I’m sure many of us have suddenly felt the urge to nom on something in the wee hours of the morning. Be it when rushing projects, or binge-watching our favourite shows, having a bowl (or plate) of piping hot food will definitely lift the mood and make things just that little more enjoyable or bearable. One store that always comes to mind in these situations is 7-Eleven and its wide array of ready-to-eat meals.
Ranging from bolognese to even chicken biryani, their food, while not Michelin-star standard, has become my go-to comfort food when I’m itching to eat something.
We all love upgrades, and in that respect, 7-Eleven has recently refined its selection of foods! With changes to nine ready-to-eat meals and the addition of four new dishes to provide hungry consumers like you with delicious choices for your appetite.
What’s Been Improved?
Let’s start off with a fan favourite. The Butter Chicken Biryani (S$4.20) is given a fresh look, sprinkling in extra raisins and shallots to the basmati rice for better texture, taste, and colour to add extra appeal to the overall dish.
Another one of their classic dishes, Mac and Cheese (S$4.50), now has additional cheese that makes the sauce creamier and more flavourful, as well as meatier chicken ham and breadcrumbs to enhance the meal
If cream sauce is your sauce of choice for pasta, you’d be pleased to know that 7-Eleven’s Carbonara Penne with Chicken Ham (S$4.50) now has an improved egg-cheese sauce that is richer than the previous version. Turkey bits, ham, and parmesan cheese are the other additions made to give the dish some extra kick.
Another Italian classic that sees an improvement is the Chicken Bolognese with Cheese (S$4.50), with extra parmesan cheese and parsley added in; if you are a fan of cheesy pasta, you’ll want to try this.
Moving away from Italian cuisine to one from Asia, satisfy your Korean food cravings with their Kimchi Fried Rice (S$4.80). The included juicy bulgogi and fluffy rice are sure to excite your taste buds and give you the energy to push on through your day.
You can also never go wrong with Western cuisine! 7-Eleven’s Black Pepper Chicken Chop with Aglio Olio (S$4.50) brings extra veggies, improved pasta texture, and better flavour with the sauce using a more finely ground blend of black pepper and herbs — for Western-food lovers, now’s the time to stuff yer’ face with lip-smacking food.
If you’ve been craving a taste of Thailand, look no further – their Thai Basil Chicken with Rice (S$4.80) is better than ever, with refinements made to their sunny-side-up egg and rice. Best of all, it is also a bigger portion size, ensuring that your bellies (and hearts) are full!
Meanwhile, 7-Eleven’s take on one of Singapore’s favourite dishes, Curry Chicken with Fragrant Rice (S$4.20), now comes with a stronger curry flavour and a better texture for the rice. Yummy. Time to dig in!
To end it off, let’s talk about Japanese food. Even with Japan’s borders reopened, some of us might not be able to travel there, but you can still grab a taste of Japan with 7-Eleven’s version of the popular Japanese Curry Chicken with Fragrant Rice (S$5.00). With newly added garnish, fluffier rice and more flavourful curry, this will definitely make you go “Umai!”
What’s New on the Menu?
While old favourites see an upgrade, there are also new dishes added that are based on fan favourites to give customers more variety while also retaining the familiar taste of dishes that we already have come to love.
First up, is the Butter Chicken with Prata (S$4.50), which swaps out the Biryani Rice for Prata. What’s not to love about that? If you’ve got a Prata craving, there’s no need to go out of your way to look for Prata shops when you can just drop by a 7-Eleven!
Next is the Flaming Mac & Cheese (S$4.50). If you love spicy dishes, this is for you! With an added kick owing to the ghost pepper sauce, it is sure to make you say “Shiok Ah!”. Just make sure to have a glass of milk close by.
Not a fan of chicken in the Black Pepper Chicken Chop? No need to fret. You can choose their Baked Pesto Fish with Aglio Olio (S$4.50) instead, which offers slices of fish with pesto crumbs for added bite and texture; a great alternative to the chicken!
Last but not least is the Tom Yum Chicken with Egg Fried Rice (S$4.90). Spicy and sour stock? Check. Tasty rice? Check. This will definitely satisfy your cravings at ungodly hours.
What we’ve tried
7-Eleven sent over four dishes for us to try – the Tom Yum Chicken with Egg Fried Rice, the Japanese Curry Chicken with Fragrant Rice, the Butter Chicken Biryani and the Chicken Bolognese with Cheese. Here are our thoughts on them!
Tom Yum Chicken with Egg Fried Rice
Upon opening the packaging, you’re greeted with the Tom Yum sauce, which contains onions, chillies, veggies and chicken. The egg is mixed into the rice, which gives it a little colour; and looks way better than the typical plain white rice. The dish takes about four minutes to prepare, and you’re hit with the recognisable smell of tom yum upon taking it out of the microwave.
The tom yum sauce is really flavourful and has a lovely and distinct taste, it was also rather spicy, so if you love spicy foods, this will appeal to you. It is, however, watery compared to a regular bowl of Tom Yum, though admittedly, it is a usual occurrence with microwaved foods.
The rice was unfortunately quite bland on its own, with it being rather dry at the same time, but a quick drizzle of the spicy sauce is enough to fix this. The chicken too, after microwaving, felt similarly dry. But overall, the dish was still flavourful and will solve your late-night hunger pangs!
Butter Chicken Biryani
This is one of my personal favourites, having already loved the previous version. Expectations were high when I opened the packaging, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much more enticing the rice looked. It looked like I bought biryani straight from an Indian Muslim stall.
Upon taking it out from the microwave, I noticed that the curry has a nice consistency comparable to the ones at outside stalls. It was flavourful and creamy, and I just kept going back for another mouthful.
The biryani rice was even better now due to the addition of shallots and raisins, and had a very authentic taste to it. It paired really well with the curry too. As for the chicken, it surprisingly wasn’t dry! Overall, the dish was delicious, and a great alternative if you are craving Indian Muslim food at 2am.
Chicken Bolognese with Cheese
When we opened the packaging for the Chicken Bolognese, we were greeted with a powerful smell of cheese, which was, safe to say, rather unpleasant. The overall presentation was a little drab, which made the overall dish look odd.
Once I took a bite, I was left disappointed. The spaghetti was super chewy and had a rubbery texture, which made finishing the dish rather tricky. In terms of the sauce, it wasn’t too bad, though the strong taste of the cheese was still prevalent here, which was still off-putting.
The overall taste of the food was not really up to expectations, and this dish is a pass for us.
Japanese Curry Chicken with Fragrant Rice
This dish was the most expensive one we tried, so expectations were high. At least the portion reflects that, with it being the biggest dish of the four we tried.
And I wasn’t disappointed. The rice was suitably fluffy, and when paired with the garnish, which included onions and seaweed, it was genuinely good enough to have on its own. The chicken katsu was savoury too, but wasn’t crispy, but that is understandable due to it being microwaved – I’ve certainly had worse from restaurants.
The curry had excellent consistency, and was flavourful with a slight kick of spice in it. The carrots and potatoes were somewhat mushy, however. But as a whole, the entire dish paired together wonderfully, and we found ourselves again, coming back for seconds. Safe to safe, the dish was the first one to be finished.
So, if you want to quell your late-night cravings, 7-Eleven’s new and improved recipes just gave you more reason to do so. In addition to them, you also have new, yet familiar, dishes that are sure to excite your taste buds.
For the health-conscious, you can check the nutritional information for each ready-to-eat meal at 7-Eleven’s website.
Photos by Russell Loh of the DANAMIC Team. Additional visuals courtesy of 7-Eleven Singapore.
