Vifon Pho Ga Chicken flavour Really impressed by this one. Nice mix of spices. Variety date and rating notes Vifon Pho Ga An Lien Chicken Flavour 7-9-2015 7/9/2015 - 9/10 I thought this would be a kind of mild rice noodle package. But the result was much better than expected. The ingredients are funny - it is chicken flavored but has no chicken in it. It would be vegetarian if it weren't for the MSG. The "vegetable" packet had lumps of what looked like dehydrated chicken, but the ingredients are textured wheat gluten, green onion and eryngium. I had to look up 'eryngium' - it is a flowering herb, sometimes called false coriander according to Wikipedia. The pho spices are ginger, shallot, cinammon, anis and pepper. Mi Hai Cua 2 Crab noodles Ugh, freeservers won't let me upload the image for this, even though it tells me I have about 5 mb left. :( Variety date and rating notes Mi Hai Cua 2 Crab Noodles 2-26-2015 2/26/2015 - 8/10 As with most crab flavored foods, the flavor is kind of mild. I enjoyed it, and only added a light sprinkle of chilli powder. I know some people like to really add heat to crab dishes, especially Chinese ones, but I like to taste the food too. Loss of Bento Just a moment to recognize that the wonderful Bento Oriental Express closed sometime last year. One of my favorite restaurants in Corvallis, but inconveniently located for me so I rarely went. Hope my lack of business wasn't the cause, but they had been open for at least 15 years. Marie Callender's Cheesy Bacon and Egg 11-10-2014 Wow, I wonder if I lost some data in the time that Freeservers shut down this site - I can't believe it has been so long since I updated this page. I've not notes on things I've eaten in my notebook - I should do a speed round update I guess. Variety date and rating notes Marie Callender's Cheesy Bacon and Egg 11/10/2014 - 7/10 Pretty good. Its the combination of a pot pie and breakfast. I found it a bit salty, but I don't salt too many things. 510 calories and 500mg of salt packed in a little pastry shell.. :P Marie Callender's Breaded Chicken Parmigiana 12-4-2013 Really good for being over a year past pulldate.  But that is what freezers are for.  Now if I can just keep the Durian smell out of my head... Variety date and rating notes Marie Callender's Breaded Chicken Parmigiana 12/4/2013 - 9/10 Tasty, delicious creamy sauce.  Once again, real food from the freezer. UeNoDora Magical Tales Durian Egg Rolls 12-3-2013 I was going to pick up some durian candy at a local Asian store, but these were cheaper.  I've wanted to try durian to see if it was as bad as they say. I think the Magical Tale refers to the lingering effect the smell has and how your body odor will be telling tales for the next day. Variety date and rating notes UeNoDora Magical Tales Durian Egg Rolls 11/22/2013 - -2/10 (yes, minus 2, would have been a 7 without the smell) Not the kind of egg rolls you usually think of.  These are crispy cookies filled with a durian flavored cream.  Like a Pirouette but instead of chocolate there is a creamy filling. Opening the package, the smell immediately hit.  I couldn't believe it, it was the oddest mix of gasoline, egg, fart, old tobacco smoke and must I'd ever encountered.  And yet it was fruity.  Just a fragrance overload, and not all good. Being congested, I didn't thing that would be a problem.  I ate two, but was scared to eat more.  Without the smell, the cookie rolls were sweet and creamy with a nice crunch. Somehow the smell got stuck into my mucus membranes and I had it lingering with me for the rest of the day (through two meals and tooth brushing).  Even my morning breath the next day was affected. The first of the two packs in the box is still open in an adjacent cube and I can almost smell them from here.  I need to move them away, but I'm waiting to see who else eats them. (evil laugh) Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki 11-22-2013 I should write somethign about the Maple Moose chips Amelia brought me.  They were not what most people would call "good".  The grilled cheese and ketchup were better (tasted like bachelor food). Way back in the big freezer was this bowl.  I still find these steamer packages fun. Variety date and rating notes Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki 11/22/2013 - 7/10 This was really pretty good.  I enjoy the steamers, and even though this was encased in ice (out freezer is too cold), it was tasty. I'm not one to seek out beef, but I enjoyed this.  I like that they used brown rice.  I might have scored it higher, but I was left wanting more food out of the package (maybe that is just my winter desire to eat all the time). Lay's Sriracha chips (sample) 3-20-2013 Lays is currently running a promotion to pick the next flavor. Fred Meyers had a very nice giveaway with all three flavors as well as one from Doritos (which I hadn't heard about). The kids each got Chicken and Waffles bags, while Jenny got all three and I got one of the Parmesan Garlic. The Parmesan Garlic was really pretty good and garlicy. The Chicken and Waffles was really odd, yet I kept eating them. So I'm sampling the one bag of Sriracha chips for lunch today. Variety date and rating notes Lay's Sriracha chips 3/20/2013 - 7/10 I was worried these wouldnt have much flavor to them other than 'hot'. While I like spices, I also like to be able to taste things. I found they were pretty good. I noticed on the ingredients there is cheese, so they seem to have used that to give it more flavor profile. I don't think I could eat the whole bag straight. After a few they started bugging my throat, but a bite of my pulled pork sandwich took care of that. I think they best fit as a side to a sandwich of whatever sort you like. Lean Cuisine Salad Additions asian-style chicken 2-26-2013 Waiting for the new little boy to be born. :) Variety date and rating notes Lean Cuisine Salad Additions asian-style chicken 2/26/2013 - 7/10 This was an item Jenny picked up for me. Its a box with three pouches containing noodles, dressing and a vegetable/chicken mix all frozen. I was concerned when I pulled the frozen dressing out, but putting it in a cup of water did thaw it out in the 3 minutes it took to put the rest together. There was plenty of dressing, though if you had a good way to distribute it you could probably leave off a little and save some of the 260 calories this adds to your lettuce. The chicken chunks were good. I don't usually add steamed broccoli and edamame to a salad, so that seemed a bit odd to me. I ate most of those separate from the lettuce. It was good but I'm not sure how well all the pieces really played together. If I have this again, I'd probably keep most of the warm stuff separate instead of mixing it all together in an old potato salad container as I did. Archer Farms Tikka Masala and Spiced Green Pea Rice 1-10-2013 Happy New Year! Variety date and rating notes Archer Farms Tikka Masala and Spiced Green Pea Rice 1/10/2013 - 6/10 I wanted to try one of the shelf stable non-refrigerated meals from Target, and found this on clearance sometime last year. I decided to finally eat it today. The box claimed it was "moderately hot", and I found it had a bit of a dull background burn after eating a big sporkfull of sauce. The sauce has a dark tomato paste look to it. There is something slightly off in the package. I'm not sure if the microwave burned it (I put it in for 1:30 as directed). It may also be that I'm not over my yearly sinus problems. The pea rice was ok by itself, but had a bit of cardboardy-blah finish. I liked that they used a long grain basmati rice. The dish is vegetarian. There is definitely something odd in the sauce - an anrgy burned grainy tomato something. But it is not enough to keep me from eating it. I wanted to like this more, but likely won't buy it again. Marie Calendar Shrimp Scampi 11-27-2012 What, two reviews in one week?!?? Variety date and rating notes Marie Calendar Shrimp Scampi (frozen) 11/29/2012 - 8/10 Again, another from Marie that looks and tastes like real food. The sauce was creamier than I had expected - I usually expect scampi to just have a butter sauce. IndoMie Chicken Curry Flavour 