Pick Up Stix

I don't understand why Pick Up Stix is not as ubiquitous as Panda Express. Pick Up Stix is cheaper, there are a lot more options (including many healthy options) and, most importantly, the food is much better than Panda. (I'm sure it helps that the food isn't sitting out in steam trays for God-knows-how-long.)
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A friend and I stopped in for lunch recently. Pick Up Stix has good lunch specials: you get a smaller portion of any of their entrees with rice and salad. (I believe the price is $6.99, although I'm not 100% sure of that.) We split an order of crispy dumplings. They are good but nothing special. You can make dumplings just as good at home with a frozen bag of Trader Joe's potstickers.
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My friend got the orange peel chicken. Unlike the orange chicken at most Chinese fast-casual restaurants, you can actually taste orange in this dish. And there are orange slices and hot chilis all over the plate. Everyone likes Panda Express's orange chicken (including me,) but this is much better.
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I got the "house special chicken" - chicken in a caramelized sauce of soy, white wine, and garlic. I have had this several times (although my usual order is orange peel shrimp) and it's always good, although this time the chicken pieces were smaller than usual. I didn't get rice, I asked for double salad. They have a fat-free "spicy lime cilantro" salad dressing that I love. I have written the company asking, begging, and offering to pay them any amount if they would tell me the recipe, but they have never replied.
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Does Pick Up Stix compare to Panda Inn, Yang Chow, or Yujean Kang? No, not even close. There are probably hundreds of restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley that are more authentic. But it's good for what it is, and it's a lot better than Panda Express.