It’s been a while since I posted a rundown of things we’ve tried from Costco.
Every time I say rundown, I think of Jim from The Office.
Please forgive the terrible Minnesota winter lighting. My pictures are. . . not good. But, you’ll get the general idea. Here are some reviews of things we’ve tried from Costco this winter:
Bibigo Kimchi & Rice Balls
Frozen section
Bibigo usually makes solid Korean dishes. Their dumplings/mandu are above average.
These kimchi & cheese rice balls are a convenient meal or snack that packs a punch.
Each rice ball is wrapped individually- you simply tear a slit in the package and microwave for a few minutes.
The the kimchi rice tastes pleasantly spicy and the inside contains gooey cheese. Overall, a tasty snack.
Rating: 9/10
Bibigo Korean Style Crunchy Chicken With Sweet & Spicy Sauce
Frozen section
This big box contains two, meal-size packs. Unfortunately, the delicious radish pictured on the box is not included.
I air-fried the chicken in my oven and served the sauce on the side, so the chicken wouldn’t become too soggy.
I mixed some slightly in the sauce.
The sauce isn’t too cloyingly sweet, though it’s likely sweeter and less spicy than some of us prefer.
The chicken gets really crispy and the meat is juicy. The chicken coating is also seasoned with something more flavorful than just salt.
Many of the chicken pieces were tender and juicy. However, some pieces were chewier – I didn’t like texture of about half of the chicken I bit into. I can see how some people might really enjoy this dish, but if you have aversions to chewier dark meat chicken chunks, don’t get this dish – stick with the TJ’s orange chicken.
Rating: 4/5
Royal Asia Vegetable Tempura
Frozen section
Do I need a giant box of what is essentially fried vegetables? Of course not.
This is my favorite product of the bunch.
The box contains bags of each type of tempura vegetable – green beans, purple sweet potato, orange sweet potato, and onion rings.
I air-fry the vegetables in my oven and they get really crisp. After cooking, I set them on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil, although they are less oily than similar products (e.g. the frozen Trader Joe’s Vegetable birdsnests and scallion pancakes are SO oily).
The batter is light and crispy and the vegetables are flavorful. The green beans have a slight crisp and the potatoes are creamy inside. I also like how light the dipping sauce tastes.
Rating: 10/10!
The Falafel Company Mediterranean Recipe Chicken Kebabs
Refrigerated Section
There are not actually wooden kebabs inside the package – but two plastic bags of cooked and marinated chicken chunks.
Like sous vide meat products, the meat tends to be damp. . .
I boiled in the bag as recommended, but then cooked the meat in a skillet until it developed more texture.
I expected not to like this dish, but was pleasantly surprised.
The chicken was tender and the seasoning was intense but not at all one-note. We kept wanting to go back for a little bit more. Be warned that the meat is spicer than expected (for us, 5.5/10).
Even our preschooler enjoyed the chicken, despite the spice.
If you do buy this, I would recommend taking the extra step to cook in a pan to develop some texture.
Rating: 9/10
And finally, the new Costco Cookie.
It costs $2.49 in the food court. I never tried the churro so I really can’t comment on that, but let me tell you about the cookie.
First, the good: The cookie is really big. You really don’t want to know the calorie count. Let’s just say you’re better off eating a slice of pizza (health-wise but maybe not emotionally, depending on where you are at).
The cookie is served warm and contains A LOT of gooey chocolate. See:
As possible minuses – the cookie I bought didn’t have a soft-baked texture, however I tend to prefer well-done cookies.
The shortening is definitely not real butter.
It’s nothing like a Crumbl cookie, if you’re hoping for that.
But for $2.49, you will get a warm, tasty, big ass cookie.
Rating: I couldn’t stop eating it, so I’m gonna have to give it a 7/10. However, the kids did not like it
Other Hits:
- Farm Rich Cheese Curds (frozen section): High quality cheese, crispy batter. For oven curds, a great product.
- Lobster Bisque (Refrigerated section, pre-made soups): Rich, flavorful, tasty soup.
- Frozen TropicLand sweet potato fries: 10/10 – actually crisps up in the oven. So many frozen sweet potato fries are floppy. These air fry so nicely and taste better than any other frozen sweet potato fry we’ve tried.
Misses:
- Box of Roasted Chestnuts: I did not try them but Jake said they were terrible. We have never had roasted chestnuts before so maybe he just doesn’t like them.
- Mac & Cheese Bites: They were sampling this around the holidays. Seems like a kid-friendly product, but the cheese had a very funky, mature flavor. Ours hated it. I hated it too. If you want mac & cheese bites to challenge your palette, you might enjoy. Otherwise, nah.
- Kevin’s brand is a general miss for us. The more exciting and international the dish sounds, the worse it will taste. Trust me. The yellow coconut curry chicken might be the only exception. I’ve banned anyone in our family from putting Kevin’s in our cart .
- Pulmuone is also generally a miss for us. Many of their products tend to float in the refrigerated section. They look way better than they taste. Most of the components will be powders and dried flakes, even though the kits are in the refrigerated section.
LOL about Kevin’s. I tried the coconut curry chicken a couple of weeks back when it was on special at my grocery store. I was pinched for time one night for dinner and made it. The best thing I can say about it? At least I didn’t pay full price! #neveragain
I saw that Korean chicken on my last visit and was wondering about it. Might have to consider that based on your review – though the TJ orange chicken is a staple in my freezer.