11-27-2012 Dug into my box this week and this looked good. Variety date and rating notes IndoMie Chicken Curry Flavour 11/27/2012 - 7/10 Pretty good. Maybe a little blah, but I didn't put the ground red pepper in immediately so it might not have really blended the flavour (sic). Tung-I Fresh Shrimp Flavor 10-16-12 This is something of a revisit. I'd reviewed either the same thing or something similar before. I don't know if the other version had an oil packet, but the packaging at least was different. Wow! I can't believe they could sell this - the ingredients for the soup base packet were incomplete! The soup base contained dehydrated carrots, but they are not listed anywhere on the package. I wonder what else they left out. I did not use all the oil packet, because I only need so much palm oil in my diet. I'd give this a 7/10 and will likely eat it again. Lots of chives was kind of nice. Stouffer's Sesame Chicken (frozen) 10-5-12 This one is much larger than the other Sesame Chicken offerings Variety date and rating notes Stouffer's Sesame Chicken 10/5/2012 - 7/10 Pretty good. The noodles picked up some of that udon-lightly-doughy flavor/texture. There were 5 little breaded nuggets in my tray, which were actually better chicken than the ones I had in a General Tsao's offering from Sudexho in San Deigo months ago. This chicken is actual cuts of chicken. The vegetables were fine, though the red pepper was predictably mushy. This clocked in at 590 calories for 15 oz. of food. I wouldn't have picked it if I hadn't missed breakfast this morning. Marie Calendar Beef Pot Roast (frozen) 3-23-12 Decided I need to clean out the freezer a bit more. I'm not a big beef eater, but I do enjoy pot roast on occasion. Variety date and rating notes Marie Calendar Beef Pot Roast 3/23/2012 - 7/10 This has all the good stuff you would expect - beef, carrots, onion, green beans and celery in a nice gravy with a side of potatoes. It's pretty good, but my complaint is the carrots. I like carrots, raw or cooked. These are the baby cut style carrots, and unfortunately they didn't get past the stringy stage of cooking. They taste fine, but the texture is not pleasing. Indomie Mi goreng Satay 1-4-12 Happy New Year! Variety date and rating notes Indomie Mi goreng Satay 1/4/2012 - 7/10 I think I've had this before, but I'm writing it up again. Good stuff. This came with 5 packets - seasoning oil, soya sauce, fried onion, bumbu sauce and chili powder. I tried it first without the chili and found it good but a little bland. I added a sprinkle of chili and it left my mouth tingling. :) Vina Acecook Mi Xao Kingcook Tomato Sauce and artificial port flavour 10-13-11 TODO: load pictures. 7/10 Variety date and rating notes Vina Acecook Mi Xao Kingcook Tomato Sauce and artificial port flavour 10/13/2011 - 7/10 good, I'll eat it again. Fork was funny Marie Calendar Honey Mustard Chicken 8-8-11 This was pretty tasty. :) Variety date and rating notes Marie Calendar Honey Mustard Chicken (frozen) 8/8/2011 - 8/10 Another nice frozen meal, with steamed carrot/brocolli/cauliflower next to chicken and sweet potatoes in honey sauce. I'd probably rate it higher, but I don't like dijon mustard much, and the 'dijoniness' kept coming out. But I love sweet potatoes. :) Marie Calendar Creamy Parmesan Chicken 7-18-11 This is one from my box. Its a Home-Style Creations, with a shelf-stable tray with sauce and dry noodle that you cook and strain. Variety date and rating notes Marie Calendar Creamy Parmesan Chicken 7/18/2011 - 5/10 I nearly tossed this out based on the smell of the sauce. When I pulled the sauce from the microwave, it smelled like baby barf. It turned my stomach. But I thought, "It can't taste as bad as it smells." Well, it did taste alright. I picked out the mushrooms. I ate it with some leftover Parmesan-herb focaccia I made last night (which did not smell like curdled milk and stomach acid). It was edible, but the sauce was oddly thick. I have to admit, in general, Parmesan is not my favorite cheese and I don't voluntarily eat mushrooms, so this may not have been designed for my demographic. I don't think I'd buy this again. Marie Calendar Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables (frozen) 6-22-11 Another Fresh Steamer. Variety date and rating notes Marie Calendar Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables 6/22/2011 - 7/10 Oddly, this seemed to get better as it got colder. The sauce tasted watery at first, so the flavors weren't deep enough, but towards the end it seemed like the flavors were meshing better. This mix included mushrooms, which I don't like, but there were only three pieces of mushroom I found in the whole dish, which I easily removed. Lean Cuisine Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce (frozen) 6-1-11 A break from the Sesame chicken (got a large Stouffers one still to come). Variety date and rating notes Lean Cuisine Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce 6/1/2011 - 7/10 Average fare for these kind of frozen meals. Nice low calorie count (250). There are two slices of chicken which are almost comically thin. The basil tasted pretty good. I'm impressed they could do a cream sauce for 250 calories. Lean Cuisine Sesame Stir Fry with Chicken (frozen) 5-27-11 What, two updates in a row? This is a continuation of my exploration into frozen Sesame Chicken. Variety date and rating notes Lean Cuisine Sesame Stir Fry with Chicken 5/27/2011 - 8/10 Good, yet not better than the Healthy Choice. Its just different. The chicken is fine, though a bit spongy (could be my cooking process - the microwave conked out part way through so I had to move to one downstairs). This had edamame beans, broccoli and red pepper and yellow carrot shreds, with noodles instead of rice. The calorie count is 300 and 5g of fiber. I would have liked more noodles, but that's probably how they keep the calories down. Impressively, the first ingredient is chicken. The sesame notes were not very present - the Healthy Choice had 2 or 3 times as many sesame seeds. In the Healthy Choice they almost matched the rice for number. Healthy Choice Sesame Glazed Chicken (frozen) 5-26-11 Too lazy to take pictures today. There seem to be many variations on the "sesame chicken" theme, so I thought it would be worth trying them out from the different brands. Variety date and rating notes Healthy Choice Sesame Glazed Chicken 5/26/2011 - 8/10 Good, though not spectacular. The flavors were a bit blah, though I liked the ingredients (snap peas, red peppers and water chestnuts). Only 320 calories according to the box. The last pea pod I got was a bit woody - it had been picked too late. I had to politely remove bits of inedible pod from my mouth. Simply Asia Sesame Teriyaki 5-6-11 quick one Variety date and rating notes Simply Asia Sesame Teriyaki 5/6/2011 - 7/10 Pretty good. I don't know if I added the right amount of water, as the sauce was kinda gummy. The little veg bits I didn't think would matter, but they gave a little chew to it which was nice. Probably should rate higher just for the little fork. Marie Calendar Sesame Chicken (frozen) 4-22-11 Another good one from the frozen section. Variety date and rating notes Marie Calendar Sesame Chicken 4/22/2011 - 9/10 Yum. Another hit from the Fresh Flavor Steamer line. Big chunks of chicken, carrot and water-chestnut. Not really spicy, but a little tingle in the background. My only complaint with these Fresh Flavor Steamers is the steamer basket, while cute and functional, is messy and I don't have a kitchen at work to wash and recycle them, so they end up in the trash. Indomie BBQ Chicken 4-1-11 Not an April Fools joke, I'm really updating. Variety date and rating notes Indomie Migoreng BBQ Chicken 4/1/2011 - 8/10 Enjoyable. This is another Indonesian noodle meant to be drained then seasoned rather than eating with the broth. I liked the fried onion, though there could have been more. I ate the first half with just a little of the chili sauce, then added half the packet to the remaining noodles. It got a cough out of me. :) You can see from the pictures there were 5 packet items to add - seasoning oil, chili sauce, soya sauce, fried onion and seasoning powder. Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken 3-24-11 Two in a row? Whaaa? :) I've decided to relax taking pictures of each dish if it helps me to actually write. After all, I started this to get me to use some rusty writing skills. Variety date and rating notes Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken 3/24/2011 - 8/10 Again, really good. The vegetables mixed in to the pasta were nice, and the breaded chicken was good. The sticky sauce was tasty. In my last bite I got something fibrous, probably a green bean stem. Not appealing. Unfortunately, it just went too fast. I could have eaten two of these. I'm not very good about portion control, and I'm sure that's part of how they keep the calories low. But I'm glad I brought a banana and Tillamook POG yogurt. Marie Callenders Chicken Fajita Bowl 3-23-11 Another good one from the Fresh Flavor Steamers frozen line. Variety date and rating notes Marie Callenders Chicken Fajita Bowl 3/23/2011 - 8/10 Realy good. The sauce was messy and got all over the bottom of the steamer basket. Fortunately I still had the box handy to set it on while I ate. The sauce tasted a bit like a TV dinner enchilada sauce, but with the chunks of pepper mixed it it was good. Marie Callenders Sweet Sesame Beef 3-3-11 This is the second of the room-temperature Home-Style Creations line from Marie that I've tried. This one was really good. Unfortunately, my new webcam is taking pictures at too high resolution to upload to Freeservers. So I'll have to edit this later. Variety date and rating notes Marie Callenders Home-Style Creations Sweet Sesame Beef 3/9/2011 - 8/10 Really good. I didn't have to drain the rice as it absorbed all the water. Marie Callenders Garlic Herb Chicken 3-3-11 Unlike the previous Marie lunch, this one was a room-temperature one with the cute strainer lid. In this case, the package contains dry pasta and a tray with sauce. This one suffered a clever packaging failure! I added hot water to the dry pasta in the container and noticed a steady drip. The corner of the plastic dish had cracked. I had to improvise and use less water and put the dish in a paper bowl to tip it up away from the crack. Because of this, I had to nuke it 3 times. First it soaked up all the water, then after adding the sauce it was kinda cold. The noodles were a gooey mass before I added the sauce. I'll have to review one of the other meals in the series and hopefully not have a packaging failure. Variety date and rating notes Marie Callenders Homestyle Creations Garlic Herb Chicken 3/3/2011 - 6/10 Good, though a little slimy and had a salt and pepper aftertaste. Marie Callenders Penne Garlic Chicken 2-2-11 Wow this was good. Lunch from the freezer has gotten better in recent years. :) Variety date and rating notes Marie Callenders Penne Garlic Chicken 2/2/2011 - 10/10 This was incredibly good. The spice to it was wonderful - I had a little garlicy burn in the back of my mouth, which I don't expect from something I didn't make myself with fresh garlic. Only complaint might be that there were only 2 chunks of artichokes, but they were real chunks of artichoke! I wonder if the basket could be reused for a halloween mask... Hormel Compleats Sesame Chicken 1-2-11 First post of the new year!! Jenny picked this up for nothing after coupon. Her couponing has been good for our pantry. Variety date and rating notes Hormel Compleats Sesame Chicken 1/20/2011 - 9/10 Very good. Smelled great while cooking. Surprisingly large chunks of chicken in it. And the vegetables were good - water chestnuts and baby corn. The top looked a bit funny - even after cooking it looked gelled. The 1 minute 30 seconds was plenty of cooking time. Pretty impressive for something that doesn't need refrigeration. I'm glad I have 3 more of these. :) Only drawback was the chicken tasted like canned chicken, which even the Wolfgang Puck soups can't avoid. Maruchan Yakisoba Sweet and Sour Chicken 10-21-10 Could not make up my mind this morning, so dug into the drawer today. Jenny bought me this recently, so I have wanted to try it. Incidentally, I'm moving cubes at work and will soon have much less cube space (40% less). So I don't know if the ramen drawer will survive, or if I'll have to keep my stock at home. :( Variety date and rating notes Maruchan Sweet and Sour Chicken 10/21/2010 - 8/10 The flavor is immediately sweet and pineapply, which is good. I do find it a bit disturbing that MSG is listed ahead of the dried pineapple, which I can see in the mix and which is listed as less than 2% (so msg is more than 2% of the contents). I do wish for some more pineapple chunks, but the pineapple powder is setting the right flavor. I would probably make it a touch more sour, and the chicken is just a background note so I don't know why it gets high billing. Sorry, no pictures (too lazy, and it looks like the rest of the line just in yellow packaging). Fashion Food Tom Yum 10-7-10 I forgot my lunch on the counter this morning (trying to get away from the complaining) and so I dug into the drawer today. This is one of the fancier ones I had waiting for me, and it did not disappoint. Variety date and rating notes FF Shrimp Tom Yum 10/7/2010 - 9/10 Very good. Would have gotten a 10, but I think I've been spoiled by the creamy tom yum. Nice spice from the chili oil. I drank down all the soup. I loved the packaging too. The plastic bowl with cover is nice, and the little fork it came with went into my collection (though not big enough to be useful). I even dug the little vent holes on the lid. Mama Flat Noodles Tom Yam 7-28-10 I've been eating a lot of things I've reviewed before, so I haven't blogged them in a while. I dug into my drawer today and got out the Mama Tom Yum flat noodles to try. I think I goofed, though. Variety date and rating notes Mama Flat Noodle Tom Yam 7/28/2010 - 5/10 I think I messed up in preparing these. The package contained 3 packets - a goo (which I assume was the palm oil), a dry pack and a tiny little dry pack. I dumped in most of the little pack, but I should have known that was probably the hot pepper. I can take the heat, but I get annoyed when my lips are burning and I can't taste the other flavors in the noodles. I may have to try this again and be careful about the seasoning. Mama Pad Kee Mao 4-8-10 I've been wanting to try this out of my drawer for a while, but didn't think the serving size was big enough for a lunch by itself. Today I had one piece of chicken cordon bleu leftover from last night's dinner, which seemed to need a companion. Variety date and rating notes Mama Pad Kee Mao 4/8/2010 - 7/10 Pad Kee Mao are a Thai noodle served dry, so you cook it like ramen then drain it off. I think I might have drained mine a little too well, as it took some extra mixing to get the green goo distributed. Thank goodness for the little english label on the back which had directions. The flavor was nice, and I didn't add the chili powder (didn't need it, it was spicy enough already). I'll definitely try this again when I see it in the store. ginger - 3-19-10 I love ginger stuff, though I admit you can over do it (as Amelia demonstrated with her ginger beer). I like pickled ginger and will just eat it straight. I also like the ginger cat cookies from Trader Joe's. Jenny picked me up a tub of them this week and I have them on my desk now. I just want to keep eating them. I think the first batch we ever bought had more chunks of ginger in them, but they are all good. Chinese Onion soup - 3-19-10 This was an interesting find. I'm familiar with French onion soup but not Chinese. Variety date and rating notes Unif Tung-I Chinese Onion Flavor 3/19/2010 - 6/10 This was good. I liked the onion flavor that came through and was not overwhelming. I was disturbed though at the saturated fat - 24% per serving, and the pack is 2 servings! Went well with the lemon yogurt I also ate. missed - pre 3-19-10 Some items from a previous shopping trip. I ate the Tom Yum Shrimp bowl and it was good, but neglected to write a review (8/10 if I remember). I love the cute little forks that come with the SunLee bowls, but I've never used them.

