Donut Pub, NYC

Another day, another donut.  Whatever city I am in, donuts seem to seek me out.  Certainly, this is helped by the that my offices have a donut rotation, where someone brings in donuts from a place of their choosing every week.  It generally means I get to try donuts from places further away from my house (or where I'm staying) than I'd normally go.  And it means I eat a lot of donuts.

When I was visiting my New York office this summer, it was of course donut day at some point.  My co-worker picked Donut Pub, a donut shop with two locations in Manhattan.  She got a selection of great looking donuts.

Great looking, but, overall, I was not impressed.  The donuts themselves were fairly average, and they relied heavily on far too sweet toppings/fillings.

Birthday Cake. $3.25.

"Yeast raised donut with vanilla icing, sprinkles, topped with buttercream."

The first one I went for was fairly ridiculous looking.  Yes, there was a donut hiding under all those sprinkles and frosting!

This was a raised ring donut, which may not be obvious at first glance, but, it was hollow in the center.  It had both vanilla icing cover it all AND the center filled/topped with buttercream, and of course the very heavy handed (er, generous?) application of sprinkles.  As you can imagine, um, it was a very sweet donut.

The donut itself was very average - average lightness and loftiness, and it was hard to really tell if it was greasy or not due to the toppings.  The vanilla icing was sweet, and the buttercream was crazy cloying sweet, and the sprinkles were the kind that are relatively waxy and, yup, sweet.  It was far too much sugar even for me to have in the morning, but if you think of it more like a cupcake, or perhaps if you are 5 years old, maybe it can be good.

This was a more premium offering, at $3.25, which is still reasonable for most NY donuts, given that $5-6 donuts are pretty normal.  **+.

Brooklyn Cream. $3.25.

"Buttercream filled and topped with chocolate icing."

Next up, I tried the "Brooklyn Cream", which is a play on the Boston cream (which they do also offer), but with buttercream filling rather than custard.

The raised yeast donut was similar to the previous one, fairly lofty, fairly light, but this time, rather than a ring, it was solid, and filled with the same cloying sweet buttercream.  I really love buttercream in general (I'm one who wants a cupcake to have equal parts frosting to cake!), but, I didn't really like this, as it was just too far in the sugar direction, and not enough, well, butter nor cream.  The chocolate icing was fine.

Another premium donut at the reasonable $3.25 price.  **+.

Assorted Regular Donuts: Red Velvet, Vanilla Cream,
Marble Cake, Apple Crumb.  $2.75 each.

A co-worker nicely grabbed me an assortment of other donuts to try.  She selected these, two cake donuts, and two raised.

Red Velvet (Cake):  Big let down. This one really was just a standard glazed old fashioned cake donut.  Yeah, it was reddish, but, I didn't taste anything red velvet about it (no cocoa element, and it seems like a missed opportunity to use a cream cheese glaze rather than generic regular glaze).  So ... interesting color, but average plain sweet glazed cake donut.  **+.

Vanilla Cream Powdered (Raised):  This was very similar to the Brooklyn Cream, but with powdered sugar rather than chocolate icing.  So again, average raised filled donut, cloying sweet frosting, and this time, powdered sugar coating, which didn't help to balance the sweetness in the same way the chocolate glaze did.  **+.

Marble (Cake):  Another cake donut, this one both regular and chocolate.  I don't think I've ever seen a marble donut before, so that was a bit unique.  But the donut itself was very average, and the chocolate flavor not particularly deep.  **+.

Apple Crumb (Raised):  This one was interesting at least.  It was a filled raised yeast donut, stuffed with apple pie filling (e.g. spiced bits of apple and goo), and then frosted with icing, and coated with crumbs.  The spicing was a bit much for my taste, and I was very sick of overly sweet donuts by the time I reached this one, so, the generous icing glaze was not particularly appealing.  A unique one though, so my favorite just as it was most interesting to eat.  ***.

These were all regular donuts, only $2.75 each.

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Panda Express

Update Review, October 2023

In fall of 2023, Panda Express made a major menu change.  They added a dessert item.  Yes, 40 years of being in business, and they finally added a dessert, besides the fortune cookie you always get with a meal.  Let me cut the chase: what they came up with is just as magical as their orange chicken.  Run, don't walk, and get one.  Stat!

Apple Pie Roll. $2.

"A sweet and fun American Chinese creation featuring a combination of juicy apples, fall spices, and cinnamon sugar like a classic American apple pie and wrapped in a crispy and flaky wonton wrapper, like a quintessential Chinese egg roll."

