Panda Express

12.2.13.
A Panda Express on campus (Paradise Palms)?? What an upgrade!
It’s nice that UH decided to renovate & bring in some mainstream food choices into Paradise Palms. It might not be the greatest of choices, but when I’m craving orange chicken, it works for me!
The bowl is usually a good option for me while I’m on campus; just enough to hold me over for the day. I do believe that the prices here a slightly inflated, but a treat now and then isn’t so bad.
If I had any complaints, the staff here does seem a little haphazard when there’s a long line or lots of students around. The last time I came here I almost could have walked away with a free meal because they messed up on the order of the orders.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #335/​365

As far as food goes, Panda is always a solid choice, especially at UH-​Manoa where most places are notoriously overpriced. If you’re alright with having less choices than an off-​campus restaurant, Panda is fine. The typical fare is all here: orange chicken, string bean chicken, sweet fire chicken breast. Just don’t expect the newest entrees, or the full variety of entrees.
One of the campus organizations I am a part of recently collaborated with Panda for a fundraiser. (Turn in a Panda flyer on a specified date during open hours and 20% of the bill will be donated to your organization.) When you think about it, 20% of a $ 8 plate isn’t a significant amount, so make sure that if you embark on this path, you advertise really extensively. Compared to an off-​campus fundraiser (we’ve used CPK before), Panda is more convenient for students, but the tradeoff is that you’ll need to get a lot more people to stop by in order to make serious money.

I can’t really judge the prices compared to other Panda Express locations, but because this specific Panda Express is located on a college campus, chances are the prices are a bit higher than other places.
Out of all the other dining choices at Paradise Palms, Panda Express is by far my favorite not only because of the food but because they never get my order wrong. The choices are pretty limited compared to other places, so I always end up alternating between Orange Chicken, Beef & Broccoli, and Mushroom Chicken. The amount of food on the plate is more than enough and worth the money in my opinion.
This happens at every Panda Express, but they really try to push that egg roll and medium drink purchase… even if I already have a drink in my hand. I understand that the workers are somewhat obligated to ask this to every customer, so it’s probably my own fault for going back so much (shame on me).

Be careful on what you are ordering. While it is true that the Honey Walnut Shrimp is a dollar extra add on, they barely gave any shrimp, there were more Walnuts than Shrimp, and the batter was torn apart on some of the shrimp. When I asked for Orange Chicken, I got a ton of it like more than enough for two people. For $ 9.06 with tax on a 2 entrée plate with Honey Walnut Shrimp, Orange Chicken, and Fried Rice, its best to share this meal with a friend because it is way too much for me to handle. If you’re a small eater, get the Panda Bowl for $ 6.69 + tax which includes one side dish and one entrée, I forgot to mention that the choices for a side were between fried rice or noodles which was severely limited. I was hoping to choose steamed rice like the other Panda Express locations. That’s why this place deserves 4 stars, not 5.

Panda Express is now at UH Manoa, inside the newly renovated Paradise Palms. The food here is pretty much the same you’d find at any other Panda Express on island. I do feel that the prices are a bit more than the other locations, but I could be wrong.
For a two choice plate, I paid almost $ 10. I guess that’s because my two choices were honey walnut shrimp and angus stir fry steak (additional $ 1 more for each of those). Both were really delicious, but dang, definitely not priced for a college student!
I’ll definitely come back, but not too often. I’ll go broke trying to eat here every day!