Panda you will be getting quality food. With that said i used to work at a panda years ago and i hated it lmfao
I used to go to local Chinese food places and the vegetables would be rotten. The cabbage in the chow mein is so old it looks pickled
I beg to differ, you must have had a good one. The one in Fort Wayne, Indiana served maggots in their rice 🤢
That's the only thing I miss about malls, the food courts. Sure, food delivery offers up more options offered to the same dining area, but it's more like sitting down at an empty table and then wait a half hour until someone throws cold food at you.
Panda Express? I never said "no" to the mandarin chicken... orange chicken... beef teriyaki... some pork fried rice.... anyone else hungry?
There are still some malls out there, but its only like a mere handful of them these days. But yeah you are right, the food courts are something else those days and back then Panda express is rather decent
I've never had Panda Express, but I miss the hell out of Bourbon Street Chicken at The Smithhaven Mall on Long Island.
In regards to American-Chinese eateries, how about a video on P.F. Chang's? An additional video idea would be Filipino burger chain Jollibee.
PF Chang is owned by a white or Jewish guy. It's not Chinese American owned.
It’s founded by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang, the latter the son of American Chinese pioneer Cicilia Chiang (her story is quite interesting). And then the brand got sold to a private firm. Not much of a story to tell.
@@dansterc3038 oh really never knew that
Something left out. When they opened the Original Panda Express, they had also opened another Panda Inn. They were both in Glendale, Ca. I use to go to the express when I got home from school. At the time was either by a G.I. Joe or eat there. It would depend on what I felt. Plus when they were in the Glendale Galleria, the main meal for kids and many others was Sweet and Sour Chicken. That meal was on point and wish they would bring that back. I just told this same story to my wife plus the story mentioned aboved. Man I feel old now.....
I'm so glad i don't have a panda express near me... i could eat there every day!
Agreed; it’d be all too easy to make a hog of oneself at a place like that!
Agreed; it’d be all too easy to make a hog of oneself at a place like that!
Panda express is probably the restaurant with the most variance in quality that I've ever been to. I go to the Panda Express at the Oak Ridge Mall it's fresh and delicious, every other panda express in this city serves me shrively old gunked up sugar stuff
So the customers and the employees pay the charity while the family/company boasts in the "fake" glory of being generous.
Right? I wondered if anyone else had spotted that. The appearance of charity is cheaper than actual charity...
I thought the same thing! If someone is truly charitable they certainly don't tell anyone about it. "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." 😇
It probably gives them tax breaks as well.
I am tired of being asked to make a donation every time I go there. Customers need a break from time to time. At one time they were rounding up orders to the nearest dollar, plus adding a dollar! If the order amount was $27.50, they would ask, do you want to round up to $29. Going thru a drive-thru, you don't always see the order total, so I assumed they were rounding up to the nearest dollar, which was their prior practice. A bit deceptive IMO.
Slimy, just slimy.
“Speaking of successes”
An ad break for HelloFresh begins playing
Ironic considering Hello Fresh has never once turned a profit 😂
Ads? You can't just pay $10 for TH-cam Premium?
@@mirzaahmed6589 TH-cam doesn't offer a premium experience worthy of $10.
@@mirzaahmed6589 Ublock Origin is even better lol
Weird History Food, the world needs a video from the experts on the origins of blue raspberry flavored drinks and foods.
Asking employees to donate part of their pay is not giving back. It's taking back.
Orange chicken! Thanks for interesting and valuable video as always ❤️❤️❤️
I’m gonna give the Panda another chance sometime next week. My go-to is always a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place, of which there are many, and I tend to see the Panda as the big corporate poser, but I’ll admit I need a little more time with them to truly judge. Big fan of the charitable efforts. Not so much of the orange chicken though - too sweet in my opinion.
Yeah, I only ate at those neighborhood Cantonese places, but they've pretty much disappeared.
I've tried some newer non-Cantonese places, but they're just not as good...