OMG.  Well, Panda Express, you have done it again.  It may have taken many years to have a dessert item, but, the wait was worth it.  This was shockingly good.  It is the love child of an apple pie, and a egg roll, and a churro, and just as amazing as it sounds.

I expected to need to bring it home to properly crisp it up in my toaster oven, I expected to want to add ice cream or whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel, but of course I tried a bite fresh, and ... wow.  It needed nothing.  Perfect as it was.

Super crispy fried shell, really well spiced and not too mushy apple pie filling, covered in all the cinnamon and sugar you could possibly want.  It had just the right amount of fried goodness, was so crispy, and the insides were gooey and satisfying, and didn't taste "cheap", not like apple pie filling from a can.  And the cinnamon sugar coating just takes it over the top.  Yes, it likely is improved by dunking into whipped cream, but, really, this is a beauty, and I'd get another in a heartbeat.

****+.  Perhaps the best fast food dessert I've ever had?

Only $2, or 6 for $11.40.

Original Review, November 2021

This is a story of my discovery of Panda Express.  No, I am not telling a story from my days of youth, but rather ... of last week.  Yes, I somehow made it this far into adulthood, without ever visiting a Panda Express location.

"Chinese Inspired. American Made. From our world famous Orange Chicken to our health-minded Wok Smart™ selections, Panda Express defines American Chinese cuisine with bold flavors and fresh ingredients. Freshly prepared. Every day."

In case you've never been to a mall, student center, amusement part, airport, or the like, or are otherwise thus unfamiliar, let me start with the basics.  Panda Express is mass produced, buffet style, americanized fast food chinese, found in food courts across the country.  Panda Express has been around since 1973, started in Pasadena.  It wasn't a hit right away, but now does have 2000+ locations, including some seemingly random international spots like Guatemala.

I've walked by Panda Express locations many times, even recall stories of friends absolutely raving about the signature dish (orange chicken), but, I never had any interest in visiting one.  I know not why, as I do like generic americanized Chinese food from time to time ...

Spoiler: I've been missing out.  Seriously, seriously missing out.  Many things are not worth the hype, but, Panda Express orange chicken really is.  I was shocked that on all my visits I found items to be far higher quality than I expected, but even more surprising, the execution of the dishes was all really well done.  The veggies were always cooked well, never mushy.  Proteins seem to be good quality, no chewy bits, no cartilage.  It seemed reasonably fresh, even though sitting in a buffet line.  That said, I can't imagine going all that frequently, because it was really, really heavy food.  It did not sit lightly ...

My First Panda Express:
Kids Meal & Egg Roll.  $10.10.

The first time I visited, I was cautious.  I really didn't expect to like it, and I know Chinese food can sit kinda heavy, so, I opted for a kid's meal, along with an appetizer. 

I was so in love with the experience, that I returned, literally, two days later.

My Second Panda Express:
Plate + Extra Entree: $11.10.

My next visit, I went all in.  No kid's meal for me.  Nope, not the regular adult Bowl either (with 1 entree and 1 side), I went all in, and got 3 entrees and 1 side, yes, all for me.  I wanted to try everything, and, really, who doesn't love Chinese food leftovers?

I can't wait to go back.

Setting

The location I visited was inside the Westfield Mall, with a small seating area adjacent dedicated to just their customers.  I opted for takeout each time though, going to eat in the larger communal seating area nearby.

Assembly line buffet.

Like all Panda Express locations (I think?), the setup is a buffet with all the items laid out, and a staff member creates your dish for you, they pass you down the line to finish it off.  

Sides: chow mein, super veggies, fried rice
Entrees: Crispy Almond Chicken, Beyond Orange chicken, Black Pepper Angus Steak, Honey Walnut Shrimp

You start by identifying which size you'd like, and your side dish.

I noted that Panda Express just so happens to lay out all the premium dishes first - the ones you stare at as you wait your turn, and as you start assembling your dish.  I do not think this is accidental.  All the dishes here, besides the crispy almond chicken, came with a $1.50 upcharge.

Several entrees:
Kung pao chicken, broccoli beef, orange chicken.

Next are the entrees, where you select 1-3, based on what type of meal you are getting.  Each one is well labelled, and seemed to be prepared in relatively small batches, so things stayed fairly fresh.  I appreciate being able to see them in advance.

Appetizers, entrees:
Tofu eggplant, teriyaki chicken, spring rolls, egg rolls, rangoon.

Finally you are asked innocently if you'd like a egg roll (yup, there is a charge, don't be fooled!), or you can add on another fried appetizer, and then you are passed off the cashier, who also handles beverages.

They never offer you sauce, but you can ask for soy sauce, hot mustard, and sweet and sour sauce (the later does come with appetizers).

