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Panda Express fuses apple pie and egg roll concepts

A male turkey puffs up its feathers and struts past the front door of Panda Express restaurant at 29th Avenue and Southeast Boulevard on Spokane’s South Hill on Sunday, October 26, 2021, long before the restaurant opened for business that day. Tom turkeys may stand near panes of glass in the mistaken belief that the reflection is another turkey.  (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Tribune News Service

Panda Express diners are accustomed to the fast-casual restaurant adding new shrimp, chicken and steak recipes occasionally to its array of wok-fired dishes.

But never a dessert – unless you count the fortune cookies – until now.

For its 40th anniversary, the chain is introducing its first-ever sweet treat, the Apple Pie Roll.

“We are incredibly grateful for our pioneers that paved the way for Panda to create and popularize American Chinese food, and for our guests and communities for their embrace of our cuisine,” said Andrea Cherng, chief brand officer, in the announcement. The Cherng family founded Panda Express in Glendale, California, in 1983. It’s now the largest Asian dining concept in the United States.

The fusion sweet combines “apples, fall spices and cinnamon sugar like a classic American apple pie” and puts the filling in a “crispy and flaky wonton wrapper, like a quintessential Chinese egg roll,” according to the restaurant’s marketing team.

It’s available in all Panda Express restaurants, and members of the Panda Rewards loyalty club may try it for free between now and Oct. 31.