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| - Maybe I came on an off day or maybe my fellow Yelpers just lead me astray, to be honest I'm not really sure which explanation is more likely. As a Charlotte native, I remember coming here a few times growing up, but the food was meh. Based on the Yelp reviews I was sure the ownership had changed and the food was going to be excellent, unfortunately that didn't end up being the case.
Midweek running between appointments and I'm starving decide to try this place because of the high rating and the fact that they have a Taiwanese menu. The vibe of this place is definitely divey. Think well used, but beloved space that was awesome in 1990, but in 2017 just seems worn. Sat down and asked if there was a Chinese menu and they told me the menu they gave me was the only one available. Ok fine I can go for some Americanized Chinese, but not what I was expecting.
Ordered Chicken and vegetables and hot and sour soup - quick, easy, no fuss. The soup came out first and wasn't too bad, not as flavorful as I would have liked, but for $5 and some change I can't really complain. The entree came out second I will say good selection of mixed veggies, but the chicken seemed to have been fried first and the rice/brown sauce was exorbitantly salty. I was chugging water like no-one's business and $5 I should I know what I'm getting myself into in terms of quality.
Mentioned the saltiness to the staff at check out and she stated that they had a new chef in the kitchen who might need to be told to go easy on the salt. Didn't realize until I left, but I guess she charged me less because of the salt issue which was a nice gesture.
Not sure I will be back to be honest. The food just wasn't really good and I value my blood pressure too much to subject myself to that kind of salt intake. However, I will say I love that Panda's Den is still working with local schools as evident by all of the posters at the entrance from various classrooms thanking them for donations/field trips.
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