Did Panda Express Change Its Orange Chicken? Customers Say The Flavor Isn’t The Same
According to a Redditor, who claims to be a Panda Express employee, the company has begun using a new ready-to-use sauce for its orange chicken, which is made off-site and shipped to stores to ensure consistency across all of its chains. The reveal came in response to a thread criticizing the new ready-to-use sauce and how it’s now seemingly super sour compared to the original.
The employee said that making the sauce in-store added more work to an already heavy workload, and was pleased that it was replaced. “They did a lot of tests before launching this. It’s what we are known for, so I think this must be what they intended for it to taste like all along,” they continued.
In response, the OP fired back, saying, “I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure if I will go back. I do not like the flavor at all. It might taste the same every time and cut back on workload (and payroll likely too), but that flavor is not the same. It’s disappointing. What good is consistency if people don’t like that new flavor? I can’t be alone in this.”
And guess what—the OP is far from alone. The thread is full of hate for the new recipe, from one Redditor saying, “…it was so sour it made me feel a bit sick I couldn’t eat it,” to another employee agreeing, “Thoroughly loved our orange chicken before they changed the sauce. Now I won’t even eat it,” and more.
One person who works at a location where the sauce was tested said that orange chicken sales were pretty much the same, so Panda Express is unlikely to switch back to the OG. That said, another employee at another location said that they’ve received complaints about the change. Not only is the taste different, but according to a customer, the color is too.
@yupizzasheet miss me with the "bad batch" nonsense, I'm an EXPERT #pandaexpress #orangechicken #fastfood #foodreview ♬ original sound – YuPizzaSheet
Reddit isn’t the only site flaming Panda Express, TikTok users are equally frustrated. A guy who goes by yupizzastreet—who is clearly infuriated and apparently eats the chain’s orange chicken at least once a week—posted a video about it that has racked up over a thousand comments.
From the replies, it’s clear that people haven’t been happy about the orange chicken at Panda Express for some time. “I stopped eating the orange chicken like 10 years ago when they turned them into crispy rocks with no chicken in them,” one person said.
Panda Express hasn’t officially confirmed the recipe change, nor has it responded to the growing number of customer complaints. Maybe the company will, maybe it won’t, and just let the initial flavor shock subside with time.
@yupizzasheet miss me with the "bad batch" nonsense, I'm an EXPERT #pandaexpress #orangechicken #fastfood #foodreview ♬ original sound – YuPizzaSheet