Not following cooking directions - 2-2-10

Happy Groundhogs day. I should be eating pork sausage in celebration, but I didn't think about that this morning. :)

I had planned to have a salad of leftover spagetti, lettuce and raspberry hazelnut vinegrette, but I forgot the dressing. So instead, I'm having another Maruchan beef teriyaki yakisoba. I was thinking as I took it out of the microwave how the cooking times are really just a recommendation on how to get it right. In my case, because I started with 195 degree water, I pulled it out of the microwave early, and instead of letting it sit I walked it back to my cube. Taking risks. :)

I have eaten several other ramens since I last wrote, and I took pictures but didn't write them up. I should do a collage of them, but not today.

Bento and Rice and Spice - 11-3-09

Yesterday I was working late again (another meeting with Bangalore) and Jenny suggested I go to the Bento place here in Corvallis. It was an excellent suggestion. I don't eat there nearly enough. I got a classic - combination number 4. Rice, steamed brocoli and cabbage, chicken in spicy Teriyaki sauce, 3 gyozu and one bbq pork steam bun. I bought two more sweet bao (red bean paste stuffed).
On the way back to the office, I stopped at the Rice and Spice market and bought some ramen and pickled ginger (I love that stuff).

Pork Tom Yum yummy - 10-7-09

Another one that has been waiting in my drawer for a while. I did just get another bag from Uwajimaya, but those will come later. I also just got a Microsoft Lifecam Cinema here at work. The pictures look nicer, but are just at 640x480 now because the stupid software failed to install. Darn you MS!
Along with the noodles, I had some carrots and an apple and finished it off with chocolate pudding. :)

Variety	date and rating	notes
MAMA Tom Yum Pork Flavour	8/4/09 - 9/10	I really enjoyed this one. Just enough spicy that when you drink the broth it gets the back of your throat, but is gone leaving you wanting more. I love the lime leafy taste. One of the packets was just sesame seeds.