Food

Meals at Panda Express are either Bowls (1 entree), Plates (2 entrees), or "Bigger Plates" (3 entrees), each of which also start with a "side", which is really more of a base.  The kid's meal is like a bowl, but, smaller portions.  You can also order dishes a la carte, I don't think people do that frequently.

Kid's Meal: Box. $7.30.

My first order was a kid's meal, and I kinda loved the box.  How cute was the panda?!

Plate: Super Greens, Broccoli Beef, Kung Pao Chicken. $11.10.

My second order I went all in, skipping past the regular adult size Bowl, and moving right on to the Plate, which comes with 2 adult portion entrees.  The "Plate" came in a generic large size white styrofoam box, much less fun than the kid's meal.  

Oh, and then I added a third entree on too (not pictured).  The extra entree I added came in Panda Express branded standard Chinese takeout mini container.

Appetizers

Panda Express offers 3 appetizers, all fried: spring rolls (veggie, sold as a pair), egg rolls (chicken, sold individually), and cream cheese rangoon (not crab rangoon, just cream cheese, sold as a trio).  All come with sweet & sour sauce on the side.

While the sides and entrees are relatively suited for steam tray buffet style serving, fried foods generally are not, so I didn't have great hope for these.  But still, I had to try, because, what is Chinese food without some fried wonton in some form?

Chicken Egg Roll. $2.

"Cabbage, carrots, green onions and chicken in a crispy wonton wrapper."

For my appetizer, I picked a rather unusual thing for me: the chicken egg roll.  Unusual as I don't like chicken, but, I do really like egg roll wrappers, and egg rolls were only available with chicken.  Plus, the spring rolls (thinner, not egg washed) had thin noodles in them which I don't care for, and the rangoons ... were just cream cheese?  I guess even imitation crab is too fancy for Panda Express?

So, the egg roll.  First, it was ... not really warm.  On the cool side.  Which was not a good thing.  Fried food should be hot and fresh!  And ... it seemed to have the thin noodles in it, the same noodles I was avoiding by not selecting the spring roll.  Sigh.  Since it was not hot enough, wasn't really something it seemed like I would like, and I had plenty of other food, I took a bite of it when I first got it, and decided to take it home.  I hoped my air fryer could save it.

I heated it up that evening, and it did indeed get both hot and crispy.  So those elements were fixed.  But it was still fairly mediocre - the wrapper didn't particularly have a great flavor, and the filling was quite heavy in the chicken department.  It tasted far more chicken forward than I liked.  I salvaged it by adding copious (and I mean copious) amounts of duck sauce I had at home, but, I felt pretty gross after eating it, and kinda wished I had just tossed it.  I would not get another.

**.

Sides

Most meals at Panda Express are formed from a "side" and 1-3 "entrees", where sides are steamed white or brown rice, veggie fried rice, veggie chow mein, or "Super Greens" (a mix of broccoli, cabbage, and kale).  You can also opt for 1/2 and 1/2 of any of these.  The side portion is extremely generous.

Since I don't really care for rice, my choice the first time I visited was pretty easy for my side: I'd do a half and half with the other two options, chow mein and super greens.  My second visit, I dropped the chow mein as I was not a fan, and just went with the Super Greens.  I'd consider trying the veggie fried rice sometime ...

Chow Mein

"Stir-fried wheat noodles with onions, celery and cabbage." 

Ok, I don't really like chow mein very much either, but, it seems like an essential part of a Chinese meal, and is the sort of thing I have certainly loved as cold leftovers before.  Plus, this was literally piping hot, the fresh wok full was placed on the line as I stepped up to order.

And ... yeah.  It was chow mein.  Hot and fresh, yes, but kinda soft.  I like it with a bit more chew to the noodles.  It was very, very greasy, and didn't have any particular flavor to it.  The bits of cabbage, onion, and celery were fine.  I ended up adding soy sauce and duck sauce, and ate some of it, but, meh.  I would like it more chewy and flavorful.  And far less greasy, although I know that is kinda the point.

**.

Super Greens.

"A healthful medley of broccoli, kale, and cabbage."

My other pick on my first visit was the Super Greens, because I actually wanted some vegetables.  

I was fairly pleased with this pick - a few large hunks of broccoli that was still crisp and not mushy, a bit of cabbage, and like one half a bite of kale.  Certainly not much kale, but this was fine.  The veggies seemed to have been stir fried, not steamed, and had salt added ... they were saltier than I expected, which was fine, but, beware if you are expecting simple steamed veggies.

Nothing exciting nor earth shattering about the veggies, but it was nice to have something to balance the greasy noodles and the very sweet and decadent orange chicken.  I'll certainly pick this again in the future.