Dude! Local places use the cheapest ingredients and just nasty. After I'm done with a cheap Chinese food plate I feel bloated and slow.
Panda Express is FIRE! they use fresh ingredients and doesn't leave you disgusted after
@@famousbowl9926 I don't know what kind of neighborhood joints you have, but these places were the ABSOLUTE best.
They were all run by immigrants from China, and knew how to cook.
They were all Cantonese, not the latest fads of Sichuan and other peppered dishes.
You wouldn't know if you never ate at 'em.
Yummy orange chicken!
It’s good, but Teriyaki chicken totally slaps supreme! 🤤
There's a mall near my house with an all-all-you-can-eat KFC near a Panda Express... Needless to say, it's always a tough choice...
When the Panda Express opened in my city, i went with a couple of friends about two weeks after it opened, and it was absolutely without a doubt, one of the WORST restaurant experiences we ever had. The orange chicken was flavorless and chewy and i ended up spitting it out. None of us finished our food and we all walked out still hungry so we went somewhere else. To this day i have NEVER been back there and i never will go back there.
Can we have an episode on Fazoli's?
Growing up in the San Gabriel valley, Panda Inn in Pasadena was incredibly popular. It was always a huge treat to go there.
Gotta love a Bob's Burgers reference
Please do The History of Wingstop and Buffalo Wild Wings
Pretty sure they already did.
A+ video!
LOVE IT! It's such an awesome restaurant!
Honey Walnut Shrimp has my heart & soul for eternity 🍤 🍯 🍚🙌🏻
Grew up going to Panda Inn. Amazing! Whenever I’m in LA, I try to go.
Can you do a history of nerds candy
Such creative videos you’ve on this channel. Just subscribed!
randomly found y’all’s channel. super entertaining.
down to see a vid about long john silver’s, yoshiynoya, even jollibee.
One of my favorite restaurants. Mushroom chicken, fried rice Chow Mein noodles and egg rolls.
We got mention!!! ❤ Sind we do have 4 locations here in Guam.
Yeah i work for the Sygma center in Northern California, we load up truck loads of products/supplies and drive them to SF airport. It’s loaded onto a plane and set out there to you guys in Guam !
i love this guy's voice
Yes! But NOT when I'm trying to sleep....🚫
I really enjoy Panda Express when I can. It's kind of a guilty pleasure. My two favorite dishes of theirs are their General Chicken and their Beijing Beef. 😋❤️🥡🍚🥠🍜
Tso*?
@@jenniferlonnes7420What? 🤔🤨
@@edkeaton What is General Chicken?
I'm guessing it's General Tso's Chicken
My favorite Panda Express item is Honey Walnut Shrimp (Orange Chicken is 2nd). Speaking of bears, can you please do a history on Black Bear Diner? 🐼
This is kinda ironic. I spent a fair portion of this afternoon in a mall which does NOT have a Panda Expeess, but not far away is a mall that DOES. Then, I had dinner at a Chinese buffet place, and there's a self-contained Panda Express place not far from IT. Finally, I've never eaten at a Panda Express anywhere.
Glendale, CA
The correct voice
I've never eaten at one. I always thought of then as McChinese.
If I ever find myself in front of one when I'm hungry, I'd try it, but I don't even know where one is, lol...
It's good if you take it for what it is, it's about modulating your expectations. I enjoy it, but not too often because I'm an old and can't handle the sodium on a regular basis.
Mostly in malls and airports.
I just stick with myocal mom and pop Chinese restaurant
Don't open a chinese place with Panda anywhere in your name. They will sue you to change it.
We had a place called Panda long before Panda Express showed up and then suddenly it changed it name after about 20 years of being Panda. I wonder...
@@misterhat5823same. Ours is now called Asia Cafe, but I still have it as Panda in my phone. 🐼
I like that they have a Panda Express they have it in universal studio Hollywood.
