Panda Express Innovation Kitchen
| Address: | 3867 E Foothill Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107, USA |
| Phone: | +1 626-351-9128 |
| Site: | pandaexpress.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
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Tiffany Cheung
Ever since I heard about the Panda Express burrito, Ive been dying to give Panda Expresss Innovation Kitchen a try. Definitely an interesting take on the Chinese fast food experience, especially since poke burritos and Chipotle burritos have been getting so popular. This location of Panda Express is pretty much the biggest one Ive ever seen, and is an actual storefront (while most others are usually at a food court). Very modernized and an actual casual fast-dining restaurant experience where there are chairs and booths for you to eat. Theres even a dessert/drink area to this location of Panda Express. Located in the same lot as Corner Bakery. Plenty of parking in the super big lot. So youre able to order the regular 2 combo, 1 main dish (except everythings better packaged here!), but they also offer you the option of ordering the items on a salad or in a burrito form. With the lights shining down on the items, everything looks pretty good - especially if youre hungry. They also offer you the option of sampling their items, so take advantage of that if you want to try a new item. 1 main dish item is around $6 while a 2 main dish item starts at $7.40. You can build upon your order by getting different combinations, starting with a base (scallion pancake wrap, salad, noodles, or fried/white/brown rice) then a main dish, before topping it off with various sauces and crunchy items. Of course I tried the burrito - a burrito in a green onion pancake loaded with orange chicken? But as soon as the worker started putting the fried rice onto the pancake, I knew this wouldnt turn out too well. I got orange chicken and the eggplant and tofu as the main dishes, before adding a citrus ginger vinaigrette, and some crispy wontons, pickled cucumbers, and green papaya slaw. I dont know if that sounds good to you, but it didnt look too appetizing when it sat out on the table in front of me. I dont know how youre supposed to eat it as the rice is so loose that it falls out, but I basically cut it in half and dug through the burrito before eating the green onion pancake after the inside portion was completed. My friend ordered a standard 2 item with 1 base along with an additional add on item. That was a much smarter idea. He said that the vegetables had really good taste, much better than the other Panda Express restaurants hes been to. The soda machine here is also super cool and high tech! You pick and choose which drink you want on an iPad looking machine. They also offer a variety of teas, but the prices seemed a bit too much for a place that doesnt specialize in teas. tl;dr - Eh, now that Ive given this a try, I dont think Ill ever make a drive out here just for this. The orange chicken actually was too soft and didnt have enough flavor as I expected it to have. Mashing everything together in one burrito just tasted pretty strange - super unappealing.
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Sophia Chang
I consider Panda Express to be a bastardization of Chinese food, and this Innovation Kitchen does not change my opinion. However, it is an improvement. I walked in with low expectations. After all, it is still a fast food establishment. So, I was pleased to see that it was nicely furnished with wood-ish booths, long tables, and stools. Chili sauce bottles are at every table. The tea bar has more comfortable, low-to-the-ground, individual seats for small groups. Overall, the place has clean, modern decor, complete with multiple TVs and electronic menus. The food is standard Panda Express fare. The "burrito" is a thin, scallion pancake wrap. You can build your own wrap or order one of the suggested combos. Since the more "innovative" hype was around the burrito, I went for that with orange chicken, chow mein, broccoli, sweet and sour sauce, and green onion sauce. The flavors overwhelm the wrap, so I could barely taste it, but that was expected. Theres not much to say about Pandas food, but I wish they had cut up the broccoli and chicken for the wrap. Its not the easiest biting experience, nor are the ingredients evenly distributed when theres large chunks of stuff in a burrito. I LOVE boba, so I was really excited to try the tea bar. If you order it with your burrito, you pick up your tea at the bar (or, if youre eating in, theyll bring it to you). I had the Panda Milk Tea with honey boba. For $4, you can definitely get better tea in the SGV, but it wasnt bad. The tea flavor was lighter than I wouldve liked, but otherwise, the boba tea was good. In summary: Average food, average service, nice decor, fun to try.
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Connie Lau
Decor is modern. Clean and welcoming. Lots of seating and Starbuck-like. Food looks decent but i have to say being Asian I steer clear of fast food places. I came in here because of their tea section. Bringing in the traditional boba and milk tea, i had yo give it a try. Surprisingly it was not bad. Pretty decent. I ordered the almond milk tea with chia seeds. Satisfied my thirst. Not sure if I would come back as often as other tea houses but it is a great option.
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Matt Kester
This is the coolest Panda Ive ever seen. I really liked the expanded options on the menu, but I did end up going with my go-to standby of Chow Mein, Orange Chicken and Kung Pao and I was not disappointed. This was the best experience Ive ever had dining at a Panda Express, and I sure wish they had one of these "Innovation Kitchens" close to where I live. My only gripe is that there was quite a line which contributed to a long wait before I got to eat.
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Eric Lai
Food here is almost like a standard Panda express, except for a few items. They also have an option for burritos or salads which is cool. The tea bar however is AMAZING. I go to many boba and milk tea shops and this place blows all of them out of the water in terms of quality and price. Everything is good, especially the sparkling ginger lemonade, and mojito green tea.
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Jon Wuo
This Panda is different cause you can get your food food wrapped in a Chinese style tortilla (green onion pancake). Its cool to try out their test foods to see the newest concepts Panda is playing with. Tonight I just had Beef Noodle Stew, and it was pretty satisfying. I highly recommend this place just for the experience of eating Panda Express like a burrito.
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Robert Ulrey
Three words....orange chicken burrito. I frequented this place every week when I was living in Arcadia. Scallion pancake wrap with a chow mein base, orange chicken, and all the toppings was my go to. So good. They need these everywhere. Tea bar was great too. Please panda express bring an innovation kitchen to Arlington/DC.
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Charlie Zhong
Most unique Panda Express around. Stop by to try an orange chicken wrap. Thats right, all that orange chicken goodness now in burrito form! If you go with a standard entree, the portions seem smaller, though it may be due to their fancier plates. There is an attached boba shop as well, though it was not very good.
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Matthew Shelbourn
One of the nicer Panda Express locations that Ive been to. The staff are attentive and friendly. My one mild gripe about this place is that the prices are on the high side considering it is essentially fast food and the portions are smaller than they used to be.
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TJ Dong
First time trying this place and probably wont go back. Its basically Panda Express with the option of putting things into a wrap or a salad. Plus they have a tea bar. Rather just go to a normal Panda Express and not deal with the lines here.
