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Panda Express is turning up the heat—and the hype—for National Orange Chicken Day with a spicy splash in Midtown. From Tuesday, July 15 through Sunday, July 20, the brand’s Midtown East location will transform into an immersive "Orange Chicken Kitchen" pop-up, celebrating the glorious return of the cult-favorite Hot Orange Chicken.
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The sweet-yet-spicy dish (dubbed “swicy” for its fiery flavor upgrade) first caused a frenzy during its 2024 debut and is now back by popular demand. Think the OG Orange Chicken, but amped up with six times the crushed chilies and a bold kick courtesy of scorched dried peppers (the same ones from the chain's Kung Pao Chicken). It’s crunchy, sticky, slightly dangerous and completely addictive.
At the NYC pop-up, Panda’s is turning its Third Avenue outpost into a love letter to its signature dish. Visitors can time-travel through Orange Chicken’s greatest hits via a limited-edition menu, featuring everything from bone-in orange chicken wings to a bacon-laced throwback from 2014. Naturally, the Hot Orange Chicken takes center stage, and the rest of the store will follow suit, drenched in orange hues, decked with oversized art installations and stocked with spicy giveaways like collectible pins and claw machine tokens.
If you need more incentive than chili-glazed nostalgia, there’s this: Anyone who orders a plate between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. during the pop-up gets a bonus small entrée of either the OG or Hot Orange Chicken, just for showing up and ordering like a fan.
“There’s something magical about Orange Chicken—it’s the ultimate American Chinese comfort food,” said Fabiola Del Rio, the vice-president of integrated marketing communications for Panda Express. “The ‘Orange Chicken Kitchen’ pop-up in NYC is our love letter to everyone who’s obsessed with Orange Chicken, whether you’re team OG or team spicy.”
First launched in 1987, the brand’s most iconic dish still accounts for a third of all entrées sold, with more than 137 million pounds served last year alone. But next week, it’s getting the main character energy it deserves.
Ready to pledge your allegiance to #TeamSwicy? This is the week to do it.