The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
One of the important functions of this site is for me to remember what I don’t want to eat again, and this Samlip custard cream soboro bread bun was particularly bad and uninspiring.
It featured a semi-pineapple bun like exterior, however was damp and soft and not at all crispy or craggly.
The bread had a slightly bitter flavour and the custard filling was in reality much less substantial than what was pictured on the packaging.
I truly could not recommend this. Ever. Please avoid it.
I saw Gaza Cola being sold at Cairo Takeaway recently, and rather than spend $5 on a single can, decided to maybe buy a case.
I ended up buying a slab of Gaza Cola sugar free and compared it to the memories of some Salaam Cola No Sugar that I had lying around as well as your average can of Diet Coke.
A direct head-to-head comparison was not performed, as the Salaam Cola, which I had first been introduced to by a member of the trade union movement, had somehow deflated in my pantry, and I was not comfortable drinking it.
In comparison to the Salaam Cola, the Gaza Cola was a bit lighter almost as if echoing the comparison between Diet Coke and Coke No Sugar. The bubbles seemed to be a little bit larger on the tongue and the taste was similarly less sharp almost in keeping with the different colours here.
Whilst I might enjoy a Salaam Cola No Sugar on occasion (honestly quite good with a squeeze of lime), I still think that Diet Coke is the most superior non-sugared diet cola for a sugarfree cokehead.
The Gaza Cola Sugar Free was really not that good, and now I have like 20 more of them to go and nowhere to really put them. (I no longer work in Western Sydney).
Maybe I should have just spent the $5 on a single Gaza Cola rather than $39.60 on a 24 pack case if I didn’t know if I’d like them.
I had the PLEASURE of eating these chive and egg “dumplings” from Ruyee a few minutes ago. They were new to my local Asian grocery store, and what a delight they were.
Though labelled dumplings, I would not really characterise them as such as they were each quite large (shown in a 10-inch carbon steel pan above). The Chinese label, 韭菜盒子, is much more accurate, indicating that they’re more of an egg and chive pocket. The cooking instructions suggested heating them in a small amount of oil for a total of six minutes, however due to the three dimensional shape of the pockest I found it neccessary to hold the straight sided edge against the pan to ensure that that portion of the pocket was not left raw.
The taste of these, however, was really good. There was a strong chive taste, with an excellent filling to dough ratio – honestly even better than ones I’ve paid for at literal restaurants and food stalls.
At a pack of 5 for $6-7, I have no notes – hopefully I will be able to find more yummy frozen snacks from this company in the future.
Ruyee Chive and Egg Dumplings 如意 韭菜盒子 UPC 936999818197
Don’t tell any of my local Chinese restaurants, but I would not be mad if I had these pork and cabbage dumplings 猪肉白菜饺 (500g for $10) served to me in a restaurant.
They were large, plump, tolerated well my haphazard boiling with no stirring of the pot, and most importantly, tasted good.
The filling of the pork and cabbage dumplings had a good texture with a bit of meat texture which made it seem like more than just your classic mystery slurry, and a light but enjoyable flavour that was allowed to shine by the addition of some extra vinegar for dipping. I can recommend them.
Lucky Dumplings Pork and Cabbage 品质王猪肉白菜饺 EAN 9309002913068
Others:
Though I enjoyed the pork and cabbage dumplings, my experience with the country-style chicken田园鸡肉饺 variety was less rewarding. I enjoyed neither the flavour, which I felt was lacking, nor the texture of the frozen vegetable medley.
Conversely, the addition of a little bit of prawn (and I think a bit of chilli) in the chicken, corn, & shrimp 鸡虾玉米饺 dumplings, as well as the removal of carrot and peas, made them much more palatable.
This beef jerky was very thin and crispy, with a natural-tasting beef flavour, a little salt, but not much else in terms of seasoning – generally flavoured in more of a Western style compared to most Chinese jerkies. Allegedly spicy but imperceptibly so.
The thinness, allegedly at 1mm a slight, I thought was a bit overboard, in that it actually became sharp enough to be uncomfortable when poking the oral mucosa.
