10 Rules To Know Before Eating At Panda Express

Arguably the most well-known fast casual American Chinese chain out there, Panda Express is determined to leave you satisfied. Whether you're trying its famous orange chicken (which sells a staggering amount each year) or opting for one of its many other entrées, it's the kind of place you head to when you're ravenous for some quick, reliable food that's big on flavor. It's also not exactly a complicated place to dine: Whether you're eating in or ordering takeout, most of us know the drill about how to order and what we're going to like, and its entire vibe is pretty down to earth.

However, that doesn't mean that you've got Panda Express down, folks. Like any restaurant, this chain has its own idiosyncrasies and secrets, and certain rules to follow that can make your visit as smooth and successful as possible. A lot of these rules aren't ones that Panda Express imposes, but rather things that you should keep in mind when you're eating there to ensure that you're getting the most for your money — and that you're not annoying the folks who work there. If you're ready to revolutionize your Panda Express game, we've got everything you need to know right here.

Panda Express has a few sizes to choose from when you're ordering, and to be honest, things can get a little confusing. You can pick from a bowl, plate, or a Bigger Plate, or you can go big and get a family meal (which, as you can probably guess, is a good option if you're feeding a group of youngsters — or so you might think). However, one thing you need to remember when eating there is that if you're hungry and planning on eating a lot of food, or sharing with someone else, then going for a Bigger Plate is almost always the most cost-effective option. Bigger Plates give you three portions of your chosen entrées, while a bowl gives you one and a plate gives you two. However, a Bigger Plate is only a few bucks more than a bowl or a plate, and while you don't get more rice or noodles, you do get more of those big-ticket main dishes.

Additionally, a Bigger Plate is likely going to be a smarter option most of the time than opting for a family meal. If you order two Bigger Plates, you get six entrées and two sides, whereas a family meal gives you three entrées and two sides. Ordering two Bigger Plates, though, will work out to a lower cost than one family meal.

We all know the drill: We sign up for a rewards program expecting the world from a restaurant, and we get pretty much nothing in return. Then, we're spammed with emails until the end of time. If this is a familiar scenario for you, you may have been scared of rewards program for life — but Panda Express' scheme is one that's actually worth being a part of, especially if you dine there frequently. Panda Rewards, which is free to sign up for, allows you to accrue points every time you dine there, and these points convert fairly quickly into options you'll likely want. For example, 250 points allows you to upgrade your plate to a Bigger Plate, which basically gives you a free entrée. You'll get 250 points by spending just $25, too, so the scheme lets you stock up on points fast.

Panda Rewards also gives you a free birthday gift and access to exclusive offers and insider info. Plus, we're a big fan of how reactive Panda Express is with its rewards scheme when it identifies that something isn't working. It recently stopped offering its Good Fortune Gifts initiative after it was criticized by customers for being elitist and only useful to high spenders. We love a company that listens to the people who spend money there.

When you order at Panda Express, your bowl or plate is built in front of you: You pick your sides, choose your entrées, and then ask for any additions on top. However, while Panda Express employees are pretty helpful at guiding the order of the items you choose, it can be easy to leap ahead and pick your entrées first. Given that these are the main event, it's only natural that you'd do this — but doing so will likely mess up your server's flow, and may also leave you with less food than you'd anticipated.

By starting with your sides, the server is able to make a bed of rice, fried rice, or noodles, upon which they can ladle the saucy entrée. This keeps things way less messy, as rice isn't left spilling everywhere as they heap it into a half-full box. In return for making your server's life easier, they may well then add in a little extra of your entrée (which they can of course fit in more easily, given that they're not having to judge how much rice they can get onto the bowl without causing a starchy avalanche). Call it good karma.

We all want to feel as though the food we're ordering in fast casual joints is freshly made. At Panda Express, this can feel a little harder to achieve. Ordering at Panda Express works by the servers building the plate in front of you from buffet-style tureens of food, as opposed to each meal being cooked to order, so it's fair to question when that food was made. You might be wondering whether you're about to get a meal that was cooked hours ago.

As such, one key rule to make your experience as good as possible is to go at specific times of the day. As you might expect, heading in just after the restaurant opens is a good time to ensure that everything's fresh, as it will have just been made, ready for the day ahead. Somewhat counterintuitively, too, the food will also be freshest during peak times at lunch and dinner. This is when the servers and chefs are rotating the most stock, so there will be a near-constant stream of just-cooked food flying out of the kitchen. By contrast, it's usually best to avoid the mid-afternoon lull, as there may not have been much turnover between the end of the lunch rush and the start of the dinner one.

