REVIEW: Panda Express Shanghai Angus Steak

Panda Express Shanghai Angus Steak

With menu items like Beijing Beef and their new Shanghai Angus Steak, it’s safe to say Panda Express likes using alliteration and Chinese locations in their entree names, so I’m hoping the next item that pops up on Panda’s menu is Canton Chicken Feet.

If you’re a Chinese cuisine expert, or read Wikipedia entries about Chinese cuisine for 15 minutes, you would know Shanghai is not known at all for steak. Instead, Shanghai, one of the most populated cities in the world, is known for two other foods that begin with the letter S: seafood and stinky tofu. While I could see Shanghai Shrimp being served at Panda Express, I don’t think most American palates and olfactory organs could handle stinky tofu.

But back to Panda Express’ new Shanghai Angus Steak, which consists of thick slices of Angus Top Sirloin marinated with Asian seasonings, asparagus, mushrooms, and Panda’s new zesty Asian steak sauce.

PanEx wasn’t kidding when they said on their website that this entree has “thick cut slices” of Angus steak. (Yes, I’m going to start calling Panda Express, PanEx, like I call American Express, AmEx. Be one of the cool kids and do the same.) Look at the photo above. Then look at the photo below. Some of those chunks are the size of baby limbs.

Baby limbs!

Panda Express Shanghai Angus Steak Closeup

And they’re also as tender as I imagine baby limbs to be. Occasionally, there was some connective tissue or something else, which made part of the meat a little tough, but 98 percent of the time the thick steak slices were easy to chew. The Angus steak also has a nice flavor that wasn’t overwhelmed by the dish’s sauce, which I’ll talk more about in a moment.

The mushroom slices were also substantial. Their size made me wonder if any Smurfs are now homeless. As for the asparagus, the stalks were chopped into one inch pieces, but there weren’t any asparagus tips in the two Shanghai Angus Steak servings I purchased. The “zesty Asian steak sauce” tastes like a light teriyaki sauce with a slight kick at the back end. I could’ve done without the zesty part, but the rest of the sauce was pleasant and, again, it didn’t drown the flavor of the steak.

The Shanghai Angus Steak isn’t as tasty as PanEx’s Beijing Beef, but it’s significantly healthier. A serving of Beijing Beef has 690 calories, 40 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, and 890 milligrams of sodium, while a serving of Shanghai Angus Steak has 220 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 910 milligrams of sodium.

Just like when you order a shrimp entree at PanEx, you have to pay an extra dollar for the Shanghai Angus Steak. Is it worth it? I say yes.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 serving – 220 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 910 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 21 grams of protein.)

Item: Panda Express Shanghai Angus Steak
Price: $9.69 (2-entree plate)
Size: 2-entree plate
Purchased at: Panda Express
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Baby limb-sized slices of Angus steak. Huge mushrooms. Tender steak. Pleasant Asian steak sauce. One of the healthier items on the menu. Good source of protein. Calling Panda Express, PanEx.
Cons: Not as tasty as Beijing Beef. Zesty part of sauce seemed unnecessary. Charging an extra dollar per serving. Around for a limited time. Not as tasty as Orange Chicken. Stinky tofu. Homeless Smurfs.

REVIEW: Burger King Frappé (Caramel and Mocha)

Burger King Frappes (Caramel and Mocha)

McDonald’s Frappé is a photocopy of Starbucks’ Frappuccino. So Burger King’s Frappé is a photocopy of a photocopy. Although, if I were to include Cinnabon’s Mochalatta and Dunkin’ Donuts’ Coolatta, then Burger King’s Frappé is a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy.

Do you know what happens when you photocopy a photocopy, then photocopy that photocopy, and photocopy that?

Let me explain using the following example. Let’s say I were to walk into a Kinko’s at two in the morning, go up to one of their copy machines, pull my pants down, jump up onto the copy machines, gently sit down on the glass plate, and take an awesome photocopy of my butt with its crack going perfectly down the middle of the 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.

