Post: #1

I am seriously considering opening a Panda Express style restaurant way south of the Rio Grande.

Any Chinese food restaurant experts out there?

I particularly want to know how Panda Express makes its Orange Chicken so consistently soft and tender.

If I get Orange Chicken at a mom-and-pop restaurant, the Orange Chicken is too chewy and slimy...even though they are using the dark meat which is supposed to be more tender.

I sure that it is pre-fried before it gets to Panda Express.
I chatted online with a chef and he said they probably use a tenderizer.

Any advice and insights into the Chinese restaurant business are greatly appreciated.

Post: #2

I'd suggest reading "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles" by Jennifer Lee. I just finished it. Its not about opening a Chinese restaurant but on the history of Chinese food and various interesting tidbits. There is also a chapter on what makes a great Chinese restaurant.

Some of her observations

-Have waiters who understand and speak Chinese
-Specialties listed on the wall
-Menus should have Chinese writing
-Fish Tanks with edible fish

Don'ts

-No Chinese Zodiac mats
-Dont charge for rice or tea

I personally don't have any inside knowledge but just as a consumer.

-Have a no frills website with the menu (very important) and all the prices listed. Many some shots of the interior and the people who work there

-This is obvious but do social media. Twitter, Facebook. Maybe do some advertising welcoming people who are doing meetups or things of that nature. Make sure your restaurant is registered on Google Maps. Have one of those Yelp stickers asking customers to review.

-Make your restaurant as Chinese as possible. Its lame but people want a Chinese restaurant want it to feel exotic. Pick up some prints of Chinese paintings, all that kitschy Chinese stuff.

-I think the soup is very important. Instead of Wonton or Egg Drop soup I would suggest a spicy soup, there is something called jjamppong. Its kind of a Chinese dish that was adopted by Koreans. Basically a very spicy soup with seafood.

If you paired that up with a sweet sour dish like General Tso's chicken I think that would go very well. Personally I would go to your restaurant every day if you offered [one main dish] + [spicy soup] + [rice] + [water or tea] and decent service.

The soup is key.

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjamppong

Post: #3

(08-12-2015 06:02 PM)Castelnau Wrote:  I'd suggest reading "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles" by Jennifer Lee...

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjamppong

Thanks for your reply Castelnau
I read that book a year and a half ago. Great suggestion. I should read it again.

Wow jjamppong! I didn't think anyone who is not Korean would like that. Now I'm hungry for some!

Post: #4

Do you want to buy and open a franchise?

Or start your own Chinese restaurant?


It would def help if you know a lot of Asians to get the word of mouth going or even to find some cooks so it's 'legit'. Small Chinese restuarants don't make a lot of money due to the sheer amount of options around.

Post: #5

I am no Chinese food or restaurant expert, but one thing I've noticed is that most local Chinese restaurants have almost the exact same menu, including buffets. This has been true in every state I've either visited or lived. Chains like Panda Express spruce up the menus and dishes, but the food is still very similar to the local Chinese places.

One time I saw a large truck delivering to the Chinese place near my work. The side of the truck said Asian Foods.

After a little research, I found out they are a division of Sysco based in St. Paul and deliver to over thirteen hundred Chinese restaurants throughout the Midwest. I'm sure Sysco has other divisions serving the rest of the U.S market.

What this means is that both chains like Panda Express and local restaurants get the same frozen and packaged food sent to them. Local places use the same large suppliers like Sysco, which is why the menu looks and tastes so similar. Chains probably use the exact same suppliers but with one difference. The supplier will OEM for their brand since they can afford the large quantities and costs of doing so. That's why Panda Express sells their own branded sauces and what not.

Look for a supplier and distributor of Chinese food in the region and you will be able to sell the same dishes that are being sold all over the U.S.

Post: #6

(08-12-2015 07:05 PM)Mentavious Wrote:  Do you want to buy and open a franchise?

Or start your own Chinese restaurant?

I want to start my own to avoid franchise fees and other complications.
I want it to have a limited menu like Panda Express.

In the market I want to enter...

1. There are 'sit-down' authentic Chinese restaurants with table cloths and waiters ran by Chinese immigrants.

2. There are low-end places with lousy 'Chinese' food which is eaten only by people who are very intoxicated in lower class neighborhoods.

I'm looking at something in between these extremes - a fast-casual place like a Panda Express.

There is a restaurant out of Peru that has a presence in mall food courts. On the surface, it looks similar to Panda Express, however, it is not much better than the low-end places. The Orange Chicken really sucks and so does the rest of the food.

A restaurant that is marketed as "American" with consistent Panda Express quality will do well...according to the friend of a friend who is in the Asian food business down there.

Post: #7

Are you Chinese?

Post: #8

(08-12-2015 07:25 PM)wi30 Wrote:  Look for a supplier and distributor of Chinese food in the region and you will be able to sell the same dishes that are being sold all over the U.S.

Excellent intel. Thanks wi30...

Post: #9

(08-12-2015 07:42 PM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  Are you Chinese?

No

Post: #10

Your welcome.

Also, I can guarantee the "sit-down, authentic" restaurants are serving the almost exact quality of food as the "cheap, low-end" places. It probably comes from the same supplier. It's amazing how different an identical dish will taste depending whether it's served in a Styrofoam to-go box on the street or on a aesthetically-pleasing plate surrounded by authentic Chinese ambiance and a bill that's three times higher.

Psychology is a funny thing sometimes. Also a very profitable thing for those who utilize it.