Chinese Craving Taken Care of? Check!

Friday night, Mark, Mom and I went to the Panda Garden in Bradenton. It's located on 14th Street just south of the Ford dealership.


I hadn't been to Panda Garden in years but I've been wanting Chinese food in a real restaurant. I have good memories of getting those massive quantity entrees that everyone at the table feeds from. Hoping that it was still good, we gave it a go. What a good decision.


First of all - I didn't see anything on the menu (I'm talking dinner) that was over 7.50. The prices are unbelievably low, the family who apparently owns and works at the restaurant are tireless, attentive and somewhat intimidating. Mrs. Owner made us laugh with how fast she talked and how strong her accent was -- throwing Mark into a tail spin when she asked what kind of soup he wanted......wontonoreggdropsoup?....huh? WONTONOREGGDROPSOUP? Oh, right....Won Ton please!

Portions were huge. Mom ordered the dumpling appetizer. She got (and shared) 6 very large fried dumplings. Then she ordered the MooShu Pork that was enough to feed three people. I mean, three HUNGRY people. Mark got a combo platter with Shrimp and Lobster Sauce, Soup and an Eggroll. I had Mongolian Beef with an Eggroll. Again, enough to feed three people. When Mrs. Owner brought our food out, she was so cute (and scary) and wouldn't let us lift the covers off our dishes! Next time we'll be splitting a meal.

Our bill for all that food was 30.00. Ok...honestly....Mark and I can spend 20.00 at McDonalds (Not really. Ok. Yeah, sometimes). We'll go back and maybe next time I'll have the nerve to snap a picture. Of Mrs. Owner, of course AND the food.