Giant Panda Chinese Restaurant

Fantastic food, but horrible service. I have been here many, many times and 90% of the time, I've had terrible service at Tian Jin (which is what the restaurant is called now). My advice? Get take-out.

The waitress was rude and was obviously stressed. She was the only available person waiting the whole restaurant. Groups of people kept leaving because of lack of service. My mom and I went on a Sunday night and we weren't greeting at all. We stood there for 5 minutes. The lady kept running by us. She didn't even acknowledge us. The manager finally poked his head out and seated us. When seated, they practically threw the silverware and plates at us. The food took forever to get. They are clearly understaffed.

The food, however, is out of this world. They offer authentic chinese food (Sichuan, I believe). Try something new! Don't get the usual sesame chicken, general chicken, etc. If you love spicy food, definitely get the cumin chicken. It's my favorite dish. Either way, all the food is great.

This restaurant offers authentic northern Chinese food at reasonable prices. It is on the same quality level as the Tea House and Little Szechuan (St. Paul), but the cusine is distictively different. We are regular customers who enjoy the nortern dishes. Try the shredded potatos!

After remodelling, and rebranding, the former Giant Panda (now Tian Jin) restaruant now sports a more authentic Sichuan/Hunan menu in addition to the expected Americanized fare. For those who are fans of Tea House or Little Sichuan here in the Twin Cities, this restaurant offers much of the same style of cuisine, including such delightful favorites as cumin beef, a very authentc ma po tofu, boiled beef in Szchuan sauce, and twice cooked pork (fatty-pork used in traditional Chinese recipes). The food is flavorful and authentic, using culturally accurate ingredients (such as bok choy, sicuan peppercorns, etc.), and served in generous portions. If you enjoy something spicy, don't be afraid to order the Chong Quing Chicken -- great flavor, and ample spices! The plethora of chili peppers will wow your friends when you get it!