How To Get $5 Bowl Meals From Panda Express

At a time when many indie restaurants are struggling with the transition to a takeout and delivery-only model and many are having to close their doors altogether, it's the larger chains like Panda Express that are stepping up to feed a hungry (and bored) nation of self-quarantiners. Of course, even Panda Express has had to implement some changes in these difficult times, including limiting their menu to a smaller selection of dishes so as to lighten the workload on their busy chefs — as they noted in their announcement regarding the truncated menu, the Chinese dishes they offer require more effort to put together than something simpler like a pizza. 

While Panda Express made this move in order to ease their overburdened workforce, they didn't want to disappoint their customers. While the menu options may be more limited at present, Panda Express came up with a steal of a deal which can allow a whole family to fill up for just 20 bucks.

According to the Panda Express website, the 4 bowls for $20 deal is available through the end of this month. All you need to do to get it is to build an order with four bowls, select pickup or delivery (if the latter option is available in your area, as not all Panda Expresses offer it), and then make sure to enter the promo code "4BOWLS420" when you check out. 

Oh, and you know how reading the fine print usually means bad news, like, "This deal is only available on Tuesdays when the moon is full between the hours of 10:11 and 10:12 pm?" Well, that is not the case here, since reading the fine print actually delivers the good news that these four bowls actually come out to be eight dishes in all: four entrees with four sides. That's — wow, $2.50 per dish, which is about the price of an order of medium fries at McDonald's these days.

So yeah, you could be cooking yet one more homemade dinner tonight (now that the thrill has worn off), and you could even DIY some Panda Express-like meals including that addictive orange chicken. With prices this crazy low, though, there's no reason not to order out — and since you're getting such a fantastic bargain, why not pay it forward by leaving your delivery person an extra-large tip?