***.

Update: My second visit, I went for just veggies as my side.  The larger portion was good so that I got more kale, and considerably more cabbage as well.  I was again fairly impressed that the veggies weren't too soft, but was again struck by the fact that they definitely were not just steamed, healthy greens.  There was a lot of salt, but also, some kind of very light sauce?  I can't say I loved the veggies, but, they were a better choice for my tastes than rice or chow mein.

Entrees

For entrees, Panda Express is very chicken heavy, with a few beef options, a single seafood option, and now two vegetarian options (tofu, Beyond Chicken).  I find it interesting that they don't have any pork on the menu anywhere - isn't pork fried rice a quintessential Chinese staple?  Panda's version is veggie fried rice only.

My particular Panda Express had 6 of the 9 chicken options available, including of course the signature Orange Chicken and its new fried Crispy Almond Chicken friend (they look much alike!), plus some healthier chicken breast options like string bean chicken breast, mushroom chicken, and grilled teriyaki chicken.  Kung Pao rounds out the chicken lineup.  If chicken isn't your thing, beef is an option, with two choices, the healthier classic broccoli beef or the fried spicy Beijing beef.  You can also splurge for an upgrade to the Black Pepper Angus Steak, for $1.25 more.  Pescatarians have only one option: crispy fried honey walnut shrimp, also a premium upgrade.  Vegetarians at most locations just can opt for Eggplant Tofu, but some select locations, mine included, offer a premium Beyond Chicken version of the orange chicken.

Kid's Meal:
Chow Mein & Super Greens (1/2 & 1/2) with Orange Chicken.

The Original Orange Chicken

"Our signature dish. Crispy chicken wok-tossed in a sweet and spicy orange sauce."

I couldn't visit Panda Express, and not try the signature dish.  Right?  Even though I truly hate chicken ... I had no choice, right?

So, orange chicken it was.  And, spoiler, I did NOT regret this decision.

ZOMG.  It took one bite, scratch that, *half* a bite, for me to totally and completely understand the hype.  This stuff is good.  Really, really, really good.  ZOMG.

I'm sure it helped that I had a fresh batch, but, it was perfectly crispy on the outside, smothered in delicious sweet sauce, and just downright addicting.  I could care less that chicken was what was hidden under all the tempura batter and sauce.  I can safely say it did not taste like chicken.  The chicken seemed to be a mix of white and dark meat.  Did the sauce taste like orange?  Not exactly, but it was sweet, but not in a cloying way.  It had a slight, slight level of spice, I'd certainly love more, but I get that this is for the masses.  And I tell you, this member of the masses was quite pleased.

The dish has nothing else to it.  No vegetables.  No garnishes.  Just, crispy chicken smothered in sauce.  And really, it doesn't need anything else.  I appreciated my Super Greens to balance out the sweet and fried, and I do think rice would be appropriate alongside.  I also think it is the stuff leftover dreams are made of, even though it would lose the crispness.

I don't want to be dramatic, but I think this was fairly life changing.  Hands down the most I've enjoyed chicken as far as I know.  Literally, no memory of enjoying chicken more.

****+.

Crispy Almond Chicken Breast.

"Our new, delicious Crispy Almond Chicken Breast features juicy, all-white meat chicken raised without antibiotics, with our crunchy, signature puffed-rice breading that is wok-tossed with toasted almonds & freshly chopped green onions in a savory soy garlic sauce."

My second trip to Panda Express, I decided to venture out, and try something else, even though, I must admit, the Orange Chicken was pretty hard to pass up.  For my first entree, I opted for the dish that looked a  lotlike the Orange Chicken, the newly added Crispy Orange Chicken Breast.

Of course, I knew this wouldn't be the same, as the sauce was described very different (just soy garlic sauce, not sweet and spicy), and the chicken promised to be higher end all-white meat breast, and even the coating was different (with puffed-rice?!), but it still looked pretty similar at first glance, and I hoped it would deliver in the same way in the crunchy department.

It turns out, it really was nothing like the Orange Chicken.  That doesn't mean it was bad, just, actually totally different. 

First, the pieces were significantly bigger, more like just slightly small chicken fingers.  While the orange chicken pieces were about 2 bites each, these were more like 3.  The ratio of chicken to breading was quite different as a result, these clearly fell more deeply into the chicken department, less into the "yay yummy coating and sauce!".  The "chicken finger"-esque aspect was further amplified by the fact that they were large pieces of actual chicken breast, they ate like ... well, chicken.  It did seem to be fairly high quality all white meat breast, no chewy or odd bits around.

