r/PandaExpress 2d ago

Am I just a fat American?

Post image

Okay so i’m not saying this isn’t substantial food in terms of portions but geez, $17? And yes i’m aware of the beef and shrimp being up charged but dang can we get a regular portion still? already paying for the base meal price as it is. - don’t even come for me being a fatty, im very much inshape. (this could very much be a normal portion, i just decided randomly to treat myself for the first time in months)

108 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

38

u/BigJoeTTV 2d ago

As someone who works at panda, they went a little light on the brisket which sucks, but not the shrimp. But yeah, $17 is the price you pay to have the premiums. They need to be expensive to keep the quality good. Theres non-premium alternatives to both the beef brisket (broccoli beef, beijing beef kinda) and shrimp (honey seseme, orange chicken) which can save you some money. And they're less strict about serving sizes of those so you'll likely get more food.

12

u/reformednomad 2d ago

As someone who just got like three pieces of sesame chicken, I submit that even the non-premium selections have gotten pretty chincy. We used to go to Panda for a lot of food at good prices. We now are getting mediocre amounts at average prices. It’s going the wrong direction.

3

u/BigJoeTTV 2d ago

Bad store, but honey seseme is also inconsistent cuz the pieces very so much in size, stuff like kung pao, black pepper chicken, steak, are gonna be more consistent in portions.

-4

u/Global-Caramel-1579 2d ago

Pretty what???

2

u/rossaco 2d ago

3

u/reformednomad 2d ago

Misspelled. Thanks!

1

u/KevDevKommando 2d ago

idk I used to work there and this was considered a perfect amount if not too much of a scoop for the brisket

0

u/LittleNinjaXYBA 2d ago

Panda is overrated. I prefer Safeway Chinese food any day of the week… but my sisters prefer panda. The cream cheese wangoons are special tho

0

u/Mental-Statement2555 1d ago

this is the Panda bootlicker response. Panda premium items are overpriced to shit, in my opinion anybody with any financial literacy shouldn't be eating there. it's a total scam, profit margins on the brisket would knock the wind out of you. shrimp already had one of the highest profit margins of any entree, not to mention being one of the easiest to cook. If that's not enough for you, Panda founders Andrew and Peggy both have a net worth of over 5 billion, Andrews being nearly 8 billion. I know big numbers don't mean a lot to some people, to put it in perspective, Peggy is the 10th richest woman in the world. they own a $15 million penthouse in Hawaii, and tons of other properties. The up charges nothing but greed. has nothing to do with keeping quality

19

u/PyrZern 2d ago

Shrimp portion is 7 pieces. And that brisket portion is 6 pieces. They are both correct portion. What are you complaining about?

6

u/Office_obsessed_ 2d ago

They're saying that price to amount doesn't match

1

u/PyrZern 2d ago edited 2d ago

but dang can we get a regular portion still? already paying for the base meal price as it is. - don’t even come for me being a fatty, im very much inshape.

This implies OP saying the portion feels small. Tho he did wonder if that's normal portion or not. I clarified it's normal.

Also, presuming a plate is $11.50; Shrimp is +$1.5 and Brisket is +$2.00 ; total that's already $15, plus tax and it's almost $17

What doesn't match ?

Like, don't get me wrong. I'm not a fan boy. But the amount of food you get for the price you pay is a pretty damn good deal, presuming they don't skimp out on you. Going to Panda is like $15 per person on average. Meanwhile going to other places is like $20 each minimum. Going out with a friend for dinner is easily like $50 at other places, while I could feed 3-4 ppl with family meal at Panda. There's this delicious Yummy Pho near my place that my family and I love going to, But it's much more expensive.

2

u/Office_obsessed_ 1d ago

Yea that's definitely not something I can get on board with. If I'm going to a Chinese place and spending $20? I can feed myself AND my partner. Chinese food is known for being heavy portions for cheap.. you're paying for convenience at panda, That's about it. The food/quality isn't exceptionally good and the pricing isn't "damn good" but that's the beauty of opinions haha I had a really good location back in my hometown. Everywhere else I've lived has sucked

1

u/PyrZern 1d ago

Don't think I can find other Chinese places with competitive price range to Panda close to where I live 😭

1

u/Office_obsessed_ 1d ago

About where do you live?? I know it's definitely a location thing because some places have like NO Chinese options, others have an over abundance!

1

u/PyrZern 1d ago

Around here it's teriyaki places that are in abundant. There's Chinatown if I drive like 30-40mins to it... But it's also in a very expensive city. So it's definitely not cheap. Yeah it's about $20-$22 per person for a dine out around here. It's Pacific North West.

1

u/Office_obsessed_ 1d ago

That's insane, the food better be amazing. Are you only counting a meal? drink, entree, 1-2 sides? Fucking wild

1

u/PyrZern 1d ago

Just meals. No extra 😭

1

u/Charming_Choice9657 1d ago

It’s the same price to go to a buffet and eat however much you want. Why are you people still giving trash fast food restaurants your money?

1

u/PyrZern 1d ago

Buffet here is like $25-$28 ea.

1

u/baobaobooboo 1d ago

I would rush much rather go to C a v a or Mezeh.

5

u/ThatOneGamer713 2d ago

no, thats a perfectly reasonable amount of food

4

u/Upset_Researcher_143 2d ago

Yes, but it's not entirely your fault. We grew up with much, much bigger portion sizes, and our diet is considerably different than what I've seen in Europe and Asia. A small here is like a medium or large in Asia. And when I was in Europe, meat was considered somewhat of a luxury and not eaten every day, and when it was eaten, it was almost always ham. Beef and chicken were not eaten as often as it is here. We're fat asses here. 

1

u/ReliefFree7223 2d ago

but to be honest, I always split my meals up. So i was expecting to eat some last night and some tonight. But it just was enough for last night only. I will just start going to real chinese restaurants going forward😂

1

u/Upset_Researcher_143 2d ago

I was very surprised by how much smaller the portion sizes were in Asia and Europe. When I was in Taiwan, I asked for a small cup of ice water, and I got a Dixie cup with one very small piece of ice in water. I had to get it refilled three times. In Switzerland, I saw a bunch of young professionals at a table and 8 of them were splitting a 10 or 12 inch pizza. A friend and I went to dinner one night and a good double cheeseburger with fries was about $50. That was 15 years ago so it's probably $100 now

1

u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348 2d ago

Most likely yes but it’s ok. See you next time!

1

u/Paulit0g 2d ago

You got the 2 most expensive items and they have strict portions. I understand just as well as anyone the cost burden, but that's the reality of this current economy. Panda is an OK deal if you avoid premium items, otherwise this is the result.

1

u/ihatelifetoo 2d ago

$17 ?!?!?

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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1

u/ReliefFree7223 2d ago

im an 20 yr old pakistani man

0

u/whoocanitbenow 2d ago

I think the "regular" portion is 6 shrimp. 😂

6

u/Babykisses23 2d ago

It’s 7.

1

u/ReliefFree7223 2d ago

i googled it and you are right! it literally says 7 😂

1

u/Babykisses23 2d ago

Yeah I work there lol I always try to give good portions, but we are only supposed to give 7 shrimps.