By: Andres Luis Makilan, Staff Writer
Chipotle, Habit, Tiger Tea, Starbucks. Establishments, well, established, in close proximity to Mills. These businesses can always count on high schoolers tired after a hard day of work to spend some of their cold hard cash on their food and drinks. Recently though, Panda Express seems to have entered the fray, setting up their train of American Chinese cuisine right on the corner of Millbrae Station.
Walking down the bridge connecting El Camino to Rollins Road and up the sidewalk, there isn’t really anything to notify you that there is in fact a restaurant in the corner of this soon-to-be apartment building (aside from the three tables set up outside and the giant Panda Express sign set up right before the turn of the corner). The minimalist architecture gives the outside a bland flavor, but these are all small nitpicks that don’t matter as much as other aspects of the restaurant.
When you walk inside, the tone and vibe seems to undergo a total 180°. The minimalist structure still prevails, but this time with a coat of red paint and added references to Chinese culture. The lights give off this yellow glow separated by the Chinese lantern shell the bulb is placed in. The counter is almost reminiscent of Chipotle’s, as both are designed in a way so that the customer can see and smell the ready-made food selection. I briefly wondered if the choice of music being Tame Impala and Hoobastank was befitting of a place like this, but the music shortly turned into background noise soon after that thought.
The food and service can be best described with Little Caesars’ trademark phrase “Hot n’ Ready”, as the employee on the counter is ready for whatever you order and the food they give is steaming hot. The ordering process is fast, as you only need to say a handful of things to get the order through to which you can then take your tray to whichever table you so choose.
I ordered a plate, which was one side and two entrees. I chose their original Orange Chicken and the Honey Sesame Chicken Breast, since I was craving sweetness with a tad bit of spice mixed in. I ordered fried rice for the side. I also ordered some cream cheese rangoons, as I wanted to share some with my friend I had gone with. Within three or less minutes, the employee had the order ready and on a tray for me to pick up. I paid for the food, picked a table, poured myself some lemonade, and got straight to eating.
One thing anyone would expect from the fast delivery is that the food would be too hot to eat for a short amount of time, but surprisingly, it wasn’t. The food was hot enough for steam to be coming off it, but it wasn’t hot to the point where I had to blow on it multiple times or have it stay in my mouth for a minute or two. The quality of the food itself was really good, as the Orange Chicken just gave me the right amount of crunch along with a nice mixture of sweetness and spice, and the Honey Sesame Chicken just tasted saucy and went down the pipe easily. Even though the rangoon wasn’t a side, it still served as a nice way to finish the meal off.
Overall, Panda Express is something that is something that serves as an enjoyable (and in my opinion, better) alternative to Chipotle if the customer is in the mood for Chinese takeout and if they don’t mind walking twice the distance.
