Product Review: Trader Joe's Shrimp and Green Curry Frozen Meal

I was craving Thai food the other night and I had remembered that I recently purchased this frozen meal from Trader Joe's. It looked appetizing, huge and delicious, let's see if it tastes as good as it looks!

Instructions say to "poke holes" and microwave for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, the rice was piping hot, but the curry was still frozen. I had to scoop out the rice and continue to zap the curry. It was finally hot after another 3 minutes. I must add that this looks like vomit. Yum.

Lets Break it Down by Components:

Shrimp: There were only 4(!??) Trader Joe, I expected more from you. tsk tsk. They were nicely cooked however, not rubbery nor too stringy

Curry: Delicious. Spicy,  and not too watery or oily. If you gave this to me and told me it was from a restaurant, I wouldn't have known the difference

Rice: Jasmine rice, fluffy but a bit grainy. What you would expect from frozen precooked rice

 Vegetables: Okay I don't know what the hell this is, but it tastes like little bombs of bitter mushy vomit. Tricking me into thinking it was a pea, this was much much more disgusting. I like peas. I hate this thing.
Price: $5.00
Verdict: Just okay, but pretty good for frozen. If anything, the rice is what will fill you up. The amount of shrimp is disheartening and the vegetables were bitter. I would not buy this again.

Dinner: When a Waiter Shakes His Head Violently...LISTEN

Last week I met up with some friends after work to grab a bite to eat. We opted to go uptown instead of downtown and ended up at Pam Real Thai. We had heard the 2 following things about this place: It was dirt cheap, and it was authentic thai food. Authentic cheap and in Midtown?? How could I not check it out?

Casey and Anj already eyeing up people's food

Hawaiin shirt guy was the owner

Thai Iced Tea

Casey got this and naturally I had to try a sip.Wow, was this sugary. The texture was almost like melted ice cream with all the cream and condensed milk they added ( or because Anj  was performing some crazy Croatian voodoo with her hands we will never know....)

Price: $1.50

Pad Gra Prow

Casey got this, and it was shrimp sauteed in basil, garlic, bell pepper and chili. I tried the sauce, it was sweet but she said after a couple of bites her mouth was on fire. I believe her.

Price: $ 10.95

This happens to me everytime.

Kaeng Tai Pla

Okay, this is what the menu says: "A unique southern Thai dish in NYC. Fermented fish kidney with tumeric, lime leaves, chili paste, and assorted vegetable!!!! The most hot and spicy Thai food!!!!".  Well. How can I resist a food description like that? And with all those exclamation points?? I placed the order with our waiter and he shook his head violently. " No, no do NOT get this!" he warned. " Too spicy and salty!"  But for some sick reason the more he suggested against it, the more I longed of the dish. : "Yes, yes! I like spicy and salty, bring it on!" I insisted.

I got it with mixed seafood which consisted of only squid and mussels. I took a sip of the broth. Wow, he wasn't kidding about the salty part. 3 bites later? The dish sent my mouth into hell. I love spicy dishes, but this was like lighting my tongue on fire and trying to eat at the same time. The heat of the broth plus the heat of the spices was madness. The flavor? Sardines come to my head first. I guess I should have listened to the waiter. 1 tinger head for this dish.

Price: $10.95

Raad Ma Seafood 

Melissa go this one, flat rice noodle with gravy, and Chinese broccoli. I had a couple of bites to save myself of the heat of my dish once in a while. The gravy was sweet and marinated into the noodles. I wish I had gotten this instead!

Price: $ 9.95

Rama

Anj got this one. It was chicken, steamed veggies topped with peanut sauce. I tasted her chicken, a little over cooked and tough, but the sauce was creamy. The topping of peanuts added a nice texture.

Price: $8.00

Melissa, Me, Casey and Anj

I was surprised to see that Casey and I were the color of crimson red considering our dishes were spicier than a spice girls undies. Casey texted me the next evening quote: " My stomach is still on fire from that Thai dish last night!"  

Verdict: Best Thai I have had in Midtown by far ( maybe not my particular dish) but all of my friends dishes were pretty tasty! The service was patient, attentive, and efficient. Also I saw PAM herself back in the kitchen cooking. It is rare to see the cook pictured on the menu actually in the kitchen these days. I am willing to go back again, and next time I will listen to my waiters suggestions!

Pam Real Thai

404 W 39th Street

New York NY 10019

www.pamrealthaifood.com

Dinner: Pukk

 The other night, Melissa, Nikoma, and I met up for dinner in East Village. Hungry, hot, and tired we decided to walk to the closest yummy place within the 4 block radius. We finally arrived at Pukk; a Thai vegetarian restaurant with fun decor and affordable food. 

Interesting 2 people seating right in the glass lobby. Not sure how I feel about being on display as I shovel food into my mouth like an animal, but it does interest some people...