Then let’s say I further waste the machine’s toner by photocopying that perfect butt photocopy, taking the result of that, placing it into the feeding tray, photocopying it, and then wash, rinse, and repeat several times. Eventually, that perfect photocopy of my butt won’t be so perfect. My butt crack that went straight down the middle will, instead, drift to the left or right. You can still tell it’s my butt, but it isn’t quite like the original.

So, basically, the Burger King Frappé looks like a Starbucks Frappuccino, but is inferior to the original.

Like McDonald’s, BK’s Frappés come in two flavors, Caramel and Mocha, and are topped with whipped cream and drizzled with mocha or caramel syrup. Wait. Did I say drizzled? I meant splooged, like it was shot out of a fast food mayo gun. The whipped cream dollop on top of the blended coffee beverage, surprisingly, stayed perky after the 10 minute car drive in my air conditioner-less car, which is something I can’t say about the whipped cream on top of the McDonald’s Frappé.

The Burger King website says each Frappé is “made with a hint of coffee.” To be honest, I wish they were made with a KAPOW or BLAMMO of coffee because I thought the BK Frappés had less coffee flavor than the McDonald’s version. Between the two flavors, the Burger King Caramel Frappé is more guilty of hiding the coffee flavor. As someone who likes his iced coffee with lots of cream and sugar, I never thought I’d miss the bitterness of coffee.

Frappe Comparison

Now with all of that said, the Burger King Frappés are like BK’s fries, they’re decent, but I prefer the McDonald’s version. They have a pleasant smoothie consistency and, if you look at the table above, they’re slightly better for you than McDonald’s Frappés. But I really think Burger King should’ve given them a stronger coffee base and I’m disappointed they didn’t take advantage of their partnership with Seattle’s Best Coffee.

To sum up what I think of Burger King’s Frappé, I’ve created a simple formula.

Starbucks Frappuccino > McDonald’s Frappé > Burger King Frappé

And while I’m getting comparisons off my chest…

Broccoli > Carrots > Cauliflower

And…

Pandas > Penguins > Koalas

(Nutrition Facts – 12 ounces/small – 410 calories, 170 calories from fat, 19 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 58 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 39 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.)

Other Burger King Frappé reviews:
So Good Blog
Brand Eating

Item: Burger King Frappé (Caramel and Mocha)
Price: $3.29
Size: Small/12 ounces
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Caramel)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Mocha)
Pros: Decent. Less calories and sugar than McDonald’s Frappé. Perky whipped cream topping. Nice smoothie consistency. Broccoli. Pandas.
Cons: Weak coffee flavor. Not as good as McDonald’s version. Having an over-photocopied photocopy. Having to put an accent mark in frappé. Cauliflower. Koalas.

REVIEW: Burger King Fruit Smoothies (Strawberry Banana and Tropical Mango)

Burger King Smoothies (Tropical Mango and Strawberry Banana)

Wendy’s just overtook Burger King to become the second largest burger chain in the US in terms of sales. So no longer can Burger King say, “First is the worst, second is the best, and third is the nerd with the hairy chest.”

However, Burger King can now say, “Number one tastes like piss, number two tastes like poop, and number three tastes like paradise.” Although, if humans evolve and we end up producing a third human waste, Burger King might want to drop down to number four.

What caused Burger King to lose their place as the distant runner-up to McDonald’s in the burger world? I’m no business analyst, but it might’ve been their advertising, which included the cold plastic eyes of The King. Or it could’ve been their chicken fries.

To turn their fortunes around and become a distant second to McDonald’s again, Burger King has introduced a number of McDonald’s-like products, such as their new fruit smoothies.

These smoothies are made using real fruit, low-fat yogurt, and ice, and come in two flavors, Strawberry Banana and Tropical Mango.

I didn’t get a chance to see how the smoothies were made, but I assume it’s the same process McDonald’s uses, which involves shooting ice and a smoothie mix that consists mostly of fruit puree into a blender, and then letting the blender’s blades do their magic.

