Chinese Restaurants near Santee

“the waitress was very nice and the food was good 👍 😋 👌“

“First off, we LOVE the lady behind the counter. If you don't like her, you don't appreciate the hustle. And furthermore, the food is delicious.“

“This review is based on a vegetarian dining experience. While Panda Country doesn’t offer alternative proteins like some other Asian restaurants (mock duck/chx/beef), I always prefer a mix of different vegetables and tofu anyways.

I’ve noticed that some San Diego Chinese restaurants offer fried wonton strips and sauce for appetizer; I thought it was an east coast US thing but we enjoyed them nonetheless. The mustard was odd though, tasted more like horseradish. The plum sauce was good.
Service was a bit slow tonight (Monday) but it was busy and it seemed like only 1-2 people running the whole operation. Staff was very courteous and apologizing for wait times but none of that concerned us. They were being as efficient as they could be. And I grew up dining in Chinese restaurants where staff basically ignored you the whole time.

My husband and I usually order the eggplant and green beans to go and they’re always good. This was our first time dining in and we tried the orange tofu and family style tofu. Sauces were light and flavorful——definitely not catering to heavy salty American taste which I prefer. I can understand why some Americans eat at chains like Panda Express and Pick UP Stix and still add soy sauce to their entrees (insane?!?). But we didn’t get that vibe from this restaurant.

We both left full and including tax and tip under $32. My only suggestion would be to add a vegetable to the orange tofu, like broccoli. Not only did it look kind of sad on the plate just by itself, it would have been a nice healthy filler to complement the tofu.

Very clean and spacious interior. Plenty of shopping center parking.“

“Panda has gotten extremely expensive for food that was once inexpensive and a great value. Preparations are basic and well prepared and you do get a lot of food for the prices. A four item combo is 12$+ but enough for two meals.Staff was friendly and courteous and the restroom was very clean. Overall a recommendation.“

“So today my family wanted pick up stix and I didn't want to get pickup stix due to the odd interaction I had last time I went in. I have been going to this location for years and have never had any issue besides the last visit. There is a cashier that is an older gentleman who refuses to give extra sauce and will literally go back and forth over a couple sauce packets. I am buying for 3 people and the 2 siracha that he said is already in the bag is not enough. I decided oh well it probably will not be a thing today, but unfortunately the same guy today did it again. I asked him what the issue was and he stated that the sauce is in the bag already. I asked do I need to pay for extra sauce and if so I will, he stated no I don't need to then finally agreed to give me sauce. I have never ran into this situation ever at any restraunt where when I am paying for the meal I have to argue and ask several times for a couple extra packets of sauce. It's wild and unprofessional to think you need to argue with a customer over 4 siracha packets.“

“We waited over an hour on a Saturday evening, which already tells you how popular this place is, especially among Chinese diners. They don’t do takeout and don’t take reservations, so be prepared to wait. The food was really, really yummy. The two dishes we tried were on the salty side for my taste, but they paired very well with rice. The century egg eggplant was absolutely out of this world and worth the wait. Bonus: they offer free popsicles for guests to grab.“

“Excellent food. We ordered the creamy bun (hot creamy lightly sweet excellent) bbq pork bun (a little sweet for my taste but still really good fluffy delicious), scallion pancake (could have had more scallion but it was really crispy!), sezchuan chili oil wonton (lightly spicy and numbing really good wonton with the peanut!) the dandan noodles (very nutty delicious noodles) and the Xiao long bao (delicious hot and the ginger was fresh) Was really pleased about the scan to order at the table! Really fast service too. Came in on a rainy cold day, left warm full and happy. Would definitely come back!“

“The Chinese food was good!“

“Such nice people working here. Went after work, I work nights so thats about lunch rush. Parking can be difficult at lunch but I got a good spot. Ordered chef lo mien to go. They made it fast & were so kind to add some deeelicious dumpling. So yummy, lots of protein & chewy yummy noodles. This will more than likely be my new noodle place.“

“Legit!! Had the shrimp and pork dumplings, chili wontons, scallion pancake beef roll, spicy cucumbers, and sauteed broccoli.

New owners were super nice. Only feedback is that the acoustics are rough - it's loud in there.“