Two of us went to Panda Express on Wake Forest Rd and Ollie Dr. on a Friday night about 6:45. The parking lot was full but that isn't saying much because it's a poorly designed lot. Including the far back parking lot for employees, there are probably no more than 24 spaces, 2 of which are handicapped.
The restaurant was busy but there wasn't a line when we arrived. First impression was the majority of the tables were either dirty or occupied. One person was serving takeout boxes for the drive thru and another plates for the eat-in customers. One cashier. As for the food, nothing we saw is cooked to order. The food is prepared and sits in stainless steel bowls on a steam table. I asked for string bean chicken and was told there wasn't any. My choices were all before me, like at the mall food court. So I went with that. My rice was no where near warm and the orange chicken (their speciality) was slightly warmer than room temperature. My husband had noodles and Beijing Beef. His beef was congealed since the server skimmed from the top instead of stirring it before serving. The additional teriyaki sauce we asked for was good. (or is it when that's the highlight of the experience?)
We cleaned a table in order to sit and eat. As we ate, the restaurant became very busy and the order line stretched to the door. Still only one person was serving and one cashier. We never saw any hot food added to the selections. However, during this busy time we noticed 2 employees clocked out and left. While another served herself dinner from the steam table and sat in the dining room to eat. All while on her cell phone, even when serving herself. In the 40 minutes we were there, no one ever came out to clean and wipe down the empty tables.
It's doubtful we will return when China Garden, Jumbo China, and Pei Wei are all within 1/4 of a mile of Panda Express. And they all have hot food, cooked to order.