No, it doesn’t literally taste like orange chicken. But ubiquitous fast food chain Panda Express has teamed up with boutique chocolatier Compartés for a four-chocolate-bar collection of flavors inspired by the Panda Express menu: the Original Orange Bar, Honey Walnut Bar, Fortune Cookie Bar and Kung Pao Bar.
You can order the limited-edition bars now through the Compartés website, either by the bar ($11.95) or as a gift box with one of each flavor ($49.95). But if you head to a Panda Express location on December 5 (happy National Comfort Food Day to all who celebrate), you can pick up a free Panda Express x Compartés Fortune Cookie Chocolate Bar with the purchase of any two-item Panda Express Plate (that’s just over $11 at my closest location). The usual caveats apply: The freebies are available only while supplies last and only at participating locations (basically standalone Panda Expresses, not airport or food court counters).
So, you’re probably wondering, do the chocolates actually taste like Panda Express? And, most importantly, are they any good? I was sent a box with each flavor to preview the collab, and while you won’t mistake them for a boxed serving of Panda Express, they are downright delectable—mostly. (Also, if looks count for anything, the playful packaging is a vibrantly adorable celebration of Panda iconography.)
Since I’m based in the Los Angeles area, I was especially interested in tasting this locally-born team-up. Compartés is a fixture here for its beautifully illustrated packaging and equally vivid truffles, with the chocolate quality to back up its luxurious looks. And though I’m only a few miles from the first Panda Inn, the beloved sit-down restaurant that would lead to Panda Express, I’ve never been to the Pasadena originator and have only had its more popular fast food offshoot a handful of times—so I ordered some Panda Express to eat side-by-side with my chocolates.
The Original Orange Bar is the clear standout: It tastes like one of those slam-it-on-the-table chocolate oranges (made here with milk chocolate), but even better thanks to the airy crunch of crispy rice (a clever nod to fried chicken batter). The bar lists red chili pepper flakes on its ingredient list as well, but I didn’t really get any of that zest. By comparison, Panda Express’s orange chicken does have a tiny bit of a chili aftertaste, but you don’t really get much of an orange flavor, just a sweet glaze. I would absolutely buy another bar or three of this, and I’m literally breaking off pieces of it as I write this very sentence.
The Honey Walnut Bar was my second favorite. It’s walnut-forward, with a very light crunch thanks to honeycomb pieces. The nuts and honey help balance the white chocolate, which I’ll admit I’m normally not the biggest fan of. (Since I’m allergic to shrimp, I unfortunately can’t compare this to Panda Express’s honey walnut shrimp.)
The Fortune Cookie Bar, on the other hand, leans a little too white chocolately for my tastes—though I think this is still an objectively solid pick (I certainly wouldn’t turn it down if I could nab one for free on Friday). The fortune cookie crumbs embedded within the bar add some satisfying crunch to each bite, and the printed fortune paired with it makes for a delightful surprise. Panda Express’s fortune cookies aren’t particularly sweet on their own, so the white chocolate is really the dominant flavor here.
And finally, there’s the Kung Pao Bar. The Kung Pao chicken at Panda Express has a merely mild spicy aftertaste at most. But this? Try only a tiny piece and the chili pepper in the chocolate bar will immediately hit your tongue and linger in the roof of your mouth. Technically there are chopped peanuts and sea salt in here too, but I truly couldn’t taste them over the spice. The dark chocolate, though—which is quite good—does occasionally manage to make itself known.