Day 188 - Shrimp Springrolls

First off, these would be best to eat on a PLATE and not right out of the container, because they are messy.  And note – the container is hard to open.  We picked them up at the Trader Joe’s at One Pacific Place in Omaha and proceeded to eat them VERY CAREFULLY in the car we had borrowed to tool around town, a brand new vehicle that we did NOT want to drip peanut sauce on.

Speaking of peanut sauce, it comes with the spring rolls and is very nice.  Peanuty!  The shrimp are also very good.  The package says the whole container is one serving, but we split it in two and it was just right.  The cabbage and carrots are gently crunchy, which was a good contrast to the rest of the ingredients.  The spearmint was the best part! 

As a sign language interpreter, I cannot have painted nails when I work.  This photo makes it obvious that we bought this product on a day when I was OFF WORK!  Blue nails!!!

One idea – they could have used a bit of basil.  That would have made the flavor a little more complex and interesting I think.

These things make a nice lunch.  They are not your normal sandwich or microwave meal, which is cool.  But, like I mentioned at the top of the review, they are MESSY.  Make sure you have napkins handy!

A little bit pricey, but tasty

At $4.49, they seem a wee bit overpriced for what you get.  But then again, it WAS fresh shrimp, and I did buy them in Omaha, where fresh shrimp are not easily available…  I say cut .50 cents off the price tag and it would be better.

Yeah - shrimp in the heart of the Midwest :) !

Price – $4.49

Rating – 3.75

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