The place has a very clean modern atmosphere. The white tiles reminded me of a bathroom, I didn't know if I should have taken a poop or eat...maybe both...at the same time!

 

Spinach Pancake

There were 6 that came in the dish. These were more like sauteed spinach wrapped with wonton wrappers and deep fried topped with duck sauce. The spinach was soft and melted in my mouth, the wonton itself was a little oily. The duck sauce tasted like the packet sauce, I wished there was something more added to it other than the pepper flakes they threw in. I wouldn't get these again, but it was something to tide me over until the main dishes came (which they did and very quickly!)

Price: $4.00

Gravy Noodles

This was Melissa's order, it looked DELICIOUS. This was made with vegetarian duck, veggies and flat glass noodles in a ginger gravy sauce. She said that it was pretty bland until she put some hot sauce on it, and would definitely order it again.

Price: $8.00

Massaman Tofu Curry

Nikoma ordered this one. Made with tofu, sweet potato, onion, peanuts and served with a side of brown rice. All I remember was a very quite Nikoma with loud bursts of "MMMMM!!"  I am guessing he would recommend this dish to people.

Price: $7.00

Chicken Green Curry

This was made with vegetarian chicken, and veggies. The curry was very watery and not very flavorful until I added hot sauce. The chicken were shaped like round disks and ladled the curry and brown rice in a perfectly proportioned mouthful. They gave me huge portions and I ended up taking some home for leftovers (woo-hoo!)

Price: $7.00

Verdict: I would definitely come back again, the food was good, the portions HUGE, and the prices; very reasonable. They also serve sangria, and fun asian themed martinis (including lychee flavor!) The service was fast, efficient and good. Our appetizers came within the first 5 minutes of ordering!

One thing that drove me CRAZY was that I felt something like a mosquito continually biting my legs and arms throughout my entire dining experience. Sure enough, I saw tiny little white ones flying around me. They didn't seem to bother anyone else too much. This was the 4th time I have been here and the first time this happened, so hopefully the bugs came because of the sudden hot weather and not moving in!
Lesson learned: Being itchy while eating is not fun

Pukk

75 1st Avenue

New York NY 10003

www.pukknyc.com

Dinner: Tokyo Fusion

During memorial break back in PA, Buddy and I decided to grab some dinner in Devon. This place is also conveniently located in the same strip mall as Trader Joe's (woo-hoo!). To top it off, I got the 25 dollar for 2 dollar coupon from restaurant.com (double woo-hoo!) . It is also a BYOB (triple woo-hoo!). 

The inside seating was spacious, they have hibachi tables and a small sushi bar in the back. The lighting was pretty dim and the AC was BLASTING. I wish I had brought a jacket!

Yokaichi Mugi Shochu

We grabbed this from Wine and Spirits and has a higher alcohol content than sake ( 12-13%). This shochu has 25%, but some can contain up to 35%. The one we got was distilled from barley( some shochu can be distilled from everything between sweet potato to rice). The first time I had this kind of drink was at a Japanese gastro-pub in Brooklyn. Strong and reminiscent of vodka, just a couple of cucumber slices made this a refreshing drink.

Price: $16.00

Sweet Potato Tempura

These were pretty measly pieces of sweet potato with more tempura batter ( which was quiet crispy and crunchy) than anything else. If they had cut these into bigger chunks, this appetizer would be amazing. Now that I think about it, these were more like flattened out sweet potato fries. I would get something else next time.

Price: $4.50

Green Curry with Chicken 

Buddy ordered this, it was a pretty big portion and came with a side of white rice. I tried the curry, it was spicy and creamy, but at times, a bit oily. The chicken was a tad over cooked, but the the veggies were nice and crunchy.

Price: $12.95

Crazy Rock and Roll 

This was an 8 piece set made with eel, crabsticks, tuna wrapped with salmon, eel, avocado, and topped with spicy mayo. This was tasty, the rice was perfectly sticky and I was actually full after the 8 rolls. The avocado was ripe and the fish was fresh. Nothing you cant find at any other Japanese restaurant, but tasty nonetheless. 

Price: $12.95

Banana Tempura a la Mode with Green Tea Ice Cream

My favorite part...dessert. I love love love fried bananas and these were at a nice ripeness, creamy and gushy in the center. The tempura had a nice crunch. The green tea ice cream had the usual matcha tea powder flavor, and the texture ended up a little gritty. One thing I wished they changed was the cheap tasting chocolate syrup. A drizzle of honey would have been so much more satisfying.

Price: $4.95

Verdict: This is a pretty standard strip mall asian "fusion" cuisine. It has a hibachi section along with featuring thai. I wouldn't travel to this place for dinner by any means, but if you get a restaurant coupon ( www. restaurant.com) deal or are in the area, you will definitely get a solid meal here.

Tokyo Fusion

273 East Swedesford Road
Wayne, PA 19087-1462

http://www.tokyofusionpa.com/Japanese.htm