What is the Untold Truth of Panda Express? If you don’t know about it, you have come to the right place. Here is all the information about it.
American Chinese food is served in the well-known fast food restaurant company Panda Express. Orange Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken & Beijing Beef are just a few of the many dishes it is renowned for. More than 2,300 Panda Express locations can be found in the US, Canada & Mexico.
However, what is the real background to Panda Express? What occurs in the background? What are a few things that customers may not be aware of?
We shall expose Panda Express’s untold story in this article. We will talk about the company’s background, operations & food standards. A few insider hints on how to order at Panda Express & maximize your meal will also be provided.
The Untold Truth Of Panda Express
Even if you’ve visited Panda Express numerous times and tried every meal on the menu, there are still a few things you didn’t know about the restaurant chain. Chinese eateries have always dotted the American landscape, long before McDonald’s.
It was a welcome addition to the culinary melting pot that is American cuisine to introduce exotic tastes and top-secret recipes to the American dining room.
Additionally, Panda Express stands out among all American Chinese restaurants not only for its lengthy and prosperous history but also for the variety of its food.
Over the years, many of those dishes have proven to be highly popular with diners.
This fast-casual restaurant brand constantly aims to add fresh and delectable things to its menu, from Orange Chicken and Beijing Beef to the appropriately called Firecracker Chicken Breast and Kung Pao Chicken.
Here are a few things you might not know about the biggest chain of Asian restaurants in the nation.
Panda Express Loves Hawaii
A special place exists in Hawaii for Panda Express. Recall how the Orange Chicken dish’s most popular recipe was created in Hawaii? There are other links between the food chain and these lovely islands, too.
Hawaiians adore Panda Express so much that of the 2000+ stores globally, the one in Honolulu has become the most prosperous.
We’re not sure why, but it appears that Hawaii’s wonderful residents prefer orange chicken and honey sesame chicken breast to everyone else in the nation.
The annual revenue of that particular restaurant, which is oddly enough placed in a food court, is over $4 million. Not that the other places are not operating effectively. They are actually doing rather well, in fact.
That is why the business is opening additional locations on a regular basis. Mexico, Guatemala, Japan, and South Korea are all included. The company’s global footprint is expanding. El Salvador served as the most recent destination in July 2018.
Panda Express and Charity
Millions of dollars have been contributed to charity by Panda Express to date. This includes donating $41 million to the “The Leader In Me” program and $37 million to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
However, charitable action involves more than merely donating money to individuals in need. There are further ways that each business can contribute.
For instance, providing their goods and services for free or at a reduced cost to organizations and NGOs that aid the underprivileged and those who are disadvantaged.
One such program established by Panda Express is Panda Care. It starts food donation programs every year, requests that staff donate a portion of their paychecks to charity, and gives consumers the chance to donate money to good organizations.
The business is demonstrating to us how a large firm can come up with a variety of ways to give back to society by leading by example and encouraging its staff to participate in these initiatives.
Panda Express Manufactures Healthy Food
You can’t have fast food and be healthy, right? Because of the fat, fried food, high calorie content, saturated fat, and other dangerous substances that medical professionals have warned us against. Panda Express made the decision to update their menu in light of this.
The objective is to make the chain’s food healthier. The chain always uses fresh products for that aim. MSG and other harmful ingredients have been outlawed in restaurants, along with any items supplied by suppliers.
Another important consideration in the current menu redesign is calorie intake. Salads must stay under a certain calorie range. The rest of the menu items are similarly applicable. Being health-conscious takes time and effort.
A huge franchise restaurant like Panda Express cannot modify its menu over night. This is why it makes sense on many levels to encourage customers to choose healthier options.
Panda Tea Bar is one of them. It provides customers with a wide selection of wholesome teas and fruit juices that are good for their digestion and metabolism.
Japanese Connection with Panda Express
A Japanese fast food chain is a sibling of the Chinese fast food chain. The chain, known as Hibachi-San, focuses on teppanyaki and sushi. In California, the first restaurant debuted in 1992.
The goal was to keep Panda Express customers from being lured away by Japanese fast food restaurants.
Ironically, the technique not only succeeded in preventing Panda Express customers from leaving, but also helped Hibachi-San carve out a position for itself in the market and build up a following of devoted patrons.
The second restaurant in the new business opened within a few years, and a third and then a fourth soon after. Currently, 28 sites across the United States are home to Hibachi-San. Undoubtedly, the Panda family is expanding. And what about Panda Inn?
Which company was the first to experience difficulty in the 1980s? It is likewise thriving.
Which just goes to show how important family businesses are to the economy and how, when done well, they can not only compete with large corporations that control the market but also stand on their own two feet.
