News: Panda Express - Thai Cashew Chicken Breast Returns

For a limited-time, Panda Express has brought back Thai Cashew Chicken Breast to their menu. Last seen in 2010, the dish is designated, "Wok Smart," with 220 calories per serving and features chicken breast pieces,  red bell peppers, onions, cilantro and green onions, all tossed in a wok with a signature savory sauce, finally, roasted cashews are thrown in for crunch.

Like a lot of Panda Express' limited-time offers, they will be offering free single servings of Thai Cashew Chicken Breast on Wednesday, 10/3/12. You'll need a coupon though; it's available on the Panda Express' website and Facebook (or you can just print it out here).

Review: Domino's - Handmade Pan Pizza

Domino's new Handmade Pan Pizza is a bold move into Pizza Hut territory and features fresh dough hand-pressed into a pizza pan before baking. There's not much crust to hold on to as the toppings are sprinkled right to the edge of the pizza.

I picked up a 12" medium pan pizza with bacon and sausage from my local Domino's for $7.99 with a online coupon (without any coupons/discounts, it's $10.99 for a 1-topping pan pizza). There are currently no large or small options for the pan pizza, only medium.

News: Wendy's - New Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt

I caught this passing my local Wendy's restaurant and managed to verify it: Wendy's is out with the new, limited-time Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt. Some of you might recognize it as the previous limited-time offer Bacon Mushroom Melt, but with an extra slice of cheese.

The burger features a quarter pound beef patty, two slices of American cheese, and thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, smothered with portabella mushrooms in a cheddar cheese sauce made with Old English Cheddar.

News: Popeyes Returns Dip'n Chick'n

Popeyes returns Dip'n Chick'n ("dipping chicken") for a limited time. The dish features scoop-cut chicken medallions marinated in Louisiana herbs and spices and hand-battered and breaded before a dunk in hot oil. Think of them as dipping corn chips (think Fritos), but wider and made of chicken.

Popeyes is offering Dip'n Chick'n in a combo with Cajun fries, a biscuit, and an extra-large serving Blackened Ranch Dipping Sauce for $3.99 through October 21, 2012.

News: Panera Bread - 2012 Seasonal Fall Menu

Panera Bread has quite a lot going on this fall with the number of new and returning items on their seasonal fall menu including a Pumpkin Pie Bagel and a Roasted Turkey and Cranberry Panini.

Let's start with what's new:

New Steel Cut Oatmeal topped with Dried Cherries, Apple Chips & Almonds - Cooked organic steel cut oats, topped with Panera's signature cinnamon crunch topping, dried cherries, apple chips, and almonds.

Review: Burger King - Popcorn Chicken

Burger King's Popcorn Chicken is part of their autumn chicken-centered menu and features bite-size, battered and fried pieces of chicken breast. They look a lot like McDonald's Chicken McBites which were available earlier this year and I'm sure that's the intent with Burger King's recent McDonald's-like menu expansion.

A small order cost me $1.99.

News: Papa John's - New Meatball and Pepperoni Pizza

Papa John's is baking up the new Meatball and Pepperoni Pizza, their latest limited-time pizza. The new pizza, unsurprisingly, is topped with meatballs, pepperoni, a blend of cheeses, and sprinkled with Italian herb seasoning and a large is offered for $11.

The price is a buck more than the typical $10 they try to offer their limited-time pizzas. Of course, if you order under their "Early Week Mania," which runs Monday through Wednesday, it's only $9.99.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Bacon Bacon Biscuit

Carl's Jr.'s Bacon Bacon Biscuit is your standard bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, but with the addition of a slice of Canadian bacon

It's $2.29 per sandwich which is a pretty average price as far as these things go. It is a little bigger than other breakfast sandwiches since Carl's Jr.'s biscuit is hamburger-bun-sized.

News: Domino's - New Handmade Pan Pizza

Starting tomorrow, Domino's goes straight at rival Pizza Hut with a new Handmade Pan Pizza crust option. Why the "Handmade" prefix? The new pizza crust will be made from fresh dough in-stores. Apparently, according to USA Today, some Pizza Hut locations use frozen dough for their pan pizzas, so Domino's will be playing up that angle.

Around the World: KFC Japan - New Bacon Potato Fritters

For a limited-time, KFC Japan is offering an homage to the chain's southern roots and the brand's founder with the Colonel's Bacon Potato Fritters.

The mashed potatoes are mixed with bits of bacon, herbs, and sour cream before being battered and fried.

I have to say, I know it's just a promo shot, but it looks and sounds really tasty! It's not too different from the potato croquettes that are popular in Japan which are similar, but tend to be breaded with panko bread crumbs instead of just battered.

The price on these is 170 yen each (~$2.17 U.S.).

Neat! You Can Get Personal Drip Coffee in U.S.

So it looks like you can get single-use personal drip coffee here in the U.S. though you can't get Starbucks brand Origami coffee (as far as I know). I spotted these boxes at a Mitsuwa Japanese supermarket. They're imported from Japan and available from Key Coffee and UCC respectively, which are two of the major players in the home coffee market in Japan.

Review: Starbucks - Morning Bun

Starbucks' Morning Bun features a croissant-like bun rolled up like a cinnamon roll and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

The price is pretty standard as far as morning buns go at $1.95.