New Panda Chinese Take Out

Ive been coming here for America Chinese food for about 6 years. The staff is usually friendly to deal with and the service is speedy. I have tried the fried scallops, fried chicken wings, boneless spare ribs, and the donuts. i love that they have the condiments (duck & soy sauce) out on the table for customers to grab. Nothing annoys me more than ordering food for 6 people and being given two of each sauce as if that will suffice. Anywho, I suggest going in to pick up your food because the only time that I have had an issue with an order was when I had it delivered.

All their dishes are really good, fast delivery and easy pick up. The hot and sour soup is fantastic!

Why do I bother? I know better than to order from Chinese Take-​Out. I KNOW BETTER. And yet, I found myself craving shrimp and broccoli (Boring, I know — but I LOVE broccoli and shrimp is a pretty safe bet since pork, chicken and beef at Chinese Take-​Out places is usually some pounded out unrecognizable particle board meat.)
I read Peter’s review and thought. . Beef Chow Fun? Sounds fun. I have had shrimp Chow fun before at a place in Catskill and it was pretty decent. So, I went with Peter’s recommendation and ordered the Beef Chow Fun and Shrimp and Broccoli. It was ready in. . you guessed it. . 10 minutes
I live about 7 minutes away and it was blazing hot when I got it home.
Shrimp and Broccoli: Broccoli was mush. That made me sad. Very very sad. I hate mushy broccoli. Know, I know what you’re thinking. . you are saying «But you ordered it to go, you knuckle head! That’s why it’s mushy») But you are wrong. Plenty of places, much further away, have managed to figure out how to under cook the broccoli so that it stays crunchy.
TOO much sauce. My fried rice (Ordered the combo meal) was swimming in sauce, like soup. Although the little bit of rice that was not wet tasted decent. . the fact that 95% of my rice was swimming. . made it inedible. The sauce itself had ZERO taste. Points for being not salty. . but there was no taste at all. The shrimp were also MUSHY.. so they were either very old or had been refrozen and defrosted many many times. I ate one shrimp and bit off a piece from another. . both so mushy that I refuse to eat any more. After about 5 bites: I THREW THIS IN THE TRASH
Beef Chow Fun: Although I trust Peter’s judgement and believe he probably did enjoy his dish — mine was awful. I did expect that pounded out particle board beef stuff. . so I don’t deduct any points for getting that in my dish. The noodled were ok. .. but again no flavor. It was as if they used the very same sauce from my Shrimp and Broccoli.
After three bites of this. . IN THE TRASH
The only saving grace: The egg roll was crispy and not too bad.
Don’t get me wrong — I don’t have high expectations when ordering Chinese Take Out. But I do expect to be able to gag it donwn. . instead of throwing it out.

I’ve stopped in at New Panda for quick lunches several times whenever I was in the mood for some good Chinese takeout at reasonable prices. This strip plaza eatery is very casual, which is an order at the counter place with open kitchen and a few tables for eating in.
The menu offerings include the standard Chinese dishes/​items including several Cantonese, Hunan, Szechuan, and Mandarin special dishes. 20 Daily Luncheon Specials served with pork fried rice and soup or soda ($ 5.30-$ 5.65) and 24 Special Combination Dinners served with pork fried rice and egg roll ($ 6.80-$ 8.30) are offered. The prices here are reasonable, most dishes/​items priced under $ 11.
On my last two visits to New Panda, I ordered the L8 Chicken Lo Mein ($ 5.50 plus tax) with Pork Fried Rice and Hot & Sour Soup, which is my favorite lunch special here. The portion of hot food is generous for the price, which means I can get about three lite lunches out of this order.
The lo mein noodles are cooked just right and tossed with tender soft chicken pieces with a mix of vegetables (cabbage, carrots, onions). The fried rice (light yellow color) has a firm texture with scallions, red pepper, and small pieces of roast pork (minimal fat). The hot & sour soup has a nice mild spicy flavor with a good mix of whipped egg, vegetables, bean curd, bamboo shoots, pork, & spices.
The place is quite busy here during the lunch rush. My food is usually ready in about 5 – 10 minutes and I’m back on the road in no time!
DELIVERY ($ 12 minimum)

Good portion sizes, ready very quickly. A bit expensive, we ordered 2 combination dinners, one sesame chicken and one beef with broccoli both with white rice. Both were very tasty and not too salty! Staff was very friendly and got us in and out very quick.

I had a craving for take out Chinese food. I normally avoid going to Asian restaurants in cities that do not have a large Asian population, since they are usually full of Americanized Asian restaurants (which can be good or bad depending on what you’re expecting).
I stopped by here hoping they would have Beef Chow Fun, which is my favorite Chinese dish. A lot of Americanized Chinese restaurants do not offer Beef Chow Fun, so I was extremely happy to discover that New Panda did have it. The portion size (as with most Chinese restaurants) was enormous — basically it was 3 regular sized portions, so I had plenty of leftovers to save for the following day’s lunch and dinner.
The Beef Chow Fun was better than average, which was about as good as I can expect from a place in Latham, NY. I don’t think I’d ever want to actually eat in at this place… though, they do have a few tables and it’s not as dirty as some other Chinese take out places. The kitchen area in the back is wide open for everyone to see, which is kinda neat. I’ve always been fascinated by how quickly Chinese restaurants are able to whip up their food. Also, I appreciate that they are not afraid to let people see what goes on in the back.
They also let me use my credit card for my $ 8 order and did not give me grief about it, which I appreciated.