Panda Express Happy Work Environment
Everyone has heard about what it’s like to work at a fast food restaurant. No promotions or opportunities for advancement, long hours. However, Panda Express has more in common with a Silicon Valley firm than a fast food restaurant.
Workers are urged to enroll in self-help courses and pursue training. The entire culture is focused on fostering a positive workplace environment where individuals feel enriched and have better opportunity to advance in their careers.
Employee benefits include the opportunity to enroll in human potential and motivational programs. Inside the chain’s headquarters, brands including Landmark Education, Life Academy, and Dale Carnegie are well-known.
The main building’s recreation center has facilities for yoga and meditation. There, you can frequently find motivational talks, self-defense classes, and Zumba. That’s not all, though.
The Panda Way is a program that Andrew Cherng developed for employees to encourage leading healthy lives. It motivates them to lead stress-free lives by getting regular exercise, eating well, and managing their anxieties.
The management’s programs and attention to detail are likely to blame for the less tense environment in the workplace than in other businesses. According to Andrew’s perspective, a joyful workplace fosters a joyful and productive workforce.
Constant innovation in the Panda Express Menu
Speaking of evolving tastes, we can all relate to the frustration of visiting a fast food restaurant and discovering the same menu options as they were a year or so ago. There is nothing new to add. There are no new dishes or pairings. Right, that is so monotonous.
One of the first fast food chains to recognize the value of ongoing innovation in both menu layout and food quality was Panda Express. And a certain area in Pasadena, California, is devoted to culinary innovation just for that reason.
Panda’s Kitchen is a restaurant owned and operated by a member of the Cherng family.
Panda Express’s Chief Marketing Officer, Andrea, is the daughter of Andrew and Peggy, and it was she who came up with the idea for Panda’s Kitchen. But it’s not a well-kept secret.
Anyone with a sense of adventure is welcome to visit and sample novel meals while they are still in the experimental or “beta” stages.
Before it is introduced to the rest of the restaurants in the nation and around the world, the objective is to sample everything there, from novel flavors to fresh looks and décor.
You can visit Panda’s Kitchen the next time you’re in Pasadena to sample some of their newest and most experimental meals. You’re assured of a distinctive experience since few of those foods would be included in the popular Panda chain.
Panda Express Technology-Driven Chain
You have to ask what exactly is meant when the words “technology” and “fast food chain” are used in the same sentence.
Is it the cashiers’ preferred payment method? Or is technology employed to cook the chicken to perfection so that every piece gets to the consumer just as the chef intended? Both, indeed, to some extent.
Nowadays, technology permeates every aspect of life, making it difficult to picture a firm operating without the aid of computers and software. In relation to that, Panda Express was a pioneer in the use of software in managing and operating the large chain.
We’re talking about the 1980s, when eateries first began utilizing computers. To put things in context, that was before Bill Gates released his widely used Windows OS, and it was also a very long time before Linux existed.
Peggy Cherng, who had a solid background in computer science and recognized early on the need for technology to enhance their restaurant operations, was the driving force behind this embrace of technology.
This included optimizing in-store ordering since there was no internet back then and there was no such thing as online ordering. Software was also employed to track the best-selling items and collect information on the customers’ shifting tastes throughout the year.
Panda Express Orange Chicken is a Topseller
In 1987, this restaurant’s signature meal was put on a table for the first time. In a restaurant in Hawaii, Chef Andy Kao came up with this recipe, which was an instant hit.
With bits of spicy, crispy chicken that were uniquely his own and a flavorful balance that perfectly encapsulated the essence of Hunan Province cuisine, Kao worked tirelessly to achieve excellence.
But what really distinguishes this special dish from other fried chicken dishes is the orange sauce. Oranges have a unique flavor that makes them more suited for desserts than for savory dishes.
However, Kao used it to create a flavorful, hot chili sauce before glazing and caramelizing the end result. The dish was well received, and word quickly traveled to the other locations.
Even today, Panda Express deploys a food truck serving orange chicken around the nation to spread the word about the franchise.
To illustrate how popular that dish has grown, the restaurant sells an average of 80 million servings of orange chicken per year.
Additionally, the meal is now a staple of mainstream fast food, and you can get it everywhere in the nation, including in military mess halls and school cafeterias.
Not bad for a dish that was motivated by the sweet and sour foods that are traditionally served in China.
Family-Owned and Operated
The Panda Restaurant Group is the organization that runs Panda Express. The company was founded by a genuine pair, meaning a husband and wife team, who launched their first restaurant in 1983.
The business still forbids any kind of licensing or franchising. The chain’s parent firm owns and operates each of the locations.
In contrast, any store owner may purchase the licensing and run it under their brand in popular fast food chains around the nation. The Panda Express locations on college campuses are the sole exception.
Typically, the various colleges own these. The Cherng family, however, has complete control over every menu item, supplier, and salt shaker in the more than 2000 restaurants around the world.
