Panda Express has a spot in Pasadena where the menu is slightly different than other locations in the chain and new items created at headquarters in Rosemead get tested on the public.

It’s called the Panda Express Innovation Kitchen and it’s currently serving new items called Dim Sum Bites.

They include Lobster & Shrimp Dumplings, stuffed with lobster, shrimp, cream cheese and vegetables, and Mini Chicken Wontons. filled with chicken and vegetables, according to a news release.

Dim Sum Bites also include Veggie Spring Rolls and Chicken Egg Rolls, which are available everywhere, and Apple Pie Rolls, which Panda Express calls its first-ever dessert item. It was introduced to mark its 40th anniversary. The chain began in the Glendale Galleria in 1983.

Bites at the Innovation Kitchen cost $3.75 for two dishes and $5 for three dishes.

Panda Express is testing another dessert called Boba Black Tea Ice Cream at the Innovation Kitchen and three other locations. It is a collaboration with Boba x Ice Cream, a company that sells small batch lactose-free ice cream by the pint for online delivery and in markets such as Sprouts.

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The ice cream cups cost $3.99 for 5 ounces.

The Dum Sum Bites test is scheduled to last until Nov. 28. The ice cream cups will be available until Nov. 14, according to the chain.

The Innovation Kitchen is at 3867 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena.

The other locations that sell the ice cream are at 1717 Walnut Grove Ave, Rosemead; 3717 S Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas; and the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, 3355 S Las Vegas Blvd.

Information: pandaexpress.com/innovation