Wanchai Ferry & Macaroni Grill Boxed Kit Reviews

The other day I received samples of General Mills’ new Restaurant Favorites Kits. One was the Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken, the other Macaroni Grill Chicken Piccata.

I actually have never heard of Wanchai Ferry before, I guess they aren’t in the St. Louis area. This was the first kit we tried though. We love Chinese style food, but with all the kits, mixes, and recipes for Chinese food I have tried at home over the years, none has ever tasted like the takeout Chinese we get. Imagine our surprise when the Orange Chicken actually DID taste like something we would get from takeout! This has a really great, but not overly, orange flavored sauce. You can adjust the amount of spice you want in it by the amount of dried chilies you put in and if you crush them or not. The instructions were quick and easy to follow – this will be something I keep on hand with some frozen chicken for in a pinch. The downside of it was that there was not enough rice and you really do need to throw in some veggies I think – maybe some broccoli. Next time I will try it that way. The picture above is the actual dish I made and you can see it looks like the package picture quite a bit even.

Tonight we tried the Macaroni Grill Chicken Piccata. I had high hopes for this since we liked the other kit so much, and because Macaroni Grill is one of my favorite places to eat, and because I actually like Chicken Piccata. Big disappointment on this one. Hubby and Taylor didn’t even finish eating it, they both made something else for dinner (very unusual), I thought it was edible, but really not the best thing at all. It did not taste like any Chicken Piccata I have ever gotten in a restaurant or made myself at home. The sauce was very thin and watery. The flavor was very blah. We will not be buying this one again, nor do I recommend it to others.

You win some, you lose some I guess. Both brands have several other varieties available as well. Right now you can print a coupon on their website as well.

*This is a compensated/sponsored post*
(in this case I received the 2 kits mentioned from General Mills Pssst Program)

Tagged as: cooking/recipes, food, review

MiscMayzee

I forget the type of Macaroni Grill I really enjoyed…it had little sundried tomatoes inside. It was tasty.

Wanchai Ferry I haven't tried yet. one day when they are on sale at the grocery I will, especially now that I know they are okay.

Like you mention, packaged food seems to miss out in many cases when it comes to Oriental dishes.
brad

Chicken Piccata…. FAIL!!! My toasted peanut butter and jelly was good though!
Jackie B.

I also received these samples but have not tried them yet. I did try a couple of those chinese complete meals in a bag lately and it has turned me off to packaged food. Maybe adding my own chicken to these will be better. I am waiting for a night where I am not all that hungry to try them! LOL After reading your review, I think it will be awhile before I get to the Macaroni Grill one.
Anonymous

I made this for dinner tonight for my boyfriend and I. We both really enjoyed. I've never eaten at Macaroni Grill, and i dont like capers. So it tasted really good to us. It was not bland at all, had a really good flavor. My sauce was really nice and think, actually wasnt really sauce at all, it was just coating for the chicken. I dumped the left over flour into the sauce and i let it stand for awhile ( my daughter was going to nana's and having a hard time! ) i would make it again, and am planning on making it for my mother soon. :)