Panda Express in Mansfield

“I'm going to preface this review by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of Panda Express, BUT if this cook/manager? is making the food, I'll come every time.**********************************My husband loves Panda Express, so I've been to more locations than I could count on both my hands. Almost every time, their items are either not sauced enough or overly sauced and too sweet. There was never a happy medium, hence me not liking it.Well, one day after a doctor's visit, I actually requested we eat at this specific Panda Express because it was close, and we were pressed for time, plus it's one of the hubs' favorites.I was not expecting much since we've eaten at Panda so many times. I get my usual-fried rice, walnut shrimp, and decided on a new dish, the sesame chicken.I noticed the Fire Cracker shrimp and asked if I could sample one. I guess with the pandemic, they don't do that anymore? I was fine wth that. Inflation is killing everyone. The person behind the counter scooped a few into my plate anyway. I thought it was very nice of him.Hubby and I sat down to eat, and I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was well-seasoned and cooked well. The rice wasn't undercooked nor dry. The sauce wasn't gloopy, and the items we had were not over-sauced.I tried the firecracker shrimp that he scooped into my plate, and my eyebrows shot up. Hmm, it's not sweet. That was a pleasant surprise for me, as I don't like to eat a lot of sweet foods in my meals, so I had my husband go back and order a side of fire cracker shrimp and abandoned my sesame chicken, also not bad but was sweet.After a pretty satisfying meal, I had to take a picture of the person who I assumed made the food, and made a mental note that if he was making it the next time, my meal might taste okay.“

“I used to go to Panda Express often when I lived in Arlington. I stopped going because there were other ethnic food restaurants to explore nearby.
Now I’m in Mansfield. There aren’t as many ethnic food restaurants nearby. But the local Panda Express is much closer. So, I thought I should check them out.
I worked as a contractor at Frito Lays for a few months. I did the same at Pizza Hut. So, I’m familiar with how fast-food franchises operate.
Panda Express is a rare bird in the sense that it's independent. Its owners and co-founders are husband Andrew Cheng, wife Peggy Cheng, and Andrew’s father, Chef Ming Tsai Cheng. Peggy was a software engineer, working for defense contractors. She brought a systems analysis perspective to logistics and standardization necessary to scale up operations.
Back to the review. My career before retirement was in software.
I was born in Southeast Asia. The first thing I noticed was the tables were all occupied by customers who were not Asian. In a true Asian restaurant, this would be a red flag for me. But Panda Express is Americanized Asian. The recipes have been adjusted to American tastes. Real Chinese food is full of thick sauces. Panda Express food is lighter. Most likely healthier too.
I also noticed that the kitchen staff were not Asian. It doesn’t matter. The recipes are simplified. Remember that Peggy Cheng turned it into a systems approach.
I ordered their most popular dish: Orange Chicken. Since I had a coupon, the other dish I ordered was their new Spicy Orange Chicken.
Both dishes had a lot of fresh chopped vegetables. Unlike real Chinese food, Panda Express always had fresh vegetables that were not overcooked. Yeah!
Both Orange Chicken versions were delicious. And the service was fast.
I think I’ll be ordering from Panda Express more often. I recommend them.“