So nowadays, the convenience stores that dot the streets and alleys are no longer a lonely choice, but the most trusted partner of the urban community, a rice ball with the right flavor, is the unspoken agreement with life, is a symbol of belonging to the city in the travelers.
So I spent three days visiting five brands in Beijing (respectively, 7-11, All Time, O2O, Neighborhood, Rosen) ten convenience stores. I hope to give you a gentle and reliable guide to convenience store rice balls.
But after I actually ate all 33 rice balls, I finally realized a few things:
1, rice balls are novel, but in fact, it is just a dumpling skin was replaced with a plastic bag after the mutation.
2, seaweed is the best guardian of rice balls.
3. 7-11, as one of the most reliable convenience stores in Beijing, has the largest variety of rice balls.
4, but the most reliable brand does not mean that the rice balls are reliable, in the 7-11 rice balls, you must always be careful to step on the mine.
5, 7-11's rice balls are individual may not be reliable, while several other convenience stores are individual may be reliable. And among them, All Time sucks the most.
So now that we've mentioned unreliable, let's follow the usual style of Whoop Bean's reviews, and start with 4 rice balls that are wrong any way you eat them:
1, Whole Time's Spicy Chicken Rice Balls
2, Rosen's Tuna and Spicy Cabbage Rice Balls
3, Neighborhood's Curry Chicken Rice Balls
4, Neighborhood's Ham Tamagoyaki chicken rice balls
This group of rice balls is either a big oil field, or sandwich rice, in short, very unworthy of consumption, will be a package of cheap low-cost version of the covered rice, it is recommended that we can not eat, do not eat.
Well, it's official from 7-11.
7-11
Crispy Chicken Crispy Bone Biscuit Rice Balls: 4 out of 5 (Note: All scores are based on a five-point scale)
Because I've always thought that rice balls were supposed to look like rice dumplings, I was shocked to see the first one, a ring of seaweed wrapped around a chicken fillet stacked on top of a bowl of rice, and I thought it would be a good idea to try it. When I first saw the Chicken Crispy Bone Cracker rice ball wrapped in a circle of seaweed and layered on top of rice, I thought it was an "alien", so I was intrigued by it and decided to start my rice ball review journey with it.
A whole chicken fillet occupies 1/3 of the chassis in this small rice ball, which is perfect for meat lovers' basic craving for meat, and a few crunchy bones in the middle add a nice variety of flavors to this small rice ball. The layer of mayonnaise between the rice ball and the chicken fillet was rich and flavorful. The downside, however, was that the rice ball was a bit greasy, and the rice was soft and watery, which was a bit of a bummer.
Shrimp and mayonnaise rice ball: 3 points
The surprise of this rice ball is that the shrimp is well used, and the mayonnaise mixes well with the shrimp to help give diners a taste of the ocean's sweetness while still being sticky. Unfortunately, the shrimp is slightly fishy, and the meat itself has lost its characteristic crunch, but the rice will be more chewy compared to the softness of the Chicken Crispy Bone Cake Rice Ball, so the points lost in the filling can be found back in the rice.
Shrimp mayonnaise roll sushi: 4 points
The praiseworthy thing is that the design of the shrimp mayonnaise roll sushi is very easy to pull the stripes, and no need to exert force to have lightly removed the shirt, the beautiful carcass will be lying shyly in the palm of my hand. The texture of the rice was similar to that of a shrimp mayonnaise rice ball, with a slightly chewy texture that was not fluffy at all. The sweet sauce, thick and sticky, can give people a sense of satiety, so-called good lunch.
Roast Beef Rice Balls with Soy Sauce: 4 points
The amount of beef with the rich sauce was a pleasant surprise, and the sweetness of the beef was well brought out by the flavoring, and the rice had a little more white vinegar in it than the other rice balls, making it soft and chewy. Only in the process of unpacking, there will be a layer of plastic wrapping paper sandwiched in the seaweed, which will inevitably make hungry diners feel a little spoiled.
Spicy sauce squid rice ball: 5 points
Spicy sauce squid rice ball surface by a layer of crunchy seaweed wrapped, inside the soft moderate rice, full of particles but not loose, Q pop squid is extremely elastic, and the spicy sauce is also exudes a strong garlic aroma, so the sweet, salty and spicy three flavors intertwined, just spicy sauce squid and garlic are heavy food, so after eating it, don't forget to rinse mouth and
Kabayaki eel rice ball: 2 points
The whole rice ball is drenched in teriyaki sauce, which makes it look like a bowl of ready-to-eat eel rice. However, the eel was a bit too sweet and soft, making the whole rice ball very sticky. So if you're not a big fan of unagi rice, please think carefully about enjoying it.
Soy Sauce Squid Onigiri: 4 out of 5
The pull tabs on this onigiri were a bit thin, and it was not as easy to unwrap as I thought it would be. But the surprise is that after opening the package, a cumin aroma will immediately overflow, with the squid in the rice ball, just one bite, reminiscent of the flavor of the iron plate squid, the beauty is that the rice is too soft, inevitably reminiscent of, barbecue stalls in the rice is always not enough to pay attention to the stalls of the common problem.
