Republic of Ireland price: €8.99
I don’t usually go in for ready meals, but I always make an exception for the food at Marks and Spencer. They’ve been adding to their selection in recent months, with a new range of quiches and tarts at €2.99 and the Cook Asian 1234 choice at €8.99.
Last weekend at M&S all the good stuff had gone from the Dine in for Two for €12.50 offer. So I picked up the Cook Asian 1234 choice. For €8.99, I got Marinaded British Chicken, Mixed Pepper Vegetable, Black Bean Sauce, and Rice.
What was good about it?
Pop the chicken in the wok and cook for a few minutes, add the vegetables and cook for a few minutes, add your sauce, mix in the rice, and heat through.
It was more than enough to feed two and it was really delicious: fresh, spicy, and well-balanced, with neither too much nor too little sauce. By combining the four items together you save over €5.
What was bad about it?
I think that the full price for the individual items is far too high to begin with. And just a little bit more chicken wouldn’t go astray.
Overall
Still, all your meat, veg, rice or noodles, and a sauce for €8.99 is good value. You can also choose from beef or prawns and four other sauces.
It’s all very fresh and tasty, and while it’s still a quick and easy convenience meal, it’s a bit more fun than popping a plastic dish in the oven or microwave. I will be buying this again and I’ll definitely try out the prawns and the beef.
Wednesday 22 April, 2009 at 8:25 pm
This sounds good Peter…one thing though, I noticed that the rice and noodles are pre-cooked? I’m a bit grossed out by pre-cooked noodles, they’re so claggy…were these ones ok?
Wednesday 22 April, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I put this in my basket last week and walked around doing the rest of my shopping – and at the last minute I put it back – sure that it couldn’t be good! Glad to know it’s worth a try.
But, I agree, the “protein” portion looked a bit weak. I want to eat a meal that fills me up!
Kate
Wednesday 22 April, 2009 at 10:26 pm
The rice was particularly good and really easy to heat. I just added it and stirred. Can’t speak for the noodles but I’d be surprised if they’re not lovely too: I reckon M&S would be unlikely to put over-starchy, claggy noodles on the shelf.
Wednesday 29 April, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I looked at this in M&S the other day, and while the sauces look good, I’m a bit dubious about the rice and noodles. The individual price of the (precooked) rice is €3 for about 300g – as you say above, they’re much too high so it’s not really that much of a bargain to get them all for €9. The veg selections did look really good though.