Consumers can interpret this as a guarantee of uniform food and service quality across all branches. You will always receive the same quality of food and friendly treatment, regardless of whether you reside in a large city or a little town tucked away in the middle of nowhere.
You must have noticed the quality difference between a fast food restaurant in New York City and one in Kiousville, Ohio. No matter where you are, Panda Express promises the same excellent meals in all of its locations.
The Owners Met at College
We mentioned that a single family is the sole owner of Panda Express. But did you know that the pair met and fell in love for the first time while they were still in college?
Back in the 1970s, Peggy and Andrew both attended Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, where Peggy was a freshman studying Electrical Engineering at the time.
Both of them fell in love, and eight years before the first restaurant in the vast chain was opened, they were married in 1975. One could be tempted to assume that love gave birth to Panda Express.
Their marriage and restaurant franchise are still going strong more than 40 years later. They did not, however, arrive where they are by accident. Andrew and his father had already founded Panda Inn before Panda Express.
They initially encountered difficulties due to a lack of business. And things didn’t start to improve until Peggy joined Andrew in the restaurant industry in 1982.
The pair started the Panda Express company the next year, and the second restaurant was built in 1985 two years later. It seems sense that the family won’t let outsiders work for the company.
The Untold Truth Of Panda Express Reviews
Customers have had different opinions of Panda Express. While some individuals adore the meal, others think it is expensive and unhealthy. Here are some testimonials from clients:
→I cherish Panda Express. The cuisine is consistently excellent, and the pricing are fair. The Orange Chicken and the Kung Pao Chicken are my favorites in particular. – Sarah J.
→”I don’t like Panda Express very much. For my tastes, the meal is extremely fatty and greasy. It is pricey in my opinion as well. – John D.
→”I used to adore Panda Express, but I’ve noticed that lately the cuisine has been getting worse. The food is frequently overdone & the poultry is frequently dry. – Mary S.
Overall, evaluations for the well-known fast food restaurant Panda Express are divided. While some individuals adore the meal, others think it is expensive & unhealthy.
Opening and Closing Hours
Day
Opening Hours
Closing Hours
Monday
10:30 AM
9:30 PM
Tuesday
10:30 AM
9:30 PM
Wednesday
10:30 AM
9:30 PM
Thursday
10:30 AM
9:30 PM
Friday
10:30 AM
10:00 PM
Saturday
10:30 AM
10:00 PM
Sunday
10:30 AM
9:30 PM
Important Links
Here is a list of links to important information about Panda Express restaurants, like where they are, what they serve, how to work there, and much more.
➥ Panda Express Corporate Phone Number: (626) 799-9898
➥ Panda Express Toll-Free Number: (800) 877-8988
Conclusion
Panda Express has left an indelible mark on the American fast food landscape with its unique blend of Chinese and American flavors. From its humble beginnings to becoming a nationwide phenomenon, the restaurant chain has captivated the taste buds of millions.
Through its dedication to quality, community involvement, and sustainable practices, Panda Express has become much more than just a fast food joint.
FAQs About The Untold Truth Of Panda Express
Is Panda Express food healthy?
Depending on what you get from Panda Express, the food may or may not be nutritious. Steamed veggies, brown rice & grilled chicken are a few of the menu items that fall under the category of being healthy. However, a lot of the food at Panda Express is fatty, salty & heavy in calories.
Is Panda Express food authentic?
Chinese Food is the inspiration for Panda Express’s meals, however, it is not totally authentic. To cater to a larger spectrum of customers, Panda Express frequently Americanizes its menu items.
Does Panda Express use sustainable seafood?
Sustainable Seafood will always be used in Panda Express restaurants. The business purchases its seafood from vendors who have received Marine Stewardship Council certification.
Is Panda Express a family-owned business?
The answer is that Panda Express is a family-run company. The business was started by Andrew & Peggy Cherng in 1973.
Is Panda Express a halal-certified restaurant?
While some Panda Express locations offer halal options, the chain as a whole is not halal-certified. It is recommended to check with your local Panda Express for specific dietary requirements.
Does Panda Express use MSG in its food?
Panda Express is committed to providing high-quality food and does not use MSG (monosodium glutamate) in its recipes.
Does Panda Express offer vegetarian or vegan options?
Yes, Panda Express provides vegetarian and vegan options, including Vegetable Spring Rolls, Steamed Rice, Super Greens, and Eggplant Tofu.
Can I customize my order at Panda Express?
Absolutely! Panda Express allows customization of orders, enabling customers to choose their preferred proteins, sauces, and sides.
Does Panda Express offer catering?
Panda Express does really do catering. You can place a phone Or online Catering order.
Does Panda Express offer delivery?
Unaffiliated delivery services like DoorDash & Uber Eats are available from Panda Express.
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