Eating @ Panda Express for $5

When my co-worker asked me if I wanted to have lunch with him, I got nervous.  You see, in the past when I would go to lunch with my co-workers, I always ended up spending $10, $12, and sometimes as much as $20!!!  So I quickly intervened for the sake of my five dollar diet.

"You wanna go to Panda Express?" I asked.

Fortunately for me, he loves Panda Express, and I knew that it was my only option for a low-cost meal.  So we drove to a nearby Panda and as we were waiting in line, I inspected the menu.  I was surprised that there was NOT A SINGLE MENU ITEM UNDER $5!!!

I was appalled at this... I was in shock!!!  How could this be?  "What is this world coming to when a man can't even get a meal for under five bucks?" I thought to myself.

Fortunately for me, there was a combo meal just a hair under five bucks, their "One Entree Plate".  So when the server asked me what I wanted, I told him that I wanted chow mein, a little bit of rice, and mandarin chicken.  I continued down what seemed like an assembly line and watched the food being served right before my very eyes!  I was then greeted by a cheerful cashier who packaged my meal in a bag and asked what I was going to drink.  Since the meal was going to cost me $4.99, I did not have any money for a drink, and so I asked for a cup with water.

The meal itself was huge!  It definitely filled me up, but I was kind of annoyed that it cost so much!  I mean, how much does rice, noodles and chicken really cost?  The total for the entire meal was actually $5.43 when you factor in the taxes, but the meal itself was only $4.99.  So what do you think?  Does this qualify as a $5 meal?  Let me know in the comments below.

Ace