Wander through Edgewater and you're bound to stumble upon one of many Chinese or Mexican restaurants. Panda Panda is no exception. At this corner stand-by, a sparsely decorated interior – even the display case by the cashier desk at the front is filled only with condiments and take-out menus – screams take-out. We're talking fast take-out. Don't even sit down to order. Sleek red booths are accompanied by red chairs pushed into generic-looking tables, but when we stopped by later in the evening not a single table was occupied.

This place gets to the point, wasting no time in serving you the fastest Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine in the neighborhood. But don't expect a fish tank full of oversized goldfish like you'd find in many local Chinese restaurants. Gaze at artwork of the fish that might be present in a fish tank because there ain't no live fish here.

Get appetizers on the cheap: $2.50 for two vegetarian eggrolls, $4.25 for six potstickers, and $4.25 for teriyaki beef sticks. The rest of the menu includes soups, fried rice dishes, egg foo young, seafood, chicken, beef, pork, vegetarian entrees, sweet and sour dishes, chop suey or chow mein, lo mein and even Cantonese-style chow mein or cow fun.

Chef's specialties get a little fancier with dishes like orange beef or chicken ($8.59) or kung pao triple of beef, chicken and shrimp ($9.75). And like any Chinese place, expect dinner specials with dinners for two, three, four, five or six at prices for about $10 per head. So don't worry about the interiors – it's all about the cheap deals here.

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: Alicia Eler