Satay - 8-4-09

So I neglected to grab something from home on my way out, which means today is an eating from the drawer day. This is another ramen pack I picked up at Uwajimaya a while ago.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Nissin Satay flavor	8/4/09 - 7/10	When I opened the sauce packet, I sniffed it but I just smelled a melted plastic scent (not appetizing). I don't know if it was the sauce's fault or something else at the break station, but ugh. The flavor is interesting and once it is made it smells fine. With the exception of the MSG and palm oil, I like the ingredients. It just strikes me as average, unfortunately. I might have to pick up another pack in the future and try reviewing it again.

KGC - 7-1-09

A while ago when Oprah did the 'free Kentucky Grilled Chicken' thing, Jenny jumped on it and we tried to get our free meals, but the local supplies ran out long before we got any. So KFC was kind enough to send us coupons in the mail for free two piece meals. My coupon came first with an expiration date of 7/3, and Jenny's just arrived this week with a start date of 7/6, so we could not go together for them. So I went and picked mine up today. I figured it is worth a write up.

Here's what I got (I was not asked to choose, which is fine cuz it was free) - a breast piece, a tiny wing, a biscuit, potatoes and gravy and cole slaw. I would have picked the cole slaw anyway, but I would have chosen potato salad.

The seasoning used in the grilling is good. It has that nicely condensed flavor you would hope for. Savory and just a little sweet. The chicken is juicy as you would expect from KFC. The skin gets sort of dried out which I like - I want it crisp or a little chewy. I don't eat much skin, as I try to avoid the layer of fat underneath. I'd be happy if they had a skinless option, though I'm sure they don't do that to help maintain juicyness.

The sides haven't changed in 30 years as near as I can tell, for good or bad. I don't like the brown gravy much, but the biscuits are always good and I like cole slaw. The drink was kind of awful, but I mixed Sierra Mist, lemonade and fruit punch, so what do you expect.

Overall, I was pleased, especially for free. :) 8/10 - I'd definitely eat it again, though I don't know if I would go out of my way for it (unless the secret chemicals that make you crave it fortnightly kick in).

La Patissier - 6-6-09

My kind friend and coworker Otto sent us over to La Patissier in Corvallis for pastries. Its a cute French style bakery. We tried a selection of things from their baked goods case. THE ALMOND CREAM WAS SOOOO GOOOD!!! Followed closely by the blueberry cream cheese.
Next time, we hit the desert case. :)

First comparison lunch - 6-5-09

Last week I had just a bit of leftover garlic shrimp, so I took it for lunch and ate it with a Nissan Chow Mein with Shrimp from my drawer. So I thought it would be fun to compare a 'real' shrimp against a 'ramen' shrimp.

No 3 bears - 4-2-09

Another fine day for a review of something new. I was going to grab some taquitos for lunch, but was in a hurry after I spilled the dog's water all over the floor this morning. I have been wanting to try this one out since I bought it at Uwajimaya ages ago. I'd never seen a savory porridge mix before and was curious. I'm not very familiar with Vietnamese food, so I don't know if this is a popular dish.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Vifon Instant Porridge Chicken Flavor	4/22/09 - 8/10	This was really pretty good. I poured the contents of the package into a 12oz disposable cup and filled with not water from the coffee station. The taste is almost exactly like Jenny's homemade chicken noodle soup. She makes her own noodles thick and nicely chewy, and doesn't use any extra vegetables. This doesn't have the noodle texture, but otherwise is just like it. A smooth chicken flavor in a thick soupyness. I'll buy this again.

OJ chick 3-23-09

Happy belated Pi day, for anyone in the know. I baked a pecan oatmeal pie on 3-14 to celebrate, but the 1 oz of dark molasses was not to Jenny's liking, so I ate more of it than she did. :) I just was not having a great cooking weekend - the pie was too molasses-y and maybe underdone and could have used more oatmeal in my opinion. I made Empanadas on Sunday, but somewhere on the way I either tasted the filling too early or ate too many because I got sick that night. I need to work on my filling recipie, too. I might just do taco meat or cheese next time.

Did I mention I don't like horseradish? I don't. I've got a stack of 5 unwanted Horsey sauce packets from our last trip to Arby's on my desk. Yuck.

Today I'm eating Nissin Chow Mein Orange Chicken Flavor. I almost went for a shrimp tom yum again, and might have liked it more. :P

Variety	date and rating	notes
Nissan Chow Mein Orange Chicken Flavor	3/23/09 - 6/10	I was amazed at the sourness of the smell of this. It is predominantly vinegar with a hint of orange and pineapple. The taste was a bit off, too. There were a few bites toward the end that tasted like I expected and were good. The dried red chilis I appreciate, but I only got some spice out of two bites.

Souper 3-4-09

So today seemed like a good day to eat from the drawer, which is kinda full. I had a hard time deciding between two products from the same company, Nissan. There is the Souper Meal with Improved Flavor Shrimp with Tomato and Garlic, or the Chow Mein with Shrimp. Both have the same number of calories (280 per serving), interestingly enough, and have 2 servings per container. Ultimately I decided on the Souper Meal, as it doesn't stack in the drawer as nicely.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Nissan Souper Meal with Improved Flavor Shrimp with Tomato and Garlic	3-4/09 - 6.9/10	This came with three packets, one of which was on top and is labeled 'finishing touch'. I was surprised how much powder there was in the pouch. It gave the water a cloudy pinkish-yellow color. I started eating before I put in the flavor enhancer, and it was kinda underwhelming. I get the shrimpy flavor but all the other ingredients are kinda dull. I should expect that after the Chicken Souper experience. The flavor enhancer, which I tasted for fun, is just soy sauce and oil as near as I can tell. The whole comes off as more filler food than something really good. The chewy little shrimp are fun, though. Once I got into some of the vegetables it got better. By about half way through I was starting to get a sense that this is supposed to be an Italian inspired flavor. Under the right conditions, Jenny might enjoy this as it is somewhat like her favorite thing from the McGrath's menu. A few highlights from the ingredients: corn syrup, nonfat dry milk, msg, powdered chicken, clam powder, bakers yeast extract, and many chemicals. I was going to give it a 6, but once it cooled down toward the end it got better. Ya know, its always funny to me when there is an ingredient like Corn Syrup which you can't see but comes before one you can like Dried White Onion Flake.

