Tonight for dinner, we had the mushroom risotto (my wife) and the fish & chips (me).
Two years ago, during our visit to Las Vegas, she had the lobster risotto at Hell's Kitchen, and we both had the Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips.
On a 10 point scale, she would rate the HK lobster risotto at 12. This frozen mushroom risotto dinner would come in no higher than an 8. So it is no better than 75% of the real thing. I suspect she is being generous there. Of course, it’s a given that this does not have any lobster tail with it, lol.
It did not look exactly like the picture on the box, and the cheese could certainly not be seen once the meal was cooked. It mostly added to the thickness of the risotto, more than the taste. But she could definitely taste mushrooms!
I tried a bite, and I agree.
As with the previous meals that were prepared in a plastic bowl in the microwave, the side which had the plastic film, pulled up, had a bit of a hard crust to it. This time it very easily mixed in with the rest of the food, and was not an issue.
On the other hand, unlike the previous microwave meals, the risotto requires you to keep the entire film intact without pulling up on it at all for the first three minutes of its five minute cook. So that’s probably why the crusty edge was not as much of an issue.
My wife has tried other home microwavable mushroom risotto meals, such as (Uncle) Ben’s Original. The taste of this one was noticeably better than any of the others, and the only acceptable one so far. She would eat it again.
On the other hand, it was not a very filling meal for a dinner. I think she’s right when she suggests it might be better as a lunch meal, when you are not expecting as much food.
Is it worth the $6 price tag? She thinks it would only be worth it as an occasional treat, rather than a regular item for the shopping list. Maybe once every few months. Not worth it more often than that.
As for the fish & chips, this was not provided in a bowl. The fish were in one plastic bag, and the chips in another plastic bag. There are no microwave instructions for it. They tell you to use an air fryer, which I have. But since most people do not have an air fryer yet, I decided to use the alternate instructions for heating it up in an oven.
It said to preheat the oven to 425°F, and then put the food in on a lined tray for 22 minutes.
For me, it was starting to be over cooked after about 10 or 12 minutes! Especially the fish.
Note that the picture on the box shows tartar sauce, and a lemon slice. Nowhere on the box does it say this, but those items are definitely not included with the meal!
I don’t like tartar sauce, and I don’t have any lemons. I filled a small cup with lemon juice to dip the fish in. I also grabbed a leftover fast food ketchup cup for the fried potatoes.
Did it taste good? Sure, good enough. But honestly, I would have gotten more food for less money that tasted even better if I had gotten some Gorton’s fish fillets and some Ore-Ida french fries. And I could’ve heated both up the same way, in the same amount of time.
This is not worth $6 at all.
It is also a far cry from the real thing at the Gordon Ramsay’s Fish & Chips restaurant in Las Vegas. That tasted way better!
Also, worth noting is that I gave my wife one of my french fries and a bite of the fish to try, and she tried the french fry first and said it tasted like fish. That is not something I would agree with, but since she said it, it’s probably worth mentioning.
Once again, NONE of these so far have felt like a good substitute for visiting one of Gordon Ramsay‘s restaurants.
So far, we would never revisit the fish & chips, the lemon, caper chicken, or the four cheese macaroni. We may occasionally try the mushroom risotto again. But the lasagna and the slow roasted beef are okay to eat more often. Maybe.
We still have the chicken pot pie and the shepherds pie to try. Note that it’s really a cottage pie, not a shepherds pie. It says on the cover it’s made with beef, not lamb!
1
u/DaveLambert Aug 30 '23
REVIEW #3 - MUSHROOM RISOTTO and FISH & CHIPS
Tonight for dinner, we had the mushroom risotto (my wife) and the fish & chips (me).
Two years ago, during our visit to Las Vegas, she had the lobster risotto at Hell's Kitchen, and we both had the Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips.
On a 10 point scale, she would rate the HK lobster risotto at 12. This frozen mushroom risotto dinner would come in no higher than an 8. So it is no better than 75% of the real thing. I suspect she is being generous there. Of course, it’s a given that this does not have any lobster tail with it, lol.
It did not look exactly like the picture on the box, and the cheese could certainly not be seen once the meal was cooked. It mostly added to the thickness of the risotto, more than the taste. But she could definitely taste mushrooms!
I tried a bite, and I agree.
As with the previous meals that were prepared in a plastic bowl in the microwave, the side which had the plastic film, pulled up, had a bit of a hard crust to it. This time it very easily mixed in with the rest of the food, and was not an issue.
On the other hand, unlike the previous microwave meals, the risotto requires you to keep the entire film intact without pulling up on it at all for the first three minutes of its five minute cook. So that’s probably why the crusty edge was not as much of an issue.
My wife has tried other home microwavable mushroom risotto meals, such as (Uncle) Ben’s Original. The taste of this one was noticeably better than any of the others, and the only acceptable one so far. She would eat it again.
On the other hand, it was not a very filling meal for a dinner. I think she’s right when she suggests it might be better as a lunch meal, when you are not expecting as much food.
Is it worth the $6 price tag? She thinks it would only be worth it as an occasional treat, rather than a regular item for the shopping list. Maybe once every few months. Not worth it more often than that.
As for the fish & chips, this was not provided in a bowl. The fish were in one plastic bag, and the chips in another plastic bag. There are no microwave instructions for it. They tell you to use an air fryer, which I have. But since most people do not have an air fryer yet, I decided to use the alternate instructions for heating it up in an oven.
It said to preheat the oven to 425°F, and then put the food in on a lined tray for 22 minutes.
For me, it was starting to be over cooked after about 10 or 12 minutes! Especially the fish.
Note that the picture on the box shows tartar sauce, and a lemon slice. Nowhere on the box does it say this, but those items are definitely not included with the meal!
I don’t like tartar sauce, and I don’t have any lemons. I filled a small cup with lemon juice to dip the fish in. I also grabbed a leftover fast food ketchup cup for the fried potatoes.
Did it taste good? Sure, good enough. But honestly, I would have gotten more food for less money that tasted even better if I had gotten some Gorton’s fish fillets and some Ore-Ida french fries. And I could’ve heated both up the same way, in the same amount of time.
This is not worth $6 at all.
It is also a far cry from the real thing at the Gordon Ramsay’s Fish & Chips restaurant in Las Vegas. That tasted way better!
Also, worth noting is that I gave my wife one of my french fries and a bite of the fish to try, and she tried the french fry first and said it tasted like fish. That is not something I would agree with, but since she said it, it’s probably worth mentioning.
Once again, NONE of these so far have felt like a good substitute for visiting one of Gordon Ramsay‘s restaurants.
So far, we would never revisit the fish & chips, the lemon, caper chicken, or the four cheese macaroni. We may occasionally try the mushroom risotto again. But the lasagna and the slow roasted beef are okay to eat more often. Maybe.
We still have the chicken pot pie and the shepherds pie to try. Note that it’s really a cottage pie, not a shepherds pie. It says on the cover it’s made with beef, not lamb!
Not really recommended.