The coating also was totally different.  It was equally delightfully crisp, but this coating had the puffed-rice in addition to the batter itself, which made the coating thicker overall, and just, different.  I'm not sure which I preferred.

And finally, the sauce.  This was just a sticky soy sauce, not a sweet and spicy orange sauce.  It was quite savory, coated the chicken well, and tasted fine, but it didn't have that "ZOMG GIVE ME MORE STAT!" quality the orange chicken sauce has.  The toasted almonds I barely noticed, as the crispy coating really added more crunch than they did.  And that was really it, like the orange chicken, no veggies to be seen.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it.  If you like white meat chicken, or want something a bit more wholesome (but still clearly quite fried), or just want to change it up, this was a good dish.  But ... if I'm getting crispy fried chicken at Panda Express, no question, I'm getting the orange chicken.

***+.

Kung Pao Chicken.

"A Sichuan-inspired dish with chicken, peanuts and vegetables, finished with chili peppers."

My second entree pick on my second visit was the Kung Pao Chicken, a very odd pick for me on the surface since 1) it is chicken, and this time, not hiding in breading and 2) I don't really seek out bell peppers nor zucchini, and those are the primary vegetables in it, but, I really wanted something spicy, and I was craving the peanuts.  Plus, it really always did look great, and quite fresh.  I figured it was worth the gamble, given that I was getting 3 full size entrees after all, if one was a flop, nbd, I had plenty of other food to eat.

I was beyond surprised when I quite liked it, although it really was not spicy at all.  For a dish that is marked spicy, and did indeed have big visible red chili peppers in it, I expected at least ... some heat.  This truly had none.  Besides the utter lack of heat though, it was good.

I think what I appreciated the most was how fun it actually was to eat with chopsticks.  The eating experience was just great - the small, hard peanuts, the bite sized zucchini and red pepper pieces, and then totally different sized bits of chicken, some a very big bite, but many just little morsels.  It was so easy to pick through with chopsticks for the next great bite.

The veggies were certainly not ones I'd normally seek out, I'm just not into zucchini or bell peppers, but I was pleased with how they both remained quite crisp, not mushy.  The zucchini in particular added a juicy element.  I only had 2 chunks of red bell pepper, but I didn't mind.

And finally, the chicken, which I truly, truly expected to just pick around, and eat the nuts and veggies with my other food instead ... was, uh, fine?  It was mostly thigh meat I think, but was absolutely free from all gristle, was not chewy, was really, just, fine.  Even without breading to hide in ... I didn't mind it.

It was all coated in a sauce, seemingly soy based, but it did have something else too it that I couldn't quite pinpoint, not sweet though.  And, not spicy, alas.

Overall, I actually enjoyed it, and took the leftovers home to make a kung pao mashed potato bowl ... which I know sounds odd, but, I had leftover mashed potatoes, and used them as my carb base instead of rice, and topped it with the kung pao chicken leftovers, mixed with stir fried fresh celery, baby corn, broccoli, onion, and mushrooms.  Oh, and chilis, because, it really needed the heat.

****.  I don't know if I'd order it again necessarily, as I'd still like to try more things, but, I wouldn't be opposed to it, which I certainly did not expect.

Broccoli Beef.

"A classic favorite. Tender beef and fresh broccoli in a ginger soy sauce."

My final (third) pick of entree on my second visit was the Broccoli Beef.  I selected it because I wanted something other than chicken, didn't want to splurge on a Premium (e.g. the angus beef or shrimp), and didn't want another fried option (the tempting Beijing beef), so, Broccoli Beef it was.

It was a pretty classic broccoli and beef dish, like you can get from any Chinese restaurant - thin strips of beef, lots of big juicy broccoli, savory salty sauce.

The beef, much like the chicken, surprised me in that it seemed quite reasonable quality - it was tender as described, and not a chewy bit to be found.   I really loved how much broccoli was included in the dish, and the fact that they left the broccoli in huge chunks.  I was also pleased at how crisp the stalks still were.  The broccoli soaked up the sauce quite well.

Overall, nothing earth shattering here, but well executed, and definitely above my expectations for a buffet.  A good choice to have something other than chicken, and it did make me want to splurge for the black pepper angus next time ...

***+.

Dessert

Every meal at Panda Express is served with a fortune cookie.  No other desserts are offered.  You can buy additional fortune cookies for a whopping $1.50, which seems totally crazy to me.

Kids Meal: Apple Crisps and Fortune Cookie.

I said no other desserts are offered, but kid's meals actually come with a bag of apple crisps.  Maybe those count as a dessert?

The fortune cookie was a pretty standard fortune cookie, which I enjoyed - it was crisp, fresh, and had a Panda Express branded message inside.

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