Korean Stone Pot Bibimbap Rice Ball: 3 out of 5
As you can see, the front of this rice ball is just as frank as it gets, with a piece of bacon and a fried egg underneath a rice ball drenched in a sweet and spicy red sauce, and rice that's loose and soft, interspersed with carrots that don't have much of a presence. And so after one big bite, all that's left for the mouth to remember is the bacon.
Korean BBQ Beef Rice Balls: 4 out of 5
The Korean BBQ Beef Rice Balls are similar in texture to the Roast Beef Rice Balls, with large chunks of beef, and a rich sweet chili sauce that seeps densely into the rice and beef, living up to the name "Korean".
Star eel medium rolled sushi: 3 points
Eaten kabayaki eel rice balls, and then saw the name "star eel", the biggest feeling is two words - sweet, greasy, but fortunately the eel and egg particles densely intertwined in a piece, and effectively neutralize the fishy taste of eel.
Tuna mayonnaise onigiri: 2 points
Mayonnaise is definitely the favorite filling for all onigiri, this tuna mayonnaise onigiri compared to the previous shrimp mayonnaise onigiri, the filling is a lot less, the tuna is not shaped, similar to the nature of the meat floss mixed with mayonnaise, the filling is soft and rich, sweet and salty each other in competition with each other, the tuna in general, the tuna slightly prevailed. So in the sweet and salty between the two flavors of the fight, the tongue is the most suffering, so after eating tuna mayonnaise rice balls just want to drink five glasses of water immediately.
Ham omelet rice ball: 4 points
In the omelet rice, the egg skin replaces the seaweed to become the biggest inclusion of rice, the orange juice is like in love with the rice, the fragrant tomato and ham particles also play the right role in enriching the taste. So, although the egg skin is a little dry and the rice is a little loose, it doesn't affect the good impression of this rice ball to the diners, ham and tomato risotto.
Rosen
Tuna Mayonnaise Onigiri: 3 points
After eating this rice ball, I finally realized that if rice has to be relied upon, seaweed is its best guardian. In this rice ball, the extremely tough seaweed wrapped the loose rice in an extremely stylish way, so but from the appearance, this rice ball is more handsome than the average commercially available dumplings.
The slightly dry tuna meat floss meets sweet and salty mayonnaise, mixed in the rice, moist and very colorful. There just isn't a lot of tuna, so if you have time, you can play hide-and-seek with the tuna in this rice ball.
Tuna and spicy cabbage onigiri: 1 point
The tuna and spicy cabbage mixture is a good mix of salty and sour flavors, plus there's a slight spiciness that hits the taste buds. But once in the mouth, the rice and filling separated instantly, and, as the saying goes, it was a mouthful of angst.
Full time
Tuna mayonnaise rice ball: 3 points
Meet tuna mayonnaise again, this time the rice sticky teeth, tuna slightly fishy, but the presence of pepper flavor, but the taste of the whole rice ball even more than ten levels, like hiding a whole piece of the ocean's wild, it is very surprising.
Tuna seaweed medium roll sushi: 4 points
I don't know if it's because of the medium roll sushi, with strong Japanese attributes, so the quality will be significantly better than the traditional Chinese onigiri, a little white vinegar hidden between the rice grains, effectively amplify the sweetness of the rice, plus the presence of seaweed, sesame seeds, eggs, tuna as a filling, so-called a thousand times the funk.
Salmon mayonnaise onigiri: 1 point
This onigiri was actually quite impersonal, and aside from giving a sense of fullness, it seemed to make its presence felt on the palate, which, combined with the moist and soft rice and the too-small amount of salmon, made it rather more like eating a packet of mayonnaise.
Tomato omelet rice ball: 2 out of 5
Another greasy rice ball, with loose rice and egg cake, carrots, and corn in the center. Maybe only tomato lovers will like it now.
Tuna, needle mushroom and spicy cabbage rice ball: 2 points
This is a rather sour rice ball, with minced fish, needle mushrooms that don't seem to show up, and the word "spicy" is even more confusing, as it's hard to get a sense of the spice until it's fully chewed. However, the softness of the rice makes this rice ball not so bad.
Sweet and spicy squid onigiri: 1 point
Looking at the pictures, you can see that this rice ball is also a big oil producer, with radish wrapped in a thick sweet and spicy sauce, no squid in sight, and a slightly pinched texture to the rice, which would make it more apt to be called "sweet and spicy oiled fish. I'd rather call it "Sweet and Spicy Oil Rice Balls"!
Black Pepper Beef Rice Balls: 1 point
This is definitely a lower-end version of the rice bowl, with a heavy, peppery flavor that's a bit harsh, and a sweet and spicy sauce that wraps the beef so thoroughly that you can't taste the rice at all.