I used to work in Dominoes as a delivery driver. They would boast there's no delivery fee. Well if you picked up the pizza from the store, you would get a walk in win deal. Which is buy one pizza get one free. That promotion is always on, they never stop it. So if you order a deliver,y chances are you are paying twice as much. Yeh i find places that dont charge deluvery charge you more than places that are charging delivery XD
DAMMIT! Now I’m all hungry!
The food isn’t good, but everytime I pass by one, I need some
I love the honey walnut shrimp.
Companies start these customer donation drives so they can take that money, say it's theirs they donated, then write it off on their taxes. It's also not cool that fast food wage employees are asked to donate to this same bs. All hail Goldenarchlandia!
The Canadian version of Panda Express is Manchu Wok, which actually started in 1980, 3 years before Panda Express!
this ad is too good, got me to open my app, see they got the hot orange chicken back 😭
Orange chicken is different depending on location. Is STL its very orangy. In Louisiana its more like General Tso's but more spicy and with a citrus hint.
Why does Panda Express shrimp that is not fried have to punch me in the gut after I eat it?
Can only eat their orange chicken, chow mein, and egg rolls
Best Crab Rangoon on the planet!
Panda Express was on campuses well before 2005
When they started counting the shrimp one by one, instead of just scooping me up some, I quit going. Never went back. That's too stingy
Panda Express is a pretty good place. I haven't gotten to try all their menu items though. My favorites include the famous orange chicken and Beijing Beef.
I love Panda Express and their Chinese adjacent food like products, the noodles are must-have for me.
Great job
They kicked me out when I asked for Orange Panda.😮
I live in downtown Boston and i can say unequivocally that I’ve never seen a Panda Express in my life.
They had one at Logan Airport.
Oh, the plumb sauce. That's a true loss. 😢
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Panda Express primarily cooks their dishes using soybean oil. This mild-flavored oil doesn’t overpower the spices, sauces, and aromatics in their dishes, resulting in crispy and flavorful items like fried rice, noodles, and stir-fried vegetables12. Additionally, they use sesame oil to top off some entrees and cooking wine for spicy stir-fried dishes3. So, no grease - just deliciousness! 😊🍲
I'm still shook they got rid of the barbecue pork years ago. That stuff was disgustingly good, much like basically everything else there lol.
Have only been so Lucky to have crispy orange chicken. It’s too sweet usually too
Had a blast watching this one especially since there's personal familiarity with it. A few of my aunts used to work as waitresses at original Panda Inn the 70s. Supposedly A. Cherng wanted to date one of my aunts but she turned him down. Andy Kao is also a close friend of my parents. One of my own friends can confirm that Panda does care about their employees; the corp paid for part of her college tuition and set her up for success as she worked her way up to manager of a store. Way to go, Panda Express!
I don't trust company with that donating to charity thing, there is always shady things behind...
panda fingers typed this script
1:36 Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who both acquired Master's Degree from the University of Missouri (Mizzou), were inducted into Homecoming Hall of Fame at Mizzou.
Mizzou is the birthplace of Homecoming.
My godfather gave Andrew his loan from Bank of America back like 45 years ago. I also did some work building some homes for his family.
@@col.cottonhill6655 That is really cool!
@@col.cottonhill6655 What style of homes are they?
@@btetschner luxury- Meditteranean. In the South Pasadena area in Southern California. I actually almost got hurt very badly working on one of those houses because of an excavator operator not paying attention.
@@col.cottonhill6655 Hopefully you have recovered, that is too bad!
I just looked up the style of house, looks like a very impressive style!
Panda Express is good. But it seems like some locations are better than others just like any other chain. I've never had bad food from there though. I just can't afford to eat there usually. It's pricy for my budget. 😢🐼
Shout out to the employees who cook over the steaming wok.
Bless them and there forititude
Just tried out their *new* hot orange chicken. It was glorious!
No panda express in china? And about those fortune cookies...
