Monday 14 October 2013

High Street eating!

Welcome to my new follower, A Suffolk Girl!

We received a telephone call early afternoon to let us know that a cheque we had paid for a subscription had been filled in incorrectly. That was when we remembered we should have been attending an arts opening.

As I was just finishing adding some wax to furniture, we downed tools, got changed and attended said do. Not over impressed but there you go. Anyway, by this time it was getting rather late and I hadn't prepared anything for tea. We popped into a well known high street store to peruse their food hall and decided on one of their nice pies as advertised on television, plus a pudding. We managed to get both for £5.50 so not too bad a price despite the fact I could have made it cheaper, we needed something quick.

What a waste of money and so disappointing!


Our chicken and leek pie had not a single piece of leek resembling anything like their pictures. We both found a sliver. We estimate our large pie had maybe 8 - 10 pieces of not so succulent chicken in it.

It was essentially a very poorly flavoured sauce with a few bits of hard chicken and no chunks or slices of leek. The flaky top pie crust was nice but the bottom was soggy. I reckon it had no more than 1 1/2 ladles of filling, if that.

For pudding we chose two pots of clotted cream rice pudding. They were better tasting but not necessarily better value for money and again, we could have made 1 - 2 pints for the price.

What never ceases to amaze us on the odd times we visit this store is how many elderly people are in the food hall pushing around trollies with hardly anything in them. Are they wealthy, how can they afford to shop in there?

To say we were disappointed is an understatement and shall not both again with their food as a 'treat'.

19 comments:

  1. I think I know which store you are talking about, i have witnessed this too, I don't know how anyone can afford to shop there to be honest

    Sharon

    www.onelifeand3kids.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Guess there are a lot of people with either high income, fixed shopping habits or both!

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  2. I have never bought a ready made meal that i was impressed with, regardless of how much I paid or where I bought it. Mind you we do get ready meals in our staff shop from factories in the group, the only ones that i buy are the curries, for 25p each they are handy to have in the freezer and with a little cooked rice make a good packed lunch. In the store they are over £2!.

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    1. I think on average, bought curries are probably the best of the bunch.

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  3. Thank you for the mention. It's very disappointing when you spend money on something that isn't what is advertised.

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    1. It looked so lush as well, annoys me no end!

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  4. What a shame you had such a disappointing meal, it makes the cost even harder to swallow!!

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    1. I suppose if you are used to pies that are predominantly crust, it would have been good. Don't know about you but we prefer pie to have a large amount of filling and little pastry.

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  5. My Mum buys stuff there - not a trolley full but she pays prices that make my eyes water rather than my mouth. Needless to say, she has a lot more money than I do!
    How did the waxing go?

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    Replies
    1. Okay I think. I rubbed it into a cloth eventually to put it on, as when trying to dip and rub it seemed to stick in one place. I'm not sure I have done it correctly as I definitely have very shiny patches and less shiny ones. Plus there is a slightly different colour in the very shiny places but it is now silky to the touch so I know I will be able to dry dust.

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  6. Its always frustrating isn't it when that happens, particularly when you're looking forward to it as a treat. I seem to always be disappointed in bought pastries and pies lately, which is obviously karma's way of telling me that I shouldn't be eating them anyway! I haven't frequented the store in question in protest of the fact that they did away with my beloved "jacket potato with cheese" flavour crisps about ten years ago! hahah. xx

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    1. I get annoyed at their advert now as their pie looks so lovely!!!

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  7. On the rare occasions I buy ready made for quickness, I am more often than not disappointed too, always comparing the meal to how I would make it. I think I know the shop you are talking about and if so, I agree the prices are higher than others but just occasionally like to indulge in a walk around to have a look at some of the different foods I wouldn't see in my usual supermarket and sometimes have been known to actually fill a basket - not trolley I hasten to add!
    Patricia x

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    Replies
    1. I must admit, I find all ready made quiches not very nice and much prefer home made ones. Guess it is what you get used to. I too occasionally pop in there to check out other things but the prices nearly always put me off.

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  8. Lord; not the fare for someone with a heart condition..........fat and salt laden...........better to have a poached egg or beans on toast or a baked potato at home.

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    1. That might be true if we had actually eaten it all, but on the whole, we eat very sensibly and very well as our annual health checks show. As it was, I ate what would amount to 4 x 3/4" chunks of chicken, maybe a tablespoon of sauce and about 2 mouthfuls of the pastry.

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  9. If I were you I'd write to the customer service dept at Head Office with your complaint...I have done this before and received gift vouchers and a letter of apology. I remember telling one big supermarket that I was surprised to find their cottage cheese with prawn was exactly that: cottage cheese with one prawn! They would certainly not like to know that you have blogged a bad review!!

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    Replies
    1. throw it in a bag - even the label will do - and take it back and ask for a refund - they ll give it to you.

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