If you’re curious to know what those smoothie mixes are made out of, continue reading this paragraph. If not, I would suggest skipping it, and continue reading after the “BOOYAH!” The strawberry banana smoothie mix is made up of banana puree, strawberry puree, sugar syrup, strawberry puree concentrate, water, concentrated grape juice, natural flavors, concentrated carrot juice, xanthan gum, pectin, guar gum, and CMC gum. The tropical mango smoothie mix consists of water, sugar syrup, concentrated grape juice, apple puree concentrate, concentrated pear juice, mango puree concentrate, concentrated pineapple juice, concentrated orange juice, concentrated apple juice, concentrated passion fruit juice, natural & artificial flavors, xanthan gum, pectin, guar gum, cellulose gum, beta carotene, and citric acid.

BOOYAH!

Burger King Smoothies (Tropical Mango and Strawberry Banana) Closeup

In order to help me prepare for when I have multiple children, I will pick a favorite between the two Burger King Smoothie flavors and then shower it with love and praise.

If you don’t have the bladder capacity to consume both smoothies in one sitting, I’d suggest purchasing the Tropical Mango flavor first, because it’s by far my favorite of the two.

Although it contains enough fruit varieties to qualify as a fruit stand (see paragraph before “BOOYAH!”), I mainly taste mango and orange. The mango, surprisingly, tastes fresh, while the orange tastes orangy. The Burger King Tropical Mango smoothie is quite tasty and a little toothachingly sweet, but I do think the McDonald’s Mango Pineapple Smoothie is slightly better and more tropical tasting.

As for the Burger King Strawberry Banana smoothie, the banana and strawberry flavors are equally balanced and I think it’s pleasant tasting, but it doesn’t make me yearn for another like the tropical mango does. Let me put it this way, the BK Tropical Mango Smoothie is fun, like chasing a rainbow after taking a few bong hits, while the BK Strawberry Banana Smoothie is adequate, like a Cup Noodles is for lunch.

To be honest, it’s nice to see a few more healthy-ish item in the sea of burgers and fried food otherwise known as the Burger King menu board. But will smoothies help Burger King retake second place in the fast food burger world?

(Nutrition Facts – small size/12 ounces – Strawberry Banana – 200 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 40 grams of sugar, and 1 grams of protein. Tropical Mango – 210 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 41 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Item: Burger King Fruit Smoothies (Strawberry Banana and Tropical Mango)
Price: $2.99
Size: Small/12 ounces
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Strawberry Banana)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Tropical Mango)
Pros: Cool. Tropical Mango is tasty. Made with low-fat yogurt and real fruit (puree and juice). Doesn’t have 1,000 milligrams of sodium like Burger King’s other new menu items. Chasing rainbows after smoking weed.
Cons: Strawberry Banana is adequate. Tropical Mango is toothachingly sweet. Tropical Mango isn’t as good as McDonald’s counterpart. Bladders that can’t handle drinking two smoothies in a row. Picking a favorite child. The lifeless eyes of The King.

REVIEW: Burger King Chicken B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad

Burger King Chicken B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad

All things considered, there’s really nothing stranger than walking into a Burger King and getting green ketchup. Scratch that. On second thought, walking into a vintage 1950s decorated Burger King with booths shaped like cars and getting green ketchup, while staring at an obnoxiously large LCD menu board pulled from The Jetsons, might just qualify.

These oddities notwithstanding, my purchase of a salad at Burger King clearly puts this scenario in the realm of the SyFy channel.

Burger King, as you’re probably well aware, is attempting to revamp its menu to draw closer to a certain fast food giant which boasts a smiling clown as its spokesman. Ditching its previous botox-injected spokesman of questionable royal bloodlines, Burger King has also revamped its menu to diversify its offering. How diverse are we talking? Lets just say it includes drinks that rhyme with how I’d assume the French to pronounce “crappy,” as well as lettuce. Lots and lots of lettuce.

Burger King Chicken B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad Closeup

Seven kinds to be exact, which, along with a whole bunch of other fun vegetables, are offered in the new B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad.

