Sunday 6 April 2008

Fast Food Britain!

Firstly, have a look at this picture. Lovely isn't it? A thin sheet of settled snow in my garden and a sunny blue sky ... you can imagine the next scenario ... go under the Christmas tree and start opening your presents. However, there is something wrong with this picture.... it was taken this morning, 6th April! Now all the freshly planted plants are going to die and we'll have to plant them again when the snow clears. So much for global warming!

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For the rest of this blog, I will do a rundown of some of the fast / convenient foods I have had over the last few weeks. Due to surgery, I was not able to cook for awhile and so had to rely on convenience food to keep me going. They were not the best, but there is a place for them in today's society, especially as they can be cheap and very convenient. SO here is a review and countdown, from the worst to the best...

No 8:
A microwave bacon cheeseburger, complete with the bun. All you have to do is unpack it and microwave for 2 mins. Cost only £1. The pattie taste vaguely like meat.
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No7:
A chicken tikka masala pie. The filling consist of a lightly spiced creamy chicken curry. Tastes bland and the crispy puff pastry was the best bit. Just pop into the oven to bake for 20 mins. COst only 72p. About 3.5 - 4in long.
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No 6:
Tesco's Tuna Sweetcorn Pasta. The sauce is actually yogurt based, and At 550kcal per pack, not as heavy as a mayo based dish. Tastes fine, I'd give it 3/5. Cost £1.70
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No 5:
A subway sandwich. This 12inch chicken and bacon sub cost £4, including a drink. I can never finish such a large one, so I shared it with my son. We both enjoyed it but I still think it cost too much for a piece of bread with bits of cheap veg and meat.
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No 4:
Singapore Chow Mein from a local takeaway. Cost £4.50, which is about average in price. Taste is ok, but I would have preferred if they had used the thicker variety of egg noodles. Frying "sang mein" this way just does not taste right.
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No 3:
Yung Chow Fried Rice from the same takeaway. Rice was delicately fried with wok hei ... had good taste without the brown soy sauce flavour. The only thing that spoilt it was the use of cheap soft luncheon meat in the rice. Cost £3.80.
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No 2:
Sushi pack from Tesco. I dont know how to describe what is in it as I am not a big fan of Japanese cuisine. However, I thought this was nice enough, with the fresh tasting smoked salmon, a tasty piece of yellow sheet (which I dont know what it is!, and nouri that was not too dry or wet. Only slight complaint was that the rice was slightly on the hard side, but I think this is probably normal with all sushi that is not made to order. Cost £3.
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And for the No 1 dish....

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My favourite noodles..ho fun! But this is slightly different .... it's a packet of instant noodles from Hong Kong. The chicken flavour soup base reminded me of, when a kid, a hawker whom used to pass my house selling "tok tok meen" ... where he clapped two pieces of bamboo together to make a distinctive noise to let everyone know he was coming. This instant ho fun was soft and succulent when cooked properly and with the seasoning oil, smooth as well. Cost only 38pence!!!

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13 comments:

wmw said...

Lots of yummy instant noodles out there. Latest one I like here is the Penang Har Mee!

HairyBerry said...

i used to eat those pre-packed pasta from tesco metro cos food was so darn expensive in london. my wanton mee cost 6 quid and i took 30 mins to "swallow" it..haha!

daphne said...

That's alot of instant meals! haha.. only the sushi appealed to me though.

tigerfish said...

So you just had the NO.1 dish, plain?
I would like to try that chicken masala pie :)

ling239 said...

the yellow sheet thingy on ur sushi is japanese egg omelette ler...^_^

Big Boys Oven said...

this is what I usually have during my stay.

Unknown said...

Oh Dear, what an ordeal with some of that "food". That hamburger looks like it was not the best. I do agree though, the hot bowl of noodle soup is always comforting to eat, and especially for only 38p! What a good deal! Well the chow mein and fried rice look good in the photos, and I am sorry these dishes did not taste right.

Oh, and btw, all of the Brits I have personally met here and in the UK have all been kind, sometimes reserved, and always courteous. I think that one UK guy in Brussels probably does not represent the majority of the UK. :)

Hazza said...

wmw,
Penang Har Mee? Isnt that the old Maggi one or something tasting more authentic?

nic,
£6? Did you try Wong Kee? Only around £4 there. Cheapest in the country. Infamous service too, lol!

daphne,
Yeah, I felt similar, most were not the best

tigerfish,
sometimes I do embellish the ho fun with fishballs, chicken slices and/or choy sum. But at this time, not feeling well, so just had it plain.

ling,
strange tasting egg. Tasted more like taufo pok to me.

bbo,
You visit UK often? There are a lot of cheap eats in London. No need to resort to rubbish like these.

lannae,
They dont taste the best, but for convenience, there is no comparison

JOjo said...

Muahaha...Instant food ar? My instant food nowadays is BREAD!!! Wholemeal bread from Gardenia *Lol*
Instant food always tend to have lots of MSG.Dun consume too much.Bad for health la. Must take care.
Homecookfood is still the best~ Go man~Whip up the good food in your kitchen in Manchester~ Yee Hah~

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

i should've guessed! instant noodles r my top fav snack/junk food too altho i'm scared about loosing my hair whenever i ate tt much msg. must find this brand u r crazy about.Jojo, there was a newspaper article years ago where they published the results of the time it takes for all diff types of bread to mold. yes, Gardenia took a whole week while others 3 to 4 days, meaning it prob has the most preservatives plus what i've always disliked about it--very dry.

Sugar Bean said...

What a wonderful post! Reminded me of a lot of food that I've ate when I was in UK. Used to buy pasta from Tesco and also instant noodles and instant pizzas. Haha, very unhealthy but was having exams at that time.

Hazza said...

jojo,
I am over it now, thank goodness! I agree, too much is bad for you!

terri,
I heard about msg soup base causing hair loss too, but I think its not been scientifically proven.

sugar bean,
yes, typical student food. its ok to eat when young and healthy. got many years ahead to correct your diet later.

Anonymous said...

Well written article.