Andrew and Peggy Cherng, the husband-and-wife team who created Panda Express, know that answering that question and many others about their menu is part of the diner-education process that has turned a one-store eatery inside a California mall into an 820-store Chinese food empire. Orange chicken, a lightly sweetened fried chicken dish, is their best seller but not as familiar in Texas as fajitas and hamburgers.

If they get their way, it will be. And not just on the coasts. The two are well on their way to cracking a frontier in fast food: creating a national Chinese fast-food chain.

PHOTO GALLERY: Take a look inside a Panda Express

It's taken more than 30 years, but they are close to realizing the dream. Their Panda Restaurant Group has built the Panda Express chain into a powerhouse that spans 35 states and includes locations at places such as Dodger Stadium and the University of Connecticut.

The Panda Express chain already dwarfs other Chinese fast-food chains; none come even close in terms of revenue or number of stores. Last year, the company sold $735 million worth of Chinese food, nearly triple the combined sales of the No. 2 and No. 3 players: Pei Wei Asian Diner and Pick Up Stix, says Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic Information Services, which measures restaurant trends.

Reaching the last 15 Panda Express-less states is a goal literally hanging in front of Andrew, who has a map of the USA outside his office showing the states the chain is in and isn't. He's confident Panda can fill in the gaps, including the deep-fried South and steak-loving Big Sky country such as Montana.

Three Panda Express stores are built each week, triple the number of restaurants that Burger King built weekly during its last fiscal year.

For more information of Local Good Chinese Restaurants, please visit www.goodchineserestaurants.com