Wednesday 2-11-09

Thought I'd try eating out of the drawer today. Work has been busy - its already 12:42 and I'm just getting to the writing part of lunch.

quick lunch after games 2-2-09

Yup, the Maruchan yakisoba Teriyaki is better than the Nissan Chow Mein beef teriyaki flavor. I didn't eat it while I was playing games at 12 because I don't want to get sauce on the cards. I'm a messy eater, and didn't want to ruin Arne's copy of San Juan.

Drawer restock 12-3-08

We made a trip up to Portland's west side on the Thanksgiving break to go to ZooLights at the Portland Zoo (much less confusing name than Washington Park). We naturally stopped by Uwajimaya, though I wish we could have stayed longer. We were running kinda late. But I saw these awesome DBZ/One Piece crossover candy figures. Correction - there was just one, and it was over $5 so I didn't get it. :(. I did get some more Ramen, and based on the Mama Shrimp Creamy review below I went for more Tom Yum flavors.

SunLee Vermicelli Crab 11-7-08-08

Another drawer lunch, another review. :) I had lunch catered by the cafeteria yesterday because we had a design company visiting for my current project. My box lunch was just a chicken ceasar wrap, but it was missing something and kinda dry. Sudexho does our food service on site and it is not what it was a few years ago. I miss the custom made wraps they had - green tortilla, chicken peanut sauce and whatever veggies sounded good. mmmm.

I have eaten a number of fun things that I haven't written up. The trip through DC/Philly/Lancaster/Baltimore was fun. I still like cheesesteaks, though they weren't as good as I remembered them from last time. I think the consensus was that we liked Gino's slightly more, but they are both so good.

While in Windsor Mills, Amelia and I went to the H-Mart. Almost as good as Uwajimaya. :) They had a much bigger fish market, and a lot more Korean foods. Their candy selection wasn't as good, but we did find a few good things to eat. Amelia got a tube of Lychee gummies that were good, and I got a pack of Kasugai Pineapple Gummys that we all really enjoyed. They taste juicy and are very soft. Fortunately, you can find those at Rice and Spice and most Asian stores, so I won't have to travel to Baltimore for them.

Variety	date and rating	notes
SunLee Vermicelli Crab flavor	11/7/08 - 8/10	Another good pick. The smell was interesting as I added the hot water. A mild crab smell with a hint of chili. The flavorings came in 3 pouches - a seasoning, a chili and a small oil. Also included was this cute little fork. :) A fun surprise, after how hard the shrink wrap was to get off (notice torn lid). The noodles are nice, mung bean and potato starch, and are light and smooth. The first bite tasted much like it smelled, then I got a kick of the chili. Wow, I probably didn't need to add the whole chili pack, but its good. Definitely worth buying again.

Mama creamy shrimp tom yum9-29-08

Dug into the drawer today. I regret slightly not having spent some time on the Uwajimaya noodle aisle on Saturday when we went for the Japanese Festival (Oh how I love fresh Taiyaki). But I still have a few things in the drawer.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Mama Shrimp Creamy Tom Yum Flavour	9/29/08 - 8.5/10	This is good. :) The hot oil in it gives it some lip tingling flavor, and the broth is wonderfully creamy and fished. If you look past the MSG and palm oil, the good ingredients are cream powder, chili powder, garlic, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, dried leek, shrimp powder. I had a bag of baby cut carrots, and they ended up in the broth. :) Definitely will buy this again.

What I'm watching

Thought it'd be fun to have a snapshot of what I'm currently watching on tv or the internet.

• DirecTivo
  • Naruto - fun stories sometimes, especially Shikamaru ones, but the animation quality varies widely
  • Bleach - really enjoy this one, good animation and characters, though the start of the Bount storyline could have been better
  • Code Geass - Nicely done with some political intrigue. Its fun to see Clamp which is so people-oriented do a giant robot show.
  • Moribito - I'm really glad Cartoon Network picked this up. I'm really amazed at the quality of the animation, and the story is pulling me in. I came in on episode 3 and the battle scene was so well done, I just watched it again last night.
  • Really looking forward to Star Wars Clone Wars. Took the kids to the movie and they liked it, but it suffered writing-wise. I could tell it was originally written for TV by the way they kept re-stating the plot every 20 minutes or so. (spoiler) And I always figured the reason they hid Luke on Tatooine was that Vader wouldn't set foot on the old planet, so I was surprised Anakin would go there.(/spoiler)
• Online - toonamijetstream.com
  • Hikaru no Go - I don't know why I like it so much, as its just about Go, but the characters are good and driven. Fun to have a show about a game like Pokemon or many others that isn't bent on teaching game mechanics or memorizing characters.
  • Kiba - good show, just getting going, seems toy-rific.
  • Blue Dragon - watched a few episodes, but missed the start. :( I loved DBZ and this looks interesting, but I'm too late into the show to figure out who everyone is.

Mentos roughly equals big tougher jelly bean giant Skittles 9-?-08

Revision to my previous comments. :)

Mentos roughly equals big tougher jelly bean 9-4-08

Yesterday Jenny bought a roll of Mint Mentos because she had never had them. Her observation was that they tasted like gum and got chewy but then you ate them. I had to try one, even though I hate mint. I'd never had any flavor Mentos. I was turned off by the corny ads years ago.
I found the taste like a winterfresh/doublemint kinda flavor, and it did get chewy in the middle until it disolved.
So then today I walked past a desk here at work and someone had a bowl of Gombals (sp?) jelly beans out. They looked a lot like Jelly Belly and were assorted flavors too, but some of the beans were stuck together. But the real reason I mention them is that I realized that a Mentos is really a bigger, harder jelly bean.

