Day 122 - Brown Rice California Rolls

I don’t think I had bought sushi at Trader Joe’s before this, or if I did it was so long ago I don’t remember.  The first thing I noticed when I popped over to look at the sushi was how CHEAP it was!  I mean - $3.49 for a pack of sushi is crazy cheap compared to other stores!

But when I picked a package up and examined it I realized why – it is basically “half price” because it is HALF SIZED.  The sushi pieces were seriously about half the height of the pieces you see everywhere else.  Now before you get all up in arms about that let me just say – I LIKED THAT!!  That was what sealed the deal for me!  Sushi I could eat easily, in a single bite, without getting rice all over when I bit down and it busted and crumbled. 

Here they are in the store

So I brought them home with me for lunch.  I displayed them cutely on a plate for you to see instead of just wolfing them down out of the package.  Then David said, “Hey, I should put my finger in your photo so they can see just how petite these rolls are,” (or something similar), and so he did.

Here they are with David's finger

 Here is what I really LIKED about these California rolls:

·         Sweet little size

·         Good price

·         Wasabi came in a neat package, nice!

And where is what I DIDN’T LIKE about these California rolls:

·         Rice was tooooo sticky

·         Some of the rice was HARD

·         There was something SWEET tasting in the rolls, we couldn’t figure out what it was

A cheap price isn't everything

So, in the end, since TASTE is more important than value or size (even if the size is super cute…), I can’t give these a terrific rating.  I doubt I will get them again.

Price - $3.49

Rating - 3

Day 103 - Chicken Shu Mai

This was our first time getting these at Trader Joe’s and we were happy with the purchase.  They are little frozen chicken and veggie dumplings that you heat and eat.  I cooked them using the “steam” method listed on the box, though you can also just bung them in the microwave. 

They come with a very nice sauce – mostly soy but a bit of rice vinegar taste to it, too.  It’s a wee bit tricky if you do not eat them all in one sitting, because the sauce all comes in one packet.  There are 18 pieces per box I think, so for two people that was a bit too many for one meal.  When we cooked the rest of them another day David had to whip up a bit of sauce (not to worry, he enjoys making 

sauce!). 

Find this box in the frozen food section

They remind me of going out on a Sunday for dim sum – tasty little morsels.  Only, they are much more reasonably priced than any dim sum restaurant you could ever go to. 

Seriously good price

Note:  I have not mentioned this in previous reviews, but Trader Joe’s does a fun little thing with naming products – this one is made by “Trader Ming’s”.  Often “Joe” will be replaced by a name that matches the culture the food comes from.  Keep your eye open for that if you haven’t noticed it before – some of them are quite sweet.

Price – $2.99

Rating – 4