Product Review: Wanchai Ferry Beef & Broccoli + GIVEAWAY!

Raise your hand if you love take-out! I know I do and although I don’t indulge in it anywhere near as often as I used to, it’s still a nice treat from time to time. The only un-fun part about the whole thing is the price. Take-out & delivery food is just NOT affordable, what with the minimum order amount, the delivery fees, and the tips. When all is said and done, even if you’re ordering for two, you can still end up spending around $30 for the whole meal (though, you can always find ways to stretch that outas I’ve shown you in the past). Sure, you can always learn from Poor Girl and make your own fun take-out style meals, but there are just some days when even my simple recipes can seem like a chore. What to do, what to do?

Enter Wanchai Ferry. The fine folks at MyBlogSpark.com contacted me awhile ago to let me know that this brand had just launched their latest frozen dinner: Beef & Broccoli. Aside from Sweet & Sour Pork, I’m fairly certain this is one of the most popular Chinese take-out items ordered. And seriously, what’s not to like? Chunks of tender beef, lots of broccoli, that sauce… it’s pretty much a winner for me, too. So I was definitely curious to see if a frozen dinner could match up to my local Chinese restaurants’ beef & broccoli and agreed to give Wanchai Ferry’s dinner a go.

Now, you all know how I feel about pre-made frozen dinners in general: fun, tasty, convenient but definitely something you could make yourself for less money! But I know that’s not always possible for some folks. My other issue with them is that when it comes to the Asian-inspired pre-made dinners out there, they don’t often end up tasting as good as some of the Italian pasta varieties. I will admit, I was definitely skeptical. But I like it when I’m proven wrong in these instances. Of course, there was plenty of broccoli and some crispy water chestnuts, but I was quite surprised by the amount of beef that was included. Usually in these dinners you get nothing but veggies and maybe a few cubes of beef – and that goes for take-out, too! It was nice to see that they didn’t skimp on the good stuff. There was also a generous amount of pre-cooked rice to go along with everything, and even without a microwave I was able to heat it up easily. But what really impressed me was the sauce: not too salty and definitely in the restaurant category when it came to its consistency. And there was plenty of it, too! That impressed me again, as you’re usually struggling to find the sauce in some of those frozen dinners. The whole meal took just under the quoted 14 minutes to prepare and it was very tasty. And at just around $7 for two people, it’s definitely more affordable than take-out!

Well, that’s all fine & dandy, Poor Girl, but what’s in it for me?

I’m glad you asked. Not only is there a great Wanchai Ferry coupon available for $1.60 off any flavor frozen entrée, but you can also enter to win a special VIP coupon for Wanchai Ferry products and two very lovely little tea sets, courtesy of Wanchai Ferry via MyBlogSpark! I actually got mine the other day and they’re quite adorable. You receive two individually wrapped sets that include a sleek tea mug and a generous container of organic green tea leaves. You can enjoy them for yourself or keep one and give the other as a gift (and it’s already wrapped! Sweet!).

To enter, simply leave a comment below answering the following question: What’s YOUR favorite Chinese takeout item?
Please comment by 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23rd. You can earn bonus entries by tweeting about the contest with the following: Win a VIP Wanchai Ferry coupon & organic green tea sets from MyBlogSpark @PoorGrlEatsWell! Contest ends 6/23. Pls RT! (You must comment below AND tweet in order to earn the bonus entry.) One lucky winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, so get your entries in soon!

That’s it for now, folks. I’ll be busy working on non-PGEW projects for the next day or so, but don’t fret! There’s a refreshing new dessert recipe a-comin’, as well as more fun with farmer’s market produce, so stay tuned!