I'm just finishing my lunch of Nissan Chow Mein Thai Peanut Flavor. They still hold out at a 9/10 (see earlier review below) even though I put in just a bit too much water.

We just got back from vacation in Logan, UT to visit Jacob, Susan, Rachel, Sam, Brian, and Jenny's Grandma and Blaine. We had a pretty good trip in spite of the thunder storms knocking out power twice.
One of the funny things about the trip was how many hamburgers we ate. It started with us stopping at a Sonic, which Jenny hadn't ever had and I hadn't had since my mission in Texas. It was so good that we stopped again in Brigham City to get drinks and I ended up ordering a burger again. I almost had another from Wendy's when Jacob and Brian did a run but I got a chicken sandwich instead. Then when we went to visit Grandma, Blaine cooked us burgers on the grill and we had super fresh corn on the cob and watermelon. Then on Labor day, as is traditional, Jacob bbq'd us angus burgers over hickory charcoal. Those were so good I ate two. So a total of 5 burgers over a 6 day trip. While they were all good, I think I'm done with beef for a while. :)

Soup and slop 8-27-08

Today's lunch is an interesting mix. I grabbed a packaged Broccoli soup out of the fridge and some leftover 'curried chicken and potato slop' as Jenny called it. On Sunday I wanted to make a curry so I chopped some potatoes and chicken and threw it together with some coconut milk and spices. Pretty good, but the potatoes got cooked much faster than anticipated so it came out like mashed potatoes with stuff in it.

I'm watching Kiba on Toonami Jetstream while I eat. So far I'm enjoying it, and though its a lot like a Pokemon type show, it doesn't seem too toyriffic yet. (for definition of toyriffic, go watch Freakazoid).
Wish I'd caught the beginning of Blue Dragon when it started. It seems good but the earliest episode is 15.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Private Selection Aged Cheddar and Broccoli Soup	8/27/08 - 9/10	Mmm, MUCH better than the Hot and Sour!! I hadn't expected the almost spiciness of the aged cheddar to stand out so much. Really enjoyable. Hmm, ingredients show hot sauce, so I was mistaken about the source of the flavor. I notice a bit of oil separating out around the edges, but it doesn't taste oily, which is good.

tootsie roll 8-13-08

The best flavor of tootsie roll is the Lime. I don't know if there is any other way to get it besides those variety packs. Lemon is ok, but lime is the best. I'm not a huge fan of the chocolate (regular) ones. I like my chocolate to be real milk chocolate instead of chewy taffy.

Eating from the drawer 8-13-08

Today was a rough day, so I didn't grab a lunch at home.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Nissen Chow Mein Spicy Chicken Flavor	8/13/08 - 8/10	Mmm, I needed something spicy for lunch.

Pictures! - 8-6-08

I finally did it. I got my 2mp HP webcam (not as simple as the old Intel PC camera) and took some pictures of the packages I had lying around. I'm inserting them below into the appropriate reviews.

catchup: fried bean curd vs. hot and sour - 8-6-08

Yeah, still don't have the regularity of my updates down. Oh well, I do what I please.

I did get a nice sack of noddles and even porridge from Owajimaya in Beaverton a couple weekends ago, so I have some more material for future posts. They have a great instant noodle aisle and a fun candy section. I wish they were closer.

First up, a while ago I pulled out of my drawer another ramen pack I got from Rice and Spice here in Corvallis. This stuff was good. :) I wish I'd written about it sooner so I'd remember details. I should take pics of the packages, I keep thinking about it. If I use a webcam, the resolution should be nice and small.

Second is the Hot and Sour soup I had today. Not sure if it is so bad because I left it in my backpack all morning (its refrigerated) or if it is just that bad.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Sapporo Ichiban Kitsune Fried Bean Curd	? - 9/10	I really liked this flavor. The fried bean curd had a nice chewy texture and the noodles were thicker than standard ramen. I think the only way it could have been better would be to be served at a little walk up Japanese shop.
Private Selection Hot & Sour Soup	8-6-08 - 3/10	This one did not get many points with me. I have had hot and sour soup before and enjoyed it, but it isnt my favorite and I generally avoid it due to the high fungus content (bleck). Jenny picked this up on sale so I thought I'd try it. It comes from the refrigerated section, so it is a 'higher quality' product than the norm. They definitely packed in the wood ear mushrooms, so I have to give them credit for that even if I don't like them. I found, however, that the smell was awful. Something like warm outhouse or dog food. I can't figure out why. The taste is ok, with a nice spicy aftertaste, but occasionally I get that ick factor from the smell. I'm not sure if I can finish it, but I didn't have breakfast this morning... Yeah, I got through just over half by eating baby carrots. I'm moving on to an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Ramen does not belong on a keyboard - 5-23-08

Oops, I just made package ramen and spilled a mess of the liquid on my keyboard. I was trying to handle the hot container with a microwave pouch on top and I missed setting it down on the edge of my desk. I use an old Goldtouch keyboard at work, one that splits in half and has adjustable angles. Fortunately, it appears to still be working. I'm typing on it now and all I did was tip it up to drain it then ran some paper towels between the keys. This might turn into one of my messiest lunches yet. I wonder if my keyboard will smell...

I spoke too soon, my delete key doesn't work any more :(

I had two other ramen lunches since the last time I updated, so today is a 3 for 1. :)

Variety	date and rating	notes
Nissan Top Ramen, Oriental flavor	5/23/08 - 7/10	This is the stuff I spilled on my keyboard. I cooked it using hot water in a CoolWhip container. I'm eating it with microwave broccoli in butter sauce. I've grown to like the Oriental flavor. I didn't like it as a kid, but know that I know it is a soy sauce/miso like flavor, I find it much better than chicken. In fact, the noodles came from a chicken flavor packet which I threw out and just used the oriental flavoring from another packet. I eventually poured the butter sauce from the broccoli in to the noodles. Tastes so buttery! (ack)
Maruchan Instant Lunch Lime Chili Chicken	? - 8.5/10	I rather like this flavor. Spicy with a bit of lime.
Nissan Souper Meal, Chicken flavor	? - 6/10	I thought it would be worth trying one of these larger bowls, in spite of it containing mushrooms. :P I was disappointed. The main flavor was chicken fat. There wasn't anything better over a regular cup noodles other than size.