Putting on the man pants and ordering the $5.49 salad, I got the distinct impression that the staff of this particular Burger King doesn’t often prepare salads. I only say this because the girl taking my order had to check what exactly was in the salad when I asked her, and even after verification, presented me with a crouton packet, Caesar dressing, as well as a cup for soda — none of which should have been included in my order. Likewise, an essential component of the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato acronym was missing, although five perfectly ripe and juicy grape tomatoes were delivered to me in an extra cup after half my salad was eaten and my own spelling shortcomings realized.

Burger King Chicken B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad Chicken

You’d think that after such an auspicious start I’d be loath to partake in this feast of classical “Health Halo” consequence, but in the interest of complete objectivity, I have to say it shows promise as permanent menu item. It starts with the chicken, which — while only offered to me in the grilled variety — had a seriously and none-to-fake chargrill taste. Moderately juicy and marinated in a lip-smacking glaze, it may have qualified as salty, but it didn’t come across as saline injected or overly enhanced.

Burger King Chicken B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad Chicken Closeup

The bacon, too, was quite good by fast food standards. Its thick and meaty with a dominant smoke flavor, although I’d prefer the pieces to have been reheated or freshly grilled, as to release some of that chewy fat into a glorious natural vinaigrette of bacon drippings. Such a scenario would have aided in the melting of these three-cheese blend, which while adding a moderate amount of flavor and salt, was otherwise just there.

Burger King Chicken B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad Dressing

I honestly was quite surprised in how much I enjoyed the dressing. Having only known one Ken in my life (the victim of childhood G.I. Joe raids on my sister’s Barbie gatherings) I didn’t know what to expect from Ken’s Avocado Ranch, but it manages to combine a fantastic buttermilk tang with a peppery and slightly sweet kick. While the 170 calories in a single pack won’t endear it to the diet crowd, it does serve its flavor purpose as a foil to the otherwise meaty and smokey overtones of the salad, which, after applying tomatoes, also received a hint of sweet relief to go with the buttery and bitter lettuce crunch. Were all seven lettuces present and accounted for? Well, having slept through most of my Plants in Civilization class during my senior year of college, I cannot verify this with absolute certainty. But there was clearly more than just iceberg, which for a dude buying a salad at Burger King is not half bad.

Clearly, Burger King has some work to do in the execution department of this salad. And while any review of a fast food salad begs the proverbial viability question in a market which can see me blow 500 calories for something cheaper and, to some extent, much more tasty, there is also something to be said for offering items that appeal to a larger audience. For the time being though, I’d make these suggestions:

1) Lighten up the dressing
2) Include more tomato
3) Get more from the red onions

If those three issues can be corrected then this salad is worth your time even if you’re not in the salad crowd. Heck, if the bacon can be rendered a bit further and served warm and crispy with fat drippings, then this salad is worth your time even if your definition of salad hereto now includes only the pickles and onions on your burger. But before any of this happens, Burger King has got to get its crews up to speed, and teach them to associate the “sculpted Roman head guy” with croutons, and the acronym B.L.T. with, among other things, tomatoes.

As for that interior decorating, I’ve seriously got nothing.

(Nutrition Facts – One salad with Tendergrill chicken and Avocado Ranch Dressing – 510 calories, 33 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 125 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,610 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar, and 42 grams of protein.)

Item: Burger King Chicken B.L.T. Garden Fresh Salad
Price: $5.49
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Surprisingly flavorful and juicy chicken. Smokey and thick-cut, ribbony bacon. Ken’s Avocado Ranch gives all Kens a good name. Cheese is slightly melty. Tomatoes had good sweetness. Protein power.
Cons: Costs more than one of those Chefy burgers. Total assembly failage. Having to correct people at their jobs. A buttload of salt. Where the hell did that trans fat come from? Five tomatoes is too little. Curios interior decorating.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Donuts Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich

Dunkin' Donuts Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich

Is it me, or is Dunkin’ Donuts just constantly trying out new stuff?  I’ve been with TIB for a year and a half, and I swear they’ve rolled out at least a half dozen different products within that time.  And that’s just hot foods; I’m not even counting new donuts or drinks.  Far be it from me to tell a massive multinational conglomerate how to run their business, but is that really productive?  How is there even time to analyze market data on how a product is being received before it’s gone and replaced by something new?

