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REVIEW – Maya Kaimal: Lamb Vindaloo from Costco

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October 18, 2016 | Post a Comment
Box of Maya Kaimal Lamb Vindaloo
Cooked tray of Maya Kaimal Lamb Vindaloo
Plate of Maya Kaimal Lamb Vindaloo with rice

We bought some of Maya Kaimal's Lamb Vindaloo from Costco since we enjoyed the coconut chicken curry Costco had last year. The lamb vindaloo was very easy to prepare following the microwave instructions. We ate it with a side of rice.

The lamb vindaloo had sort of a slightly spicy and savory coconut curry taste with a little bit of tanginess. The label on the box showed the spiciness-level being at medium, which seemed about right. You could definitely taste the spice, but it wasn't super spicy. The sauce wasn't watery or too thick. The lamb was pretty good and went well with the sauce. Some pieces were a little dry, but they weren't overly dry or anything. The lamb vindaloo also had potatoes, which were a little on the crunchy / al dente side. The potatoes cubes were pretty small (each was about the size of a pea). I would have preferred bigger potato chunks, like the ones pictured on the box, but they still went well with the lamb.

Overall, it was very tasty and made for a good meal for me and my boyfriend. We also had leftovers the following day, and it tasted even better than the day before.

Update (Nov. 2016): We bought some of this lamb vindaloo again, and this time it had larger potato chunks! Unfortunately, it also had more "fatty" lamb pieces, so it wasn't really a good trade-off. However, the taste was still good. :)

Overall Rating:
Good
Food: Maya Kaimal Lamb Vindaloo
Source: Costco, Tucson, AZ
Rating: Good
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REVIEW – Bibigo Chicken Steamed Dumplings from Costco (Frozen)

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August 31, 2016 | 25 Comments
Box of Bibigo Chicken & Vegetable Steamed Dumplings
Bibigo Chicken & Vegetable Steamed Dumplings, microwaved

After trying the Bibigo mini wontons from Costco, we tried some of these Bibigo steamed dumplings. According to the instructions, the only way you should cook them is using the microwave. The dumplings came in a little tray that gets microwaved for two minutes.

Like with the wontons, some spots on the dumplings were a little dry after microwaving, however, the steamed dumplings also came with a sauce. The taste of dumplings was very similar to Bibigo's wontons, just in a dumpling wrapper instead of a wonton one. It still had a Korean mandu taste with a dominant green onion flavor. Sometimes when you bite into one, water squirts out... so make sure you have a plate.. or at least a paper towel.

If you add the sauce, it adds a nice light, sweet flavor to it, which I liked. On their own, they were just OK, but the addition of the sauce definitely made these better for me.

Update (Nov. 2016): I had this rating at "good" intially, but the more I have these, the more tiring they get. I still have trays sitting in the freezer that are not seeming appealing to eat, so I'm lowering this rating to "ok".

Overall Rating:
OK
Food: Bibigo Steamed Dumplings, Chicken & Vegetable (Frozen)
Source: Costco, Tucson, AZ
Rating: OK (without added sauce)
Rating: OK~Good (with sauce)
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REVIEW – Trader Joe’s Bibimbap Bowl (Frozen)

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July 31, 2016 | 3 Comments
Box of Trader Joe's Bibimbap Bowl
Korean Bibimbap Bowl from Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's has had this frozen bibimbap bowl for a while, but I haven't tried it until now.

I've usually had bibimbap only at Korean restaurants, which comes in a warm bowl of rice with BBQ beef, fried egg, and vegetables with some red Gochujang sauce. My mom is Korean so I've also had different variations of leftover Korean food with rice mixed together.

The Trader Joe's bibimbap comes frozen with everything in it, and the frozen rice has a "styrofoam" look to it. The instructions were very easy -- just peel back the cover 1/2 an inch and microwave it for three minutes. The sauce is just thawed out under warm water.

I only added about half the sauce packet after the bowl was microwaved because I didn't want it to be too sweet. The red sauce had a sweet and spicy chili taste, and the beef had a sweet, Korean BBQ flavor. Combined, it did have an overall Korean bibimbap taste and feel. The beef was somewhat minimal - I counted about 8 small pieces of beef, maybe 10, if you include the broken bits. The bibimbap could have actually used some more of everything: more beef, spinach, carrots, egg and bean sprouts. But it was tasty, especially if you want a quick bibimbap and don't want to drive out to a Korean restaurant.

Unfortunately, my stomach was also hurting after eating this. Not sure if it was the sauce or something that came frozen in the bowl... it tasted fine, but I wasn't feeling so good afterward.

Overall Rating:
OK
Food: Trader Joe's Bibimbap Bowl (Frozen)
Source: Trader Joe's, Tucson, AZ
Rating: OK
from Trader Joes
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