Panda House
“This is my first time here. I ordered the chicken fried rice. It’s like all I’ve ever had from a Chinese restaurant, so I just know it’s good.” —Mechanical engineering senior Dillon Forrest
Located on East Lake Lansing Road, just off of Abbot Road on the outskirts of campus, Panda House might be a convenient choice for off-campus students living in or near Abbott Place.
According to employees, some customer favorites include the gung ho chicken, chicken lo mein and the crab rangoon.
The cream cheese for the crab rangoons is homemade fresh every morning.
Rice Kitchen
“A lot of my favorite stuff on the menu is the stuff that maybe the average customer, they’re are not going to order it, cause they’re not willing to gamble on it and try it. They don’t recognize the food. A lot of the Asian students at MSU are the ones who tend to target those dishes.” —Former Rice Kitchen employee and MSU alumnus Alex Barhorst
According to Barhorst, who was in his last day working at Rice Kitchen, popular choices among customers are the deep fried and savory dishes like the sesame chicken, General Tso’s chicken and the sweet and sour chicken.
Open until 4 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Rice Kitchen is a popular place to grab Chinese food when stumbling home from the bar, and is open later than many other restaurants on campus.
Charlie Kang’s
“The Kai beef is the customer favorite, that’s the Korean short rib, if you ever have the chance, I would suggest it.” —Advertising design junior and Charlie Kang’s employee Kate Yoo
Charlie Kang’s offers both Chinese and Korean food, but according to employees many customers lean towards the Korean food.
Customer Jerome Dean, who’s a radiologic technologist for the army, said that he comes in every time he’s in town.
Located on Grand River Avenue near the corner of Abbot Road, students said Charlie Kang’s has a friendly staff and offers a relaxing environment to sit down and eat.
Peking Express
“I come here once a week. I get something different every time.” —Economics junior Jiajian Wu
Peking Express’ flavors and dishes are based out of the upper province of China.
The sour napa is one of the restaurant’s specialties, according to supply chain junior and employee Zheng Wang. He also said that he really likes the beef brisket and noodle.
Wang said he wonders if some Americans realize what real Chinese food is.
“Orange chicken isn’t real Chinese food. Not at all,” Wang said.
Peking is located on Grand River Avenue, underneath Cottage Inn Pizza.
