Panda Palace is Perfect!

I love Chinese food, but only in Oakland or Irvine (go Sam Woo on Culver!). I'm too picky. I don't like bland, thick cornstarch sauces, overly breaded bits of low quality chicken, and overly salted food with limp vegetables. I also don't like the authentic pork fat and chicken legs.

That knocks out about 99 percent of the Chinese food in Southern California.

Panda Palace is a pretty restaurant, booths, tables, and a banquet room with the giant lazy susan tables. There is also a full bar and a patio. The service is old fashioned Chinese restaurant - something missing form a lot of upscale restaurants. Cloth tablecloths and napkins, appetizer plates, putting the napkins on your lap, and the waitress or waiter serving your plate for you all remind me of when going out for Chinese food was a special event.

The food is cooked to order. It comes out of the kitchen a little slowly - not so slow you are feeling forgotten - just more of a leisurely pace.

I loved the orange chicken. No breading - just a quick stir-fry and the dried orange peels. It's pungent and tasty. The pu pu platter was fun - who doesn't like flames on the table? Also delicious was the kung pow beef. You have a choice of white or brown rice and the brown rice is tender. The only lackluster dish was the Mongolian beef. All the meets and vegetables are a high quality.

If you're looking for a Chinese restaurant that will help you remember why people used to go out to eat (good food, great service and a little pampering), please stop by the Panda Palace.

http://www.pandapalacehb.com/
Located at Peter's Landing
16400 Pacific Coast Highway, suite 112
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Restaurant Hours:
Sunday -Thursday: 11am to 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday: 11am to 10:30pm