I have lived in the Pasadena area all my life and tonight I had an opportunity to finally try Panda Inn for dinner.

Here’s a quick review:
– The steamed dumplings lacked flavor – blah
– Crispy calamari – no taste – blah
– Braised String Beans – the best of the dishes we had, but I have had better.
– Sweet and Aromatic Shrimp – tasty – the light batter was not a good addition
– Kon Pao Chicken – was ok, with the beans probably the best of the dishes we had.

The location and decor is impressive and the size of the restaurant is enough to seat at least 200+ people. Good for larger groups.

There’s a bar as well.

My party was already seated and I came to sit down, within a few minutes a waiter came to the table and took our order another person came with water, as the water was being put on the table I had a thought cross my mind… what if the water spilled.. and there the water spilled right on the table and onto my lap.

The waiter apologized a few times. But it took them 5-10 minutes to bring extra napkins and mop up the water. Then it took more time to get a new glass of water.

The hot tea came but there was no tea it was just hot water.

We finally received our appetizers, nothing too exciting.

The food at Panda Inn is a step up from what you find at your local Panda Express take out food locations.

One of the plates was shrimp and it was kind of slimy  the pad thai had some sand or dirt in some of the vegetable/mushrooms.

Panda Inn: Award Winning Mandarin and Szechuan Cuisine
3488 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107
626.793.7300

The manager of this location is Steve Yip and can be contacted at steve.yip@pandarg.com