Cup 'o - 3-18-08

First up, I had just a little left over from the Bento Oriental Express lunch yesterday. It is my favorite hole in the wall here in Corvallis. I've eaten there whenever I get the chance since my days at OSU, though it is out of the way so I don't go very often. For directions just google "Corvallis Bento". This time, I had soy sauce chicken and sweet and sour spareribs with rice and steamed brocolli and cabbage. Very good.

Since there wasn't much left, I also pulled a noodle cup from my drawer. Don't know why I didn't see it reviewed below, so here is a quick one.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Nissan Cup Noodles Spicy Chile Chicken Flavor	3/18/08 - 8/10	I like food I can make with the hot water from the coffee station. Good with a bit of spice but not much other flavor. Maybe a hint of limyness, but that might be mental because I have Maruchan Lime Chili Chicken cup also in my drawer.

disgusting - 2-11-08

Today for lunch I took some leftover meatball soup (turkey burger with broccoli meatballs in soup with garbanzos, green beans and stewed tomatoes) and some Safeway Pomegranate açai yogurt.
I didn't know what açai was, so I thought it would be interesting to try. The label made it look like some kind of berry.
The yogurt tasted like creamy perfume or paint. IT WAS AWFUL. I'm going to call the 1-877 number on the container and complain. My nose is still paining.
For reference, see Wikipedia.
Oprah's guest described it as "açaí tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate" which this yogurt did not. :P
UPDATE: Safeway was kind enough to send me a coupon when I called. They didn't even ask what batch number it was, which makes me think they had either gotten a lot of complaints or people just don't like that flavor.

take a big bite - 2-8-08

I found this old picture I took with an Intel PC webcam ages ago. It was a meatloaf sandwich as I recall. :)

not quite ramen day - 1-10-08

Today I had a meeting that ran from 11am to 1pm without a lunch break. I now have an hour before my next meeting at 2, then meetings all to 5. So lunch is whatever is in my drawer. :)
I obviously need to restock, however. I still have a couple cup'o'noodles and a Nissan Chow Mein (reviewed below), but I thought I'd finally try the Cheeseburger Mac sample I got in the mail ages ago.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles Cheeseburger Mac	1/10/07 - 6/10	Would have been better if I followed directions :) I didn't have a microwave safe bowl, so I only cooked it for 1.5 minutes before the bowl had a meltdown, so the mac is not even to the 'al dente' stage, so it gets stuck in my teeth. I must be crazy for eating stuff like that. The sauce is good and cheesy though the burger part isn't very noticable.

I also grazed on some Chex 100 calorie pack Strawberry Yogurt leftovers, a third of an old HoneyBar Natural cranberry delite, doritos cool ranch, goldfish and Wheat Thins multigrain. And some candy.

another ramen day - 1-3-08

I've been feeling uninspired for lunch lately, so I dug in my desk drawer and had the Thai Peanut again.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Nissan Chow Mein Thai Peanut	1/3/07 - 9/10	Hotter than I remember, must have gotten more red pepper flakes in this one. My lip is tingling and I'm only half way through. Still good, ate with mandarin oranges. The two servings in container provide 540 cal, 64 percent sodium and 40 percent sat fat.

I also have a couple of the spinach-carrot brownies Jenny made from the cookbook I got her for Christmas. It is the one by Mrs. Seinfeld.
The brownies are... good. I like a fudgy brownie (so does Jenny) that is less cake-like, but these are nice and chocolaty. The seem like they are missing something - chips or caramel or nuts.

New Ramen flavor - 12-11-07

So a couple weeks ago I went by Rice and Spice, a local asian food store in Corvallis, and picked a couple random flavors of Ramen. I went for ones that were under a dollar, because I hadn't warned my wife I was going to be shopping. :) I'll review the other one later, but today I decided to try out the $.49 Tung-I Ramen Noodle.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Tung-I Ramen Noodle Fresh Shrimp Flavor	12-11-07 - 9/10	Comes with two flavor packets, one of which is just oil cooked by dumping noodles in a container and adding 195 degree water from the coffee station MSG appears 3 times in the ingredients. Not sure what the carrot colored cubes are. Surprisingly tasty, almost a lime flavor though there is none in it. Good spice mix. I now have 54% of my RDA of Saturated fat and 68% of sodium.

Maybe I should start scanning the packages from these noodles for reference.

First entry - 11-20-07

So, I thought it would be worth sharing my opinion on whatever crosses my mind.
First up, my notes on ramen. Yes, I still like the classic poor-student food, and eat it voluntarily. I keep several packs in my drawer at work for 'emergency lunches'.

Variety	date and rating	notes
Maruchan Yakisoba Beef Teriyaki	6/14/07 - 8/10 8/21/07 - 8/10 11/19/07 - 8/10	seemed watery but good
Nissan Chow Mein Thai Peanut	6/19/07 - 9/10
Nissan Chow Mein Teriyaki Beef	7/3/07 - 7/10	intested with shitake mushrooms
Nong Shin Bowl Noodle Spicy Chicken	7/19/07 - 5 or 7/10	contains beef, beef fat, egg yolk, MSG, mushrooms, pollock BUT NO CHICKEN
Nissan Chow Mein Chicken	9/11/07 - 7/10	liquid sauce smelled funky, surprisingly blah, but I'd eat it again

Pre-First entry - 1/23/05

Before I started the OpinionBlog, I had a ramblings text file on this web site that I never got around to doing much with. Here is the one entry I haven't duplicated.

1/23/05
Its amazing the number of foods that taste good on a salad.
goldfish crackers
most any vegetable
leftover chicken parmesan
bean dip
salsa
even potato salad tastes good on spinach leaves