mmm-yoso!!! That's us. A few friends writing about food they eat. Kirk is on vacation, ed (from Yuma) is busy at work, so Cathy is writing today.
Hi. San Diego County has an area of about 4200 square miles. There are a few restaurants which have multiple locations here. I hesitate to call them 'Chains', since they seem to be more or less family owned and run. However, the reason they expanded is because the first location did well and they thought to spread out in a nearby community. One of those restaurants is Panda Country. Albeit an "ABCDE" (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment), and Kirk not being overwhelmed by the food he consumed at 'his' location on Clairmont Mesa Boulevard in San Diego, the Santee location enjoys a steady business and has tasty food. It has been in this same mall since 1979, moving to a new building when the Movie Theater was demolished. (Yes. 'The' movie theater.)
There are lunch specials, which cost about $8 and then also a daily lunch special for $5. In any case, every meal starts with this:
Plum sauce, hot mustard, plate of fried wonton skins…and the ever present Chinese Zodiac placemats. The plum sauce is a pretty pink and has the texture of applesauce, but the flavor is tart and not sweet.
The Mister and I decided to go completely ABCDE and ordered an appetizer we used to share when we were dating: shrimp toast ($4.95). The ever craveable paste of shrimp, salt and sugar slathered onto a piece of white bread, pressed into sesame seeds and deep fried.
Here is a cross section view. It isn't greasy, has just the right crunch. You can taste the toasted/fried sesame seeds and the shrimp and even the bread with its crunch is yummy…it brings back memories.
This was a Friday Lunch Special ($4.99). Three ingredient taste: shrimp, beef, chicken, peanuts, scallions and a mildly spicy, rich sauce. This came with a cup of egg drop soup and a fried vegetable egg roll. Everything tasted fresh and 'bright'-The Mister's description.
I wanted to try the Moo Goo Gai Pan ($7.25) from the menu. The waitress called it 'mushroom chicken'. It is wonderful. The white sauce is not sticky and has a chicken base. As you can see, fresh mushrooms and broccoli are part of the dish at this location. 
As with all Chinese restaurants, you get a Fortune Cookie with your bill. See what is different here? These are not pre-packaged Fortune Cookies. Not a big deal, I suppose, but different..and tasty. These cookies are thicker and seem to have a more pronounced vanilla with a touch of almond flavor.
I found these photos from a February dinner. As you can see, a tablecoth is used, along with cloth napkins. I missed the Chinese Zodiac placemats, even though I pretty much have them memorized. However, you get the same house made plum sauce, hot mustard and fried wonton strips as soon as you sit down and look at the menu.
We started with a seaweed eggdrop soup ($4.94). Amazingly fresh tasting and not at all salty. 
Because I order this wherever I see it on the menu, I chose the vegetable egg foo yung ($8.45). Basic egg and bean sprout cakes, cooked to a nice , non-greasy crispiness- but made with cooked (rather than raw) bean sprouts…a very different taste and texture than egg foo yung made with raw bean sprouts. The three cakes were topped with fresh mushrooms and sugar peas. I like this version. The gravy that comes with is not gloppy/cornstarchy, but smooth and mushroom flavored.
As you can see, we also got a colossal sized gigantic bowl of rice. The rice bowl was larger than the soup bowl.
The Mister, on the other hand, always likes to order Ma Po Tofu when he sees it on a menu. This version has just the right amount of spicy heat, enough that you can still taste the pork and the silky bean curd. ($8.45)
On the menu, this was described as spicy ground pork with bean curd…
However, the pre-programmed description for the bill is different.
Oh yes, it has the same decor as the Clairmont location…
I don't know if the food at this location is better than Panda Country closer to Kirk's home. When The Mister and I first moved to San Diego, we lived just down the street from that San Diego Clairmont Drive location, but never tried it. In any case, the food at the Santee location is fresh and tasty.
Panda Country 9621 Mission Gorge road Santee, CA 92071 (in the Vons Shopping Center) (619)449-7061