You can get just rice at Panda Express. It is $1.49 plus tax for a small or $2.49 plus tax for a medium (I think that works out to $1.61 or $2.70 total). You can get just an entrée -- the small is $3.50 plus tax. So, I got a small rice and a small beef broccoli today for a total of $5.39. Their single item plus rice or noodles is over $6 and their standard two item platter is over $7, plus it's just a lot to eat for one person. I sometimes am simply not that hungry.