The name of the ever-popular broccoli beef promises two things: Broccoli, and beef. However, at Panda Express they do things a little differently. The restaurant's broccoli beef is infamous for having not that much beef in it. This isn't something that's unknown to its front of house staff, either. According to a Redditor who claimed to be an employee at Panda Express, "The recipe for broccoli beef is literally 1 pound of broccoli for 8 ounces of beef. This is why the wording of the dish is so important." The commenter went on to mention that front of house staff are routinely trained in the significance of how to serve this order (we'd imagine that's so they're prepared when people question the amount of beef in their dish, to be honest).

Therefore, if you want a dish from Panda Express that's heavy on the meat, opt for an entrée that doesn't have an additional ingredient that could dilute the amount of protein. The grilled teriyaki chicken can be a good option here, as it's all chicken, no filler, providing 33 grams of protein per serving. For contrast, the broccoli beef delivers just nine grams per portion. The black pepper steak is also a fairly protein-rich choice, with 19 grams in every serving.

Here's the deal: Working in customer service can be tough, especially when you're doing so in a restaurant setting. A lot of the time it's a blast: You get to chat with customers, give people delicious food that puts a smile on their face, and hang out with your co-workers. Other times, you have to deal with customers who treat your place of work like a personal palace, leaving food and trash everywhere for you to scoop up.

This is a particular issue at Panda Express, where the food served can be a little messier and less self-contained than other styles. It's therefore easier to leave your table in an untidy state. Panda Express employees have pointed out that some diners add insult to injury by failing to pick up their trash afterward, and leaving both that and their food waste all over the place. Don't be that guy, folks. Tidy up after yourself, be nice to the people who work there, and be mindful of your fellow customers too – Panda Express workers notice when you aren't. In return, everyone involved will have a much better experience.

DoorDash is many people's favorite delivery app, and its one-stop shop nature makes it easy to get whatever you want on there. However, if you're in the mood for Panda Express, a key rule is that you should never order it through DoorDash, and instead get the restaurant's dedicated app. The price difference between Panda Express' app and other delivery services is pretty wild, with DoorDash slapping on extra charges that nudge up your spend. Plus, there's no discernible time difference between ordering through DoorDash or the Panda Express app, as when you grab your food through the latter it's delivered by DoorDash drivers.

Plus, the Panda Express app is pretty great. A survey conducted by Ipsos found that Panda Express led the pack for customer satisfaction with its app, with users praising its in-app benefits. We know it can be annoying to have to download yet another app for your phone, but if you're a regular diner at the restaurant, it's definitely worth it.

American Chinese food is pretty different from traditional Chinese cuisine, with dishes like sweet and sour pork being completely different in the United States than the type you'd find in China. At Panda Express, you see this in full force: Its dishes are typically created and tailored with speed and mass appeal in mind, which can sometimes leave them a little high in components like sugar, sodium, and fat. It can also mean that they're slightly lower on protein, with some dishes, like its string bean chicken breast, having just 12 grams per portion.

However, Panda Express is a broad church, and there are plenty of healthy things you can order there. A great option is to choose one of its Balanced Protein Plates, dishes made in consultation with registered dietitian Kylie Sakaida that aim to provide protein, vitamins, minerals, and of course taste. Its Double Protein Plate, for example, combines teriyaki chicken, white steamed rice, and super greens, and delivers a whopping 76 grams of protein per serving. If you want to stick to its regular menu, you can also grab one of its Wok Smart entrées, which promise a minimum of 8 grams of protein while having less than 300 calories per portion.

We all have our favorites at Panda Express, and sometimes, you just want a whole bunch of black pepper chicken or Beijing beef. However, to do so, it can feel as though you have to order several different meals, or alternatively, separate entrées – which can really jack up the price of your final bill. Thankfully, there's a nifty little trick you can do which allows you to stack up on your preferred entrée while keeping the cost reasonable. Go for a plate or Bigger Plate meal (which will give you two or three entrées respectively), and then simply pick the item you want twice or three times over.

To do this, it can help to play the game a little. Some folks online suggest pretending to consider other entrées between going for the same one. We'd imagine that's so that you ensure that the server doesn't inadvertently give you less because you've asked for it all in one go. Personally, we feel like you can just be honest and tell them you'd like all your entrées to be one thing. Unless you want to practice your acting skills, of course.

No food from fast casual restaurants is made equal, no matter how much money they invest into menu development. Unfortunately, this is true at Panda Express. While its food is generally good, there are certain Panda Express menu items that people generally agree aren't the best, and it's smart to think carefully about what you're ordering to ensure your meal is as good as possible.

Its Kung Pao chicken, for example, is generally considered to be fairly middle of the road, with a texture that doesn't quite hit the spot. The peppers tend to soften too much, making a strange, squishy consistency, while the sauce makes the dish a little too wet and syrupy. Its black pepper steak also suffers on the texture front, with multiple people noting that its meat is tough and hard to chew through. Conversely, as Panda Express' specialty, its orange chicken consistently hits the spot. If you're ever in doubt about what to order, go for this all-time favorite.