The Super Panda Chinese buffet recently closed its doors after inspectors uncovered multiple health code violations. With a local favorite gone, where are college students to go and get their fix?
A host of other local Chinese restaurants are available to Greensburg students. I have rated, in countdown format, the top five Chinese places in the area. Factors considered include quality, taste, price, customer service and overall convenience.
5. New City Buffet: China Star, recently renamed New City Buffet, is one of the only local buffets left. Its lunch price of $6-$7 proves affordable for the broke, struggling college student. The buffet remains well stocked the entire course of the meal and offers a wide variety of foods. The customer service is quality, with friendly employees and frequent refills on drinks. However, the buffet price shoots up past the $10 mark for dinner. The quality for the price, compared to other restaurants, suffers. In addition, no delivery is available; if you get a New City Buffet craving and have no car, it looks like you’ll be walking.
4. Peking Garden: Peking Garden has delicious, high quality food that makes my mouth water. With both dine in and delivery options (with free delivery to boot), it is ever so convenient. So, why isn’t it lower on the list? To begin with, the price is steep compared to most other local places. On top of this factor, I have never had a pleasant delivery experience. The deliveries take a fair amount of time, the food isn’t as warm as I’d like it to be and the drivers have been consistently unfriendly. Dining in proves the better choice to ensure the high quality and good customer service Peking Garden otherwise lacks in deliveries.
3. Szechuan Garden: Szechuan Garden appears very similar to Peking Garden in its quality and options. The food is high quality and tasty. Szechuan Garden also offers both delivery and eat in options. The prices are admittedly much too high, especially for the average college student. A typical meal clocks in at $8-$15, depending on portion size. Lunch isn’t much cheaper than dinner either. The reason Szechuan Garden ranks higher than Peking Garden, though they are the most expensive, is because their delivery service is excellent. The food is always hot, and the drivers are helpful. Just remember: Szechuan before Peking but after Fortune Cookie.
2. Fortune Cookie: Fortune Cookie has long been one of my favorite Chinese places in Greensburg. The food is addictive, and the prices are low. While no dine in options are available, delivery is only $1 extra. The food arrives fast and fresh. In addition, the drivers are some of the happiest people I have ever met. Though not as quality as its more expensive competitors, Fortune Cookie is the better deal overall.
1. China King: Undoubtedly the best Chinese place in the area, China King sends me cravings at its mere mention. The food is both delicious and high quality. Though largely focused on deliveries only, the food arrives piping hot and ready to eat every time. Even the sushi stays fresh and cold on its way. Prices are the lowest in all of Greensburg, and ordering won’t break the bank at all. Customer service has been consistently positive, with the same staff working during the course of my four years at Seton Hill. My only complaint with China King is the hoops I have to jump through each time I order. I often end up haggling for my food, whether it be a concern with the time, a lack of drivers, resistance to taking credit cards or another random hurdle to jump over. Still, the effort always pays off in the form of affordable food fit for a king.
To be clear, the Super Panda owner is currently working on revamping the restaurant to meet health code standards and reopen. These options are available in the meantime or, if you’re like me, for the rest of your stay in Greensburg. I just don’t think I can bring myself to eat at a place where sushi has been restricted and unidentifiable substances were found in the freezer.