We can’t help but applaud 7-Eleven’s dedication to giving us ready-to-eat meals. After all, they’re always there for us when we need that quick instant noodle fix or a chilled Coke on a hot day – why should serving up convenient and hot meals be any different? According to 7-Eleven, their ready-to-eat meals are freshly made-to-order to guarantee maximum freshness. All meals can be prepared in less than five minutes, ready for you to chow down when you’re short on time.
We tried a few of their new items and this is what we honestly think:
These were very flavourful but came drenched in oil. The packaging was difficult to tear through, and when we finally wrestled each chicken wing out of the box – we were exhausted and had slightly numb fingers from the steaming hot chicken. Although greasy, the meat was slightly dry but we can’t deny that the black pepper seasoning was spot on. It’s quick and easy to prepare, and will do well as a party snack.
Like the Black Pepper Chicken Wings, we had the same problem here with packaging. It was challenging to rip through the tough plastic to actually access our meal. The flavour for this was good although one again, the meat was slightly dry, but the strong honey glaze makes up for it. This was probably the best meal we tried and if we paired it with some other form of carbs, it would actually make for a meal that will pass off as home-cooked. Perhaps the next time you’re trying to impress a date?
While the most photogenic of all the ready-to-eat meals, the mee siam was only sub par. When the word “dry” is in the meal’s name, it’s a little hard not to be… dry. Otherwise, the noodles were quite tasty but the fried omelette bits and tau pok were lacking in flavour. But kudos to this dish since it was the easiest to prepare and eat. It’s ultra convenient in terms of preparation, so if you’re in a rush and have a craving for something that’s spicy and flavourful, it’s not a bad choice.
We were comparing these to the Cold Storage onigiris and supposedly, certain Cold Storage outlets do them well. These 7-Eleven ones had a decent amount of filling but the rice was oddly clumpy. The rice grains clung to each other and made swallowing difficult. Also, the seaweed was crisp to start with, but quickly became soggy. In Japan’s convenience stores, their onigiri had rice that was nicely sticky, moist, and much fluffier than these.
This cake was oozy. We can’t deny its ooziness. We sliced it through the middle and immediately, red velvet ooze came pouring out – yet, this didn’t taste at all similar to what we envisioned red velvet to be. Instead, the taste of maraschino cherries was overpowering. While the texture was correct, the taste was not.
7-Eleven will also be bringing Black Pepper Chicken Leg ($3.60) and Honey Chicken Wings ($2.90) to the table. While we’re definitely pleased that 7-Eleven is giving us a bigger range of meals, we think that the cumbersome packaging’s a major flaw in the grand scheme of pushing out convenient and on-the-go meals. At the end of the day, we do have to remember that 7-Eleven’s ready-to-go are making our lives more convenient while still serving us tasty food.
As for the food choices, the team recommended a few other quick and convenient ideas that may work well for 7-Eleven’s future line-up of ready-to-go meals- chicken rice, and briyani were hot favourites in our discussion. While we wait and see what 7-Eleven has planned for us next, we’ll be enjoying the convenience factor of these eight new offerings.
Images: NYLON Singapore
You must be logged in to post a comment.