I think stating Pandarians are "vaguely asian" is deliberately trying to gloss over some of their characteristics.
http://media.steampowered.com/steamcommunity/public/images/avatars/7b/7bf397a782deffaf8a4166dc2e2f69ba1062b41a_full.jpg Also, they're frigging Pandas!!!
^^ kind of proves my point. (NB: I have nothing against asian looking chars, just pointing out the flaws of the OP's argument here)
The fact that they seem a complete rip off from the CGI film Kung-fu Panda bothers people too. I'm surprised Dreamworks didn't take WoW to court on that one.
Also, they are not just one class. They are a playable race. They introduced a class, known as Monk (a hand to hand combat class), but that only emphasizes their take on the who Kung-fu Panda rip off.
The problem here is that pandas (or, Pandarians) are a legitimate, playable race. They have their own starter lands even.
The biggest issue with the Pandarians is that they make no sense. A world filled with Elves, Orcs and undead are suddenly plagued with 3 foot high teddies. With Ewoks, we already know they exist in the SW universe. Pandarians were kind of crammed into the WoW universe like a block of cheese through a keyhole.
Blizzard tried to take advantage of a fad in the market, that is mostly why Pandarians are a joke. Ewoks, however, have been going around since the 80's. It has less to do with their "cute" look, and more to do with pandering (lol!) of a new fad, despite the lore already created.