This isn't a restaurant review, but since many of us are college students on a budget, we should deal with the food we eat from day to day as well as the restaurants we eat at occasionally.
Today I was shopping at Target and on a whim grabbed a couple microwave asian dishes to try (I don't go home for lunch from my office, I never remember to pack one before I come into school, and I'm too cheap most of the time to buy food at the Union). The one I tried today was Annie Chun's Noodle Express Chinese Chow Mein. I finished it a couple minutes ago.
If I ever do another review, we'll see if I can keep the criteria the same!
Difficulty: Easy to make (had to open a couple packets and dump them into a bowl that they supply). Microwave for about a minute and eat.
Taste: I don't eat a lot of Chinese, but it tasted pretty good (I'm also hungry). I have no idea how it stacks up against 'real' chow mein, but supposedly this flavor is based on a recipe that "won top honors at New York's Fancy Food Show." We'll have to let someone else be the judge. I'd eat it again.
Price: $2.99 before tax at Target.
Healthy Stuff (per bowl): 320 Calories, 8g fat, 1020 mg sodium, 54g carbs, 10g protein.
Calories/dollar: One of the important things for staying alive on a budget--if it's cheap with no calories, there isn't any point in eating it. 107 Calories/dollar. It's more expensive than ramen, but maybe it really is better for you?
Other comments: It comes in an "Earth-Friendly Biodegradable Tray" inside of a cardboard sleeve. While I see that they are trying to make a point about being Earth-friendly, wouldn't it be better and cheaper to not have a big cardboard sleeve on the outside (maybe have a sticker instead?)? Also, what does one do with this tray--I recycle as much as I can, so it sort of bothers me to just toss this chunk of plastic in the trash. Can I put it in with other plastic? There isn't a number on it. I went to the website listed because I wasn't paying attention, but rather than being about the bowl, it's a link to
donate money to the World Food Program (I don't have a problem with this, but it wasn't what I was expecting to see).
Anyway, that's my take on this microwave meal of the day. It's been 20 minutes or so and I'm feeling rather hungry . . .