There’s the Panda Express fast-food chain. Jing Jing, a mascot for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The forthcoming animated movie, Kung Fu Panda. Even a Mexican rock band named after the cuddly bear.

There's the Panda Express fast-food chain. Jing Jing, a mascot for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The forthcoming animated movie, Kung Fu Panda. Even a Mexican rock band. Not to be outdone, Thailand has come up with yet another, seemingly unlikely way to capitalize on this globally loved, bamboo-munching anima

Panda Express is a fast casual restaurant chain serving authentic Americanized Chinese cuisine. It operates mainly inside the United States of America, in shopping malls, supermarkets, airports, train stations, strip plazas, theme parks, college campuses and The Pentagon. It is one of the largest such chains of Chinese fast food restaurants in the United States.In 2004, the company began opening stand-alone restaurants with drive-through windows. Panda Express has 1,054 restaurants covering 37 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, as well as 2 locations in Japan .The chain offers a wide variety of food such as Orange Chicken, Beef with Broccoli, Mandarin Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. Combo meals are served with fried rice, steamed rice, chow mein, or mixed vegetables.Panda Express is headquartered in Rosemead, California. It is a faster, more casual equivalent of the more upscale Panda Inn, from which the chain concept was derived.