Panda Express Partners With Mike’s Hot Honey for Bold New Flavor Combo

Panda Express has partnered with Mike’s Hot Honey, continuing its reputation for bold flavor combinations with a new menu item.

The eatery’s new Chili Crisp Chicken draws inspiration from Chongqing chicken. This Chinese dish is also known as dry chili chicken, firecracker chicken, and mala chicken.

Per a press release shared with RetailWire, the new menu item draws its inspiration from the beloved dish, known for its dramatic spice and presentation. At Panda Express, the dish features crispy, crunchy chicken, mixed with green bell peppers, onions, and dried chilis. 

This savory and spicy chili crisp garlic sauce, infused with Chinese spices, gives this dish its bold flavor. To top it off, Mike’s Hot Honey adds a sweet heat to the dish’s overall flavor profile. To add even more spice, guests can purchase a Mike’s Hot Honey Extra Hot Packet for $0.95, available in-store while supplies last. 

Chef Jimmy Wang, executive director of culinary innovation at Panda Express, said in a statement to RetailWire,  “Chili Crisp Chicken is our bold twist on playful contrasts – a blend of sweet and spicy that’s crispy, swicy and just the right kind of craveable. With our signature chili crisp garlic sauce and that final hit of Mike’s Hot Honey, we’re setting the new standard for swicy.” 

Currently, this spicy new dish is available in Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Houston, and the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area through July 15, or while supplies last.  

Panda Express Is No Stranger to ‘Swicy’ Foods

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Panda Express (@officialpandaexpress)

Panda Express is one of the trailblazers of the “swicy” flavor combination. Before they collaborated with Mike’s Hot Honey, the restaurant introduced three menu items with this dynamic flavor palette: the Original Orange Chicken, Hot Orange Chicken, and Blazing Bourbon Chicken.

What is swicy? The nickname is the combination of two flavor profiles: sweet and spicy.

The sweet-and-spicy — or “swicy” — flavor combo is nothing new, with roots in culinary traditions across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and beyond. However, its popularity is rapidly growing in the U.S., where both classic interpretations and creative new twists are emerging to suit American tastes and buying habits.

Chala June, specialty food association trendspotter, recipe developer, and writer, told Martha Stewart.com, “After we all fell in love with hot honey just a few short years ago, it only makes sense that the swicy trend is finally trickling its way into more formats like snack mixes and even frozen meals. It’s something other global cultures have been doing for ages — think mango with chili powder — but it’s exciting to see new versions of this classic combo make their way into the market.”

In October 2024, CNBC reported that nearly 10% of restaurant menus featured sweet and spicy items. The outlet cited market research firm Datassential, which claimed that the demand for this flavor palette had gone up 1.8% over the previous 12 months. These types of menu items will continue to dominate over the next four years, and they are expecting a rise of 9.6%.