Let's Hear about the History of Tommy's Original Hamburgers.. Artery clogging Chili served on literally every menu item- from burgers to dogs to fries to tamales. It's the only thing I miss from Southern California
I kinda want Panda Express now lol
I used to eat panda at least once a week. Then the panda express in Monrovia California sold me some raw af orange chicken. I remember the first piece. First I got a taste of the orange glaze that' it's caked with but then I tasted the meet and it was raw. I still swallowed it thinking maybe it was just me ate 2 more lol they were raw also and 5/6 hours later it's coming out both side. I hugged the toilet that night then sweated it off I from fever and al that. Ever since then it ruined panda for me😢
This place is addicting.. I'm very Happy and Extremely Sad we do not have them around me. Yes, thats confusing but if you know you know LoL
I just came back from a business trip to China and everyone I met there called all Chinese food in America, "Panda Express" 🤣
good video
I had Panda Express for dinner last night. I got the hot Orange Chicken, but my usual go-to is the Beijing Beef.
It’s delicious, beats any “Chinese “ restaurant in my town.
Bring back the Plum sauce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just like Bob's burgers 😂
The portion sizes have gotten way too small for me
I miss Eggplant Tofu....the sauce was delicious
Leeann Chin is a lot better, but I just learned it's basically only in Minnesota. Good shit if yall are ever in MN (idk why you would be)
I never had Panda Express because there's no branch where i live
I've always said Panda Express is the Taco Bell of Chinese food.
when I ordered their lo mein on DoorDash is always dry
Old thumbnail: is just a Panda Express box with chicken and box is lighting and the white text is *PRIDE OF THE PANDA* and the background is mixed with red and orange
Love the panda. Good food.
Please pull around to the TH-cam homepage and we'll bring your WFH video out to you
No wonder their orange chicken is so good, I had no idea that they're the ones who actually invented it.
Bring spicy orange chicken back
Chinese fast food is getting over-saturated. You have Leeann Chin's as it's main competitor/mirror set up.
There's also 8 total Chinese Restaurants in our town.
Panda Express has it's own distinct flavor, and menu items, that sets it apart.
This video is interesting! My online order from a Panda Express in 2022 led to a bit of an employee's hair in my food and despite my bringing it up they didn't do anything. So, despite their food being okay-ish I haven't been back since.
Well neat I guess, can't really blame you but neat all the same.
Yeah their customer service is pretty ass. We didn't get part of our order one time and the management wanted us to prove that we didn't get it. How do you prove a negative? When I told them I had no way to prove I didn't get food they told me to call back and talk to the store manager the next afternoon. When I called back they said he wasn't there so I just gave up.
Also yeah, the delivery crap in the pandemic was dumb too. We ALWAYS got the same thing as a family every time. When it was delivered it was $50 pre tip. When we went to pick it up it was $35. They were gouging a lot more than 10% per order for sure.
They do a decent job for a chain.
The food is fine, but they turned me off with a confusing coupon. I felt manipulated.
Currently waiting on my panda drive thru order, will they be ready before the video? Let’s find out?!
Edit: they did not make it in time
The founders of Panda Express, Andrew and Peggy Cherng, graduated from the Master's Program at the University of Missouri.
I graduated from the Master's Program at the University of Missouri on July 30, 2004.
But why do they not have egg drop soup?
Panda Express SM Pampanga in the video.
Do P. F. Chang's next.
Then BF Wang's.
My sister loved Panda Express.
But I never saw the attraction.
It reminds me of Subway and Boston Market, and Fazoli’s. Every one produces bland tasteless food.
To my tastebuds food from each of these is little better than cardboard.
She however had a very heightened sense of smell. And as we all know. Half of tasting is smelling.
There may have been something there that I just wasn’t getting.
But to me, PE was not good.
Fracking the forced donations.
One of my jobs early on, had United Way come through. And I didn’t trust them. Just look in to united way and you will understand. My employer told me. “ We will have 100% employee participation”. I said they are crooked and I don’t want to participate. They reiterated “ WE WILL have 100% EMPLOYEE participation”. Meaning. If I don’t give to the UW. I lose my job.
I’ve despised and distrusted ALL charities since then.
lol this video only makes me want to avoid the restaurant even more.