Panda Express is one of America's favorite restaurant chains.
Set up like a hot bar with a wide array of Westernized Chinese cuisine, Panda Express
is practically tailor-made to meet all your cravings for delicious, salty, tangy goodness.
Over the years, the chain has deeply impacted the way Americans eat Chinese Food.
Chief Brand Officer Andrea Cherng, who is the granddaughter of the chain's first chef,
put it best in her statement on the company's values. She said:
"The dishes [my grandfather] helped inspire [...] have become the definition of not
only American Chinese comfort food, but simply American comfort food."
"We were the first taste of Chinese food for many in the U.S. What I say about
Panda is that we're the largest mom and pop Chinese restaurant in the world."
One of Panda Express' most renowned menu items is the Honey Walnut Shrimp.
This dish has a legion of devoted fans who, by all accounts, would happily never order anything else.
Honey Walnut Shrimp's roots lie in traditional Chinese cuisine, but the dish has since become
a ubiquitous standard in Westernized Chinese food. It is exactly what the name implies: shrimp with
walnuts in a honey sauce. The Panda Express recipe coats the shrimp in a tempura batter,
fries them up, and tosses them in a wok with glazed walnuts and their signature honey sauce.
The recipe likely originated in Hong Kong and was brought to the United States
in the '80s and '90s. It has been available at Panda Express since 2010,
when their version debuted to hordes of hungry fans. It did, however, come with a price.
The cost of your meal at Panda Express depends on how you order it,
what portion size you get, and the store's location. That said,
the Honey Walnut Shrimp is generally considered a premium entrée option with an extra charge,
making it a little more expensive than the restaurant's more typical offerings.
The slightly higher cost of the Honey Walnut Shrimp at Panda Express is certainly one of
its main downsides, and may leave some customers wondering whether the extra price is worth it.
This dish isn't the only one on the menu with an upcharge, of course:
Whenever there is a shrimp option at Panda Express, the price includes that premium upcharge.
When asked by fans on Twitter what the charge was for,
the official Panda Express account explained that it's supposed to cover the difference
in ingredient costs. The shrimp costs more than traditional entrée ingredients like
chicken or vegetables, and this cost is passed onto the customer. Luckily, many people seem
to agree that Panda Express' Honey Walnut Shrimp is more than worth the higher cost.
YouTuber Big Daddy's World gave the dish an eight out of 10. Meanwhile,
Bite and Chew Food Review on YouTube also enjoyed the dish, commenting on the particularly large
size of the shrimp, the satisfyingly crispy coating, and the sweet yet subtle flavoring.
He also described the shrimp as tender and juicy, giving it a 10 out of 10 rating. Not
all the dish's reviews have been positive, however. In particular, Thrillist have
described the Honey Walnut Shrimp as goopy, overly sweet, and lacking in crispy crunch.
Of course, it never hurts to take nutrition into account. Luckily, the Honey Walnut Shrimp at
Panda Express isn't too bad for you, although it's certainly not the healthiest food option
out there, either. At the end of the day, this is a fried dish with a sugary sauce,
so it's not going to be considered a health food by any measure.
In a 3.7-ounce serving of this dish, you'll find 360 calories, 260 of which come from
the fat. The total fat is 23 grams, with 3.5 grams of saturated fat and 0 grams of trans
fat. The cholesterol level of the dish is 100 milligrams. There are 35 grams of carbohydrates,
including 2 grams of dietary fiber and 9 grams of sugar. The sodium content is 440 milligrams.
Bottom line? If you are looking to eat especially healthy,
then you'll want to steer clear. If there's room in your diet for some wiggle room,
however — or you just want to treat yourself — then this might be the dish for you.
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