But ultimately, that’s not what we’re here to answer; you’re wondering whether DD’s latest offering, the Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich, is worth a try.  Or you’re bored at work and they’ve disabled Minesweeper on your computer.  Either way, let’s get down to business.  The Steak & Egg sandwich is being marketed as a very masculine sandwich.  It drinks whiskey straight from the bottle.  It has only cried twice in its life.  (Its father’s funeral and at the end of Old Yeller.)  And if there’s truth in advertising, it will help you “Show Your Morning Who’s Boss. ” This is a sandwich for men, manly men, the kind who build skyscrapers, tame wild animals, and “wear the big boss pants.”  Stay away, ladies — you couldn’t handle this sandwich.  Why, one bite would send you scurrying back home to your momma.  Angus doesn’t need you and it doesn’t want you.

Hopefully that’s also true of the men who’ll be consuming it, since the Angus Steak & Egg comes standard on an onion bagel, meaning you won’t be locking lips with anyone after eating it.  That’s okay, real men don’t have time for kissing anyway.  Since I’m a writer and thus not particularly manly, I got mine on a plain bagel, but be aware you have to ask for that — onion is the default, which could be a nasty surprise if you’re not expecting it.  On a plain bagel, it smells good, though not substantially different from most breakfast sandwiches; in other words, the cheese and egg contribute more to the aroma than the steak does.

Dunkin' Donuts Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich Closeup

Appearance-wise, it looks… above average.  The cheese, steak, and egg are all clearly visible within the sandwich from almost any angle, and when you remove the top you see they didn’t skimp on any of the components.  As the picture illustrates, my bagel got burnt, but hopefully that was user error specific to my server instead of just the way they’re made.  On the other hand, the cheese was quite melted, which is great.  Can’t complain about the size of the Angus patty, though I’ll offer that it looks more like a standard fast food hamburger than anything you’d actually think of when hearing the word “steak.”

As for the taste, it’s quite good, assuming you’re able to manage your expectations.  If you’re genuinely expecting the equivalent of a nice porterhouse or New York Strip steak on your mass-produced breakfast sandwich, well, I guess you’re out of luck.  (Also, dumb.)  It tastes a bit like adding eggs to a cheesesteak, and I don’t mean that as a criticism.  I found that the combo of the cheese, egg, and steak melded well together in my mouth, warm and savory with reasonable juiciness.  The bagel was decent, crisp enough but, again, relatively burnt.  Taken as a whole, the sandwich was both filling and tasty.

Not nearly as impressed was I by tearing off a small piece of just the steak.  It’s not bad, but fair or not, the word “Angus” conjures up a certain beef pedigree that can be hard to live up to.  This is like Angus’s great-grandson, the one who gets a cushy executive job at the family business and is told to just show up most days and try not to knock up his secretary.  And like a 4th generation executive, it seems much more impressive when bolstered up by the hard work of its undervalued support staff, eggs and cheese.  Together they make a good team and can actually capitalize on the steak’s strengths while effectively masking its limitations.  For that reason, I’d call the Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich a relative success and encourage you to try one sometime in the next two weeks, before it gets replaced by the Lobster Bisque Croissant or whatever.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 sandwich – 630 calories, 230 calories from fat, 26 grams of total fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 255 milligrams of cholesterol, 1390 milligrams of sodium, 67 grams of total carbohydrates, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of sugars, and 34 grams of protein)

Other Dunkin’ Donuts Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich reviews:
Fast Food Geek
Grub Grade

Item: Dunkin’ Donuts Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich
Price: $3.99
Size: 1 sandwich
Purchased at: Dunkin’ Donuts
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Always something new to try.  Good smell.  Cheese is melted nicely.  A sandwich that’ll put hair on your chest.  Doesn’t skimp on the egg or steak patty.  Won’t stick around long enough to get boring.  Cheese and egg meld nicely with the steak for a savory taste.
Cons: Onion bagels.  Burnt.  Women who come within 10 feet of this sandwich often become spontaneously pregnant.  85%(!) of your recommended daily intake of cholesterol, and 58% of the sodium.  The steak on its own is uninspired.