Panda Express vs. P.F. Chang's

The video compares the two largest Chinese food restaurants in the United States in seven key categories.

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Company Declines:
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[Nyxelestia]

While they both have immigrant founders, as a first-gen American I have a lot more respect for the Panda Express founders and their story. They knew what they were good at and stuck to it, whereas the PF Chang founders sold what they had as soon as they started to get rich. I think it's also telling that PF Change marketing and rhetoric often tried to emphasize the "authenticity" of their dishes (or at least they used to), but Panda Express never wasted time on that. Some people like to harp on it for not being authentic, but to me that's a selling point. It's not Chinese food, it's Chinese-American food, and that's its strength, not its weakness.

[Christian-sesi]

Panda express is inside malls while PF changs is across the street from them

[MirzaAhmed]

P. F. Chang's is shockingly expensive.

[RedPowerGod]

There's something very satisfying about these video essays. Hard to pinpoint exactly why.

[gillythekid]

P.F. Chang’s used to own Pei Wei, which is probably a more apt comparison, or even something like the mall chain Master Wok. This is pretty much like comparing Five Guys to Red Robin.

[ckfinke]

Cannot wait for your KFC vs. Popeyes video.

[Woozlewuzzleable]

The biggest difference is that one is cheap and the other is very overpriced for what it is. Changs is like a Asian Fridays pretending to be something else and Pandas is one of the only fast food restaurants that I go to because mom and pop Chinese restaurants have gotten too expensive for me.

[MrBeardsley]

I’d pick Panda Express in a heartbeat. If I want a nice dinner at an Asian restaurant I have countless better (and usually cheaper) options than a casual dining chain, but Panda Express perfectly fits those times I don’t really want fast food but only have fast food money.

[nooneinparticular]

I have worked at PF Changs for a few years at a location in Arizona where the higher-ups in corporate frequent because they live in the area, and because of that, my location has been subject to a lot of testing before changes hit the rest of the locations, and honestly things do not seem to be going well. They have been offering a ridiculous amount of promotions and coupons, to the point where many people were able to combine them and take 50% off their totals. They tried changing portion sizes so that their were entrée options that aren't meant to be shared, and lunch offers of getting your food in 20 minutes or it's free. I think they said something along the lines of them trying to shift away from being a place that people eat on special occasions and closer to that casual dining experience. They are ridiculously expensive, to where I rarely order their food even with my employee discount, but I was always able to justify the price because everything was made to order fresh in-house, but unfortunately that is not the case anymore either. Most things come in proportioned and practically premade now. In the last couple of weeks they stopped making the famous lettuce wrap sauce fresh too. We now get that from a bottle that is not appetizing at all if I am honest.

[bloqk]

One aspect that makes Panda Express my personal preference over the independently owned places is with its cleanliness. Panda Express always rates well with the regional health inspectors where I live. Whereas the local independent Asian restaurants have a predilection with substandard food handling/storage hygiene and are frequently cited for health codes violations.

[jobias]

I'm a Chinese-Canadian who loves mom-and-pop restaurants. And I still love Panda Express. Orange Chicken and Walnut Shrimp forever.

i can't fault a Hong Kong and Taiwanese immigrant for making a spin on the food they grew up on mixed with the country they adopted and making a billion dollars off of it.

[NewGuy]

ProTip: Skip both places and find a local Ma and Pa place where you get more food, better quality and fresh than a large corporate chain.

Look for ones where they keep scooping food and the ToGo box can BARELY close!

[bloqk]

Philip Chiang's mother having a Mandarin restaurant in San Francisco was distinctive with serving Mandarin cuisine, as that region was predominantly Cantonese when it came to restaurants and take-out.

[PockASqueeno]

I love your random clips in the video that have nothing to do with the content, like the random dude scratching his chin at the end. 😂

[zch]

This is like comparing oranges to really bad oranges

[Diembee]

Love watching this right before I clock into work (at PF Chang’s)

[oreojsn]

I order Panda Express every Wednesday almost ritually for my coworker and I to start the week. As truck drivers always on the go, we want something that's healthier than greasy burger and fries but still relatively cheap and quick to pick-up on the way to work. Sometimes we mix it up with Chipotle but Panda is our reliable go to.

Food is fresh, service is friendly, the nrw rewards program is neat, and they pay their employees pretty well! Here in California they start new hires at $21-$24/hr and managers $40/hr+! A friend of mine made $32/hr as a full time cook there.

Tasty quality food, convenience, friendly service and good employee pay packages. For those reasons Panda is always a win in my book.

[allhailderpfestor]

I def like Panda Express better mostly because Panda is one of those "you know its not as good as authentic local resturant but is cheap, reliable, convinent and pretty much everywhere" so you have a reason to go there even if you know other Chinese resturants that's better.

I honestly didn't find much reason to choose P.F. Chang over proper good Chinese restaurant.

[shadowfoxx]

P.f. Chang's is a sit-down chain restaurant, panda Express is fast food. This is like comparing Wendy's to red lobster

[Saintnick]

Another interesting similarity between Panda Express and P.F. Chang's: Both sell their products in grocery stores. Panda Express sells bottles of its sauces, while P.F. Chang's sells frozen versions of some of its entrees like the aforementioned lettuce wraps, chicken lo mein, General Chang's chicken and even its white rice. I'd say it's been a good way for P.F. Chang's to get their name out there, especially since not every town is near a P.F. Chang's while Panda Express is becoming more ubiquitous. That frozen rice is about as much as I've ever had from P.F. Chang's, while I went to a Panda Express onceat my local mall in the late '90s and wasn't all that impressed.