The 2 Other Restaurant Chains That We Didn't Realize Panda Express Owns - Tasting Table

"The story goes back to 1973, when Andrew and Peggy Cherng opened the first Panda Inn in Pasadena with Andrew's father, Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng. It was a family-run place built around Mandarin and Sichuan dishes. After opening a second location in 1982, a mall developer asked the Cherngs to create a quick-service version for Glendale Galleria. That experiment became Panda Express, which opened in October 1983. By 1985, nine stores were operating, and the brand kept growing from malls into supermarkets and beyond."

"Panda Inn is where it all began. It's a sit-down restaurant, not counter service, so the menu feels bigger and a little more refined. You can order Orange Chicken or Panda Beef - those crispy steak strips in a tangy orange-peel glaze - as well as Lobster Crispy Noodles, Mango Tea-Smoked Duck Salad, and Steamed Chilean Sea Bass steamed with ginger and scallions. At the Pasadena flagship, which just got a renovation, the menu stretches even further with sushi and sashimi."

"Then there's Hibachi-San, which scratches the itch for Japanese flavors in a quick-serve format. Poke bowls make up most of the menu. Cold proteins like sriracha ahi tuna or spicy yuzu salmon share space with hot options like tri-tip beef or even Spam. To wash it down, the chain offers milk teas and fruit teas, many of them with boba."

Panda Restaurant Group includes Panda Express, Panda Inn, and Hibachi-San, spanning quick-service, full-service, and fast-casual Japanese grill formats. Panda Inn began in Pasadena in 1973 as a family-run Mandarin and Sichuan restaurant and expanded into a larger menu with items like Lobster Crispy Noodles, Mango Tea-Smoked Duck Salad, and Steamed Chilean Sea Bass, plus sushi and sashimi at the renovated Pasadena flagship. Panda Express launched in 1983 after a 1982 mall experiment and grew from malls into supermarkets, airports, and other locations. Hibachi-San focuses on poke bowls with cold proteins like sriracha ahi tuna, hot options including tri-tip beef or Spam, and milk and fruit teas with boba.

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