Synopsis
At Asian Panda, the chicken was dry, the meat had little flavor, and although the service was great out of the 8 of us, 7 will not go back.
Review
The lunch crew saw that a new Asian restaurant had opened up on 8th North. Because we enjoy Asian food, we decided to give this one a try. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed.
The interior looked great and the server was very prompt at taking our order and getting us accommodated with drinks. Because we came during their grand opening, they had several specials for lunch and we decided to take the buy one get one half off deal and I went with the Kung Pao Beef, brown rice, and wonton soup.The soup came out fairly quickly. I thought that the wonton was very good -- perhaps a little doughy but not that bad. Just a little bit after finishing, out came my order. Excited by the soup, I dug right in. I was quite disappointed. I spent most of my meal chewing on the gristle from my meat. I thought that the vegetables that went with the meal were very good and I probably would have enjoyed the meal if that was all I had, but I didn't care for the beef at all. Not only did I spend most of the meal time chewing on gristle, but the meal itself had little flavor.
Whilst chewing on the gristle, a friend of mine took a piece of my meat and offered me some of his orange chicken. Thinking that I couldn't go wrong with my favorite (I rarely if ever order the Kung Pao Beef, but decided to order it because it's one of their most requested dishes), I took up my friend's offer and grabbed a piece of his orange chicken. I think that was probably the driest chicken I've had in a long time. Plus I didn't get the taste of citrus that I normally love with the orange chicken -- there wasn't anything orange about this chicken, including the taste and color. This is the first time I've ever gone wrong with my favorite meal.All in all, the service and cost were the only two good parts of the meal. If it was just me, that would be one thing. However, 8 of us were there and only one person liked his meal. The rest of us aren't going back. The price is excellent for Asian food, but the food just isn't worth the price. Next time I crave Chinese food, I'll probably end up at Panda express before I think of coming here.
Cost and Big John Rating
$6.75 = Kung Pao Beef
Taste = 4
Quality = 5
Ambiance = 8
Service = 8
Price Rating = 5.4
Big John Rating = 6.2
Taste = 4
Quality = 5
Ambiance = 8
Service = 8
Price Rating = 5.4
Big John Rating = 6.2
