Consistency is Key.

So despite my previous incident, I decided to be a renegade once again. (This could likely have been sheer stupidity - but I like to consider it being adventurous and bold - I may have also seen someone recently eating this dish and thought it looked rather appetizing - but that doesn't detract from my renegadism/ity).

BENTO
The CLAIM: Noodles/Rice Stir Fry with Chicken and Vegetables מוקפץ נודלס/אורז נתחי עוף וירקות
The PRICE: 34 NIS


The DELIVERABLE:
Now this is what stir fry is supposed to look and taste like. The right noodles - not those gross XXXL ones that have the consistency of worms (I know this from watching Man vs. Wild) - it even came with those little sweet potato fry things on top - I love those! And the right vegetables - no extranious corn/peas.




My only complaint is that there wasn't enough chicken - by the time I was halfway through there was no chicken left (and this being one of those times when I didn't intentionally pick out all of the chicken first, and then pout about it later).

I also need to give Bento props for their exceptional branding. I really do like their distinct bags/chopsticks/boxes. It makes you feel like they care about their image, and consequently - their customers. It also gives you this nice fuzzy feeling inside that you know no matter what - it'll always come packaged nicely.



The VERDICT: Good price + good meal + pretty little boxes.

Dim Sum

Since today's lunch was the final straw, and the impetus to finally start this blog, I must apologize for being a bit ill-prepared, and thus this post may be a bit lacking.

I promise to provide better visuals in the future.

The ORDER: Dim Sum - Noodles/Pad Thai עסקית נודלס/פתאי
Price: 30 NIS (Prices may vary)

The CLAIM:
Sauce Options:
Traditional Chinese Soy-based Sauce
Spicy Sauce with Coconut Milk, Chili, Peanuts, Scallions, and Cilantro

Dish Options:
Noodles with Tofu and Vegetables
Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
Pad Thai with Tofu and Vegetables
Pad Thai with Chicken and Vegetables

My CHOICE: Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables with the Coconut Sauce
Special Requests: Not Spicy

The DELIVERABLE:
Two of us ordered from the restaurant. My co-worker order the Chicken Pad Thai - same regarding the sauce. I received a nice bag with separately packaged orders - with additional pickled vegetables - and one sweet and sour sauce, 2 soy sauce, and one spicy sauce for each of us, along with chop sticks, a fork, and respectable amount of napkins (which is really important to me since I have a tendency to really need napkins). The printout said "Coconut - Not Spicy". A good start.

Then I opened the box.

Talk about ugh. Double-ugh. It was beige and sad and limp and so not appetizing. My co-worker's Pad Thai didn't look much better.

It looked like the kind of stir-fry noodles you pick up at Lemon Grass or one of those awful Thai/Chinese places on your corner that use the chopsticks font or attempt some kind of lame play on words like "Met Su Yan".

I wouldn't really have had a problem if there were no further description besides chicken stir-fry - because then they can do whatever they want. I also probably wouldn't have ordered there - since I have yet to enjoy any stir-fry in Israel besides River Noodles Bar.

However, the seller was the - peanuts + cilantro + scallions - the only things I pretty much like in my stir-fry. It sounded very similar to Gong Bao chicken - which is one of my favorite Asian dishes.

So, you can imagine my disenchantment when I saw this colorless, depressing dish.

Not only was there no memory of a peanut, a speck of cilantro, nor a milligram of scallions in this dish, I'm fairly certain there was no coconut milk in it either.

In essence I think that all four dishes + both sauces are one and the same.

The VERDICT: Awful

A disappointment to say the least.