Panda West Restaurant

My husband and I used to loooove Panda West. We’d been looking for great Chinese take-​out near home, and this fit the bill. We decided to order some delivery tonight, and I was going to try something a little different. Husband got his crispy beef as always, and I ventured to try the sesame beef. The sesame chicken was pretty good last night, so I thought the beef would also be good.
Well, it was pretty good until I realized it was raw inside. I cut into the beef and it was gummy, not hot, and incredibly mushy. You know, like raw meet tends to be. My husband sweetly took it back to the restaurant to show them, and according to them, «it was cooked– that’s how it is.»
Raw food is how it is? Seriously? According to their website, ownership is changing in a couple of weeks. Maybe they’re trying to drive away customers for the new owners. Suffice it to say, we won’t be ordering from them again.
On a positive note, the delivery guy was extremely pleasant.

This quite possibly could be the worst Chinese take out I have ever had. The General Tso sauce wasn’t spicy at all, it was dark brown and overly sweet, I’m not convinced that it was actually General Tso sauce. The Chicken was way too big and obviously reheated. The tempura shrimp was mostly batter and grease. The Crab Rangoon tasted like expired cream cheese in an over fried wonton wrapper. The lo mein had no flavor at all even after I added soy sauce, I imagine that it was because the noodles were so over cooked. I’m all for supporting local businesses, but this one needs a reality check — it’s not good, it’s barely mediocre. Do yourself a favor and order from somewhere else.

We decided to branch out from our normal Chinese place, just to see what was out there. It was okay. Similar to mall Chinese food. The lady behind the counter was very fast, though. The broth for the wonton soup was dark like a beef broth instead of light like a chicken broth. It had a little heat, which I enjoyed. The pasta for the wonton were really thick. My kids didn’t really like the lo mein. The spring rolls were smaller than average and were just okay. My husband said that the general tso was below average. It’s fine if you’re really hungry, but there are much better Chinese in the area.

I wasn’t to satisfied from waiting over 45min for the delivery to come and only get small amount of food. Yeah to top it off the orange chicken was more orange skin than chicken. My mom had a kick out of that. Rangoon were an A+ at least.

Seriously don’t know where the ratings are coming from. This place has been around since forever. The only place we get take out from when it comes to Chinese food. The food has always been really delicious. The sauces they use are very rich and full of flavor. I don’t think they use msg because I’m never in a food coma when I’m done eating, but who knows. The delivery is always fast and efficient.

bleh! Checked this place out b/​c of some positive reviews on TripAdvisor. Wish I hadn’t. Food was not great, the restaurant was located in a questionable shopping center, and cleanliness is questionable too.
Skip this place, and head over to China King in Cascades. Much better food for about the same price. Better locale too!

We’ve had this a couple more times since my original review, and I’m bumping them up to 4 stars. I’ve ordered the fried bean curd several times (it’s my new favorite) and the sesame chicken was pretty good too. They have been a little stingy on the rice sometimes, but it’s easy (and cheap) to just order an extra rice if you think you’ll want one.

We got take-​out from Panda West based on the Unilocal reviews here. We ordered 3 dishes: bean curd with veggies, veggie lo mein, and chicken with snow peas. Overall the food was freshly prepared with good ingredients, but was lacking flavor.
The best dish of the three was the bean curd. It was fried and had a pretty good sauce. Both the lo mein and chicken with snow peas had very little flavor — it was almost as if they forgot the seasoning.
I am not sure if we will go back — if we do I will probably try the General Tso’s, as that seems to be popular based on other reviews.

First, my disclaimer: I live within walking distance of Panda West.
That said, I will confess that no other Chinese carryout comes close to offering the freshness of food at the price Panda West does. In my opinion, the Hot and Sour Soup is the best in the area. Oh, I’ve had it «off» maybe twice in all the time I’ve been there, but that just shows it doesn’t come out of a can!
My favorite dishes are Chicken w/​Black Bean Sauce, Ginger Chicken w/​String Beans and Chicken w/​Snow Peas. But I’ve tried nearly every dish on the menu, and have not been disappointed.
Most dishes are available in three sizes: Regular, Large and Economical Dinner Combo (E.D.C.). The EDC includes a tempura shrimp and a spring roll. They offer lunch specials — all for under $ 5, which include an egg roll and fried rice. They will season to taste on request.
I consider this a «hidden treasure» in the Sterling, VA area. Located at the back end of a little strip mall behind a 7-​Eleven in an old bank building, this is really a carryout only, although they have recently added three small tables for quick dining. It’s a no-​frills atmospere — here, the food is the thing!
The staff is friendly and accommodating. They offer a delivery service as well.
Please don’t go to Panda West. I’m afraid they’ll become so popular that I won’t be able to get my twice-​weekly dinner! :)

Panda West is hidden at the end of a strip center in Sugarland Run, a neighbourhood that for some reason has no sidewalks. Panda West occupies what must have been a bank at some point, seeing as it has a non-​functioning double drive-​through. The inside is straightforward and simple, there’s a counter to order, a vending machine, and three small tables. Clearly take-​away is their primary business.
I ordered the General Tso’s lunch special, which for a paltry $ 4.95 gives you some fried rice, a reasonable portion of chicken, and an egg roll. I set up my chem homework at one of the tables and was calculating a p-​orbital when my food was ready. Fried rice was, well, rice. It was clear the rice had been fried and soy sauce was added to it, but nothing else was. I think the egg roll had pork in it, not really sure, but it’s was greasy and tasty. The chicken was crispy and juicy, but the sauce left more to be desired. Too bland, it wasn’t that sweet, gingery, sour kick that I am used to. Nonetheless, it was a fair lunch that was a decent accompaniment to my chemistry homework.
Overall, you get what you pay for. It’s cheap, it’s palatable, but it’s not much else
Oh, and be sure to have cash; they’ll charge you a 50 cent fee to use a card if your order is under $ 10. Perfectly understandable when you consider how much companies like Verifone charge small businesses to use their P.O.S. devices.

Take out only. This place has been around for years! Nestled in the back behind the 7 – 11 Panda West has been making wonderful chinese food for over 20 years. The General’s Tso’s Chicken is the best that I have ever had. The EDC version has a spring roll and Shrimp Tempura included. You cannot go wrong with anything you order here. Tiffany has been the same owner for as long as I have gone here. If you go there during December, you can get a free calendar too! :-)