Spicy Chicken Rice Balls: 0 points
A fierce odor of spicy cabbage wafted out of the packet, and it was weird. The chicken grains in the filling are very small and have very little presence, and it's definitely a rice ball that you should regret eating once for an entire afternoon.
Squid rice balls in sauce: 1 point
I don't know if it's the overly acidic texture or something else, but this one is slightly fishy, but it's better because of the amount of squid, which is soft but slightly comforting. But still, I can't help but cover my conscience and warn people not to buy it if they can.
Teriyaki Chicken Rice Ball: 2 points
The not-so-delicious onigiri fillings always tend to be on the sweet side, and Teriyaki Chicken is no exception, with a rich teriyaki sauce, a slightly spicy flavor, and a continued lack of chicken presence, and a slightly hard rice, but if you're just trying to be fruity, it's still barely edible.
Sweet and spicy squid onigiri: 5 out of 5
Grilled eel onigiri: 3 out of 5
(I'm sorry everyone, I was so raw by this point that I forgot to take a picture of this onigiri.)
First of all, the sweet and spicy squid, the filling texture levels are rich is definitely the biggest surprise in the full-time onigiri, radish, spicy cabbage, squid, three different degrees of crunchy, the next burst in the mouth, sweet and spicy sauce makes the squid a naughty child, joyfully bouncing between the teeth.
As for the grilled eel rice balls, too much water, from the texture of the eel and rice without a sense of alienation, like a hot couple, like glue, eel is not fishy is the only praise for this rice ball.
Neighborhood
Crispy seaweed and shiitake mushrooms with diced meat on rice balls: 2 points
Loose rice is the first impression of Neighborhood's rice balls to me, but the good thing is that the rice, although loose, but retains the chewiness, the seaweed is crunchy and tough, and the shiitake mushrooms have a strong flavor, and as for the diced meat, it's missing out of habit.
Crispy Seaweed Marinated Pork Rice Balls: 2 points
The slightly sweet flavor of the rice is the best feature, and to its credit, the diced meat is not missing this time, but it's all mushy and fatty, which can't help but give off the impression of cheap marinated pork rice.
Crispy seaweed rice with meat sauce: 5 points
This is the most reliable of the Neighborhood Crispy Seaweed series, and the only rice ball you can feel comfortable gorging yourself on meat and rice, with the right amount of sweetness and saltiness to be praised three times in a row: it's a must-have for Neighborhood Rice Balls, yo ~ it's a must-have for Neighborhood Rice Balls, yo ~ it's a must-have for Neighborhood Rice Balls, yo
Curry Chicken Rice Balls: 0 points
I I'd especially like to say that this one can simply be described as a greasy field, the rice is so loose that just one bite will weigh down your gut for the rest of the day. The filling is not really harmoniously mixed with the rice, plus there is no seaweed wrapping, the support is very poor, the bad rating is not even 10 times.
Ham tamagoyaki with chicken rice ball: 2 points
A fried egg and a bit of ham make this ham tamagoyaki, with a bland flavor that you might not like if you're a non-scented onion cultist. A bowl of scrambled egg rice can be ten times better.
Tiger Omelette Rice Ball: 2 points
If you're a fan of sweet and sour flavors, this rice ball will definitely hit the spot, except that it's just a little boring with nothing but rice and corn. So I'm actually reluctant to end this rice ball review with such a boring rice ball. But I can't help it if my stomach's load capacity is limited, because after eating 33 rice balls, I'll probably need to say goodbye to rice for 33 days. ......
Of course, rice balls aren't official food, so even if they're tolerated, we can't fault them too much. What we can do is to understand each rice ball as much as possible, and try to make sure that every time we walk into a convenience store and pick up a rice ball, we will live up to our stomachs and tongues.
So, at the end of this review, I've decided to give you my five perfect rice balls, and I hope you enjoy them all.
Here they are:
? Roast Beef Rice Balls with Sauce from 7-11:
The beef, the rich sauce, and the soft rice are all good reasons to choose these rice balls.
? The rice ball with squid in spicy sauce, also from 7-11:
The seaweed is crispy, the rice is full and not sticky, the squid is crunchy, and the spicy sauce is garlicky, which is the best way to describe this rice ball.
? The eel rice ball is still from 7-11:
When you take a bite of the eel rice ball, the eel is immediately sweetened by the rice drenched in teriyaki sauce, making it a perfect meal.
? Or 7-11's miso squid rice balls:
Open the bag is tantalizing cumin flavor, when you want to jerk off at noon but can not, use this rice ball to relieve the craving.
? Neighborhood crispy seaweed sauce meat rice:
Eating rice balls can also experience the taste of a big mouthful of meat, meat eaters do not despise.
So which other convenience store in your city has your favorite kind of rice ball? Welcome to leave a comment to tell me, your favorite that one rice ball, to 33 days later I, and then go to eat one by one again ah ~
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