Friday 20 August 2021

Grabbing All The Spoons From The Pot To Start The Day Off Right | Mr Lee's Breakfast Porridges & Congees Review

 Hey everyone! 

Long time, no see! A lot of personal things have happened lately which has stopped me from blogging which I'd rather not get into. However, I do want to state that I am writing a Dissertation for my Masters Degree so posts will be sporadic for the moment. Recently I was kindly sent some products from Mr. Lee's recently and I thought that I would talk to you all about them today!

About Mr Lee's (Taken From Their Website): 

Damien Lee was a real person, not some fictitious character made up by Madmen. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2014, he decided to take a stand against the food choices available to time poor people, passionately believing that we all have a right to quick, honest and tasty food. 

So he started a food company! Damien passed away in early 2021 after battling fiercely and so courageously through the challenges of cancer for over 6 years. 

During Damien’s treatment, he craved his guilty pleasure: instant noodles. But couldn’t succumb, knowing they’re full of junk and that wouldn’t help his diet in the fight. With the help of Andy Chu - an experenced executive Chef and friend of Damien’s - they developed 6 instant noodle recipes that contained no nasties, are low in sugar, low in saturated fats and gluten free. Damien’s idea became reality and Mr Lee’s first product was born. A guilt free, healthier instant noodle!

Unlike most other cup noodles, our ingredients are freeze dried, not dehydrated. This locks in more of the flavour, nutrients and vitamins. So you can scoff away guilt-free, knowing mind, body and soul are getting what they need!

Although their about us is all about the noodles and the background of the noddles and why they are amazing, Mr. Lee's kindly sent me some of their new Congee's and Porridges so this post will be mainly focusing on them. 

The Products: 

Original Congee Rice Porridge:

Congee to me is an Asian food staple. My friend Alex introduced Congee to me whilst being at Dim Sum a while ago and it changed my life. 

The texture of Congee to me is amazing. Thick and velvety. That staple dish that just makes you feel warm on the inside. I guess the best way to put it is a very similar texture to Porridge. As the Congee's and Porridge Instant Pots are all similar in texture therefore I think that it may be best to leave it at this one in terms of discussing the texture as it may become repetitive. The texture of the Congee's and Porridges is amazing. 

Ingredients: 

Rice, Corn Semolina, Gluten Free Oat Flakes, Natural Flavour, Yeast Extract, Freeze-dried Spring Onion, Maltodextrin, Freeze-dried Ginger, Soybean, Salt, Onion Powder, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar. 

The flavour of this Congee is strong but still soothing. The Soy that is in this product adds a sort of soothing saline shake to the product making you want to go back for more and more. After a while of having the smooth saline hit jump onto my tongue, the warming wave of Ginger popped on my tongue afterwards which contrasted against the soothing hit of Soy. As said from the texture, this Congee is exactly what you want when you need to be soothed and the flavour reinstates that. The Ginger may have a kick but it still has the ability to soothe your insides and make you feel warm and toasty. 

A turquoise cylindrical pot filled with powdered product with mr lees chicken congee rice porridge on white font on a bright background

Chicken Congee Rice Porridge 

Ingredients: 

Rice, Corn Semolina, Gluten Free Oat Flakes, Freeze-dried Chicken Breast, Freeze-dried Mushrooms, Fermented Shrimp Powder, Natural Flavour, Yeast Extract, Freeze-dried Spring Onion, Maltodextrin, Dried Ginger, Soybean, Onion Powder, Salt, Wild Seaweed, White Pepper, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar. 

The flavour of the Rice, Oats and Salt are the first components to hit your tongue as soon as you take a spoonful of this perfect product which reinforces the soothing properties that I mentioned in the paragraph above. After this, blasts of Ginger and Onion jump onto the palette ensuring that you get hit with both the punchy flavours that these ingredients provide. Once this takeover of the tongue is finished, the coolness returns in the form of Mushroom. I always relate Mushrooms to soothing as they are in such sort of comforting dishes as Miso Soup and such forth. These go well with the savoury flavour of the Chicken which coats your mouth beautifully and makes you want more. I love this Congee as it is definitely the best mixture of contrasts. From soothing and uplifting to salty and sweet to crunchy and soft. It is such an amazing dish. 

A light golden brown cylindrical pot filled with powdered product with mr lees chicken congee rice porridge in white font on a bright background

So Very Berry Porridge: 

Ingredients: 

Gluten Free Oats, Coconut Milk, White Rice, Organic Coconut Blossom Sugar, Psyillium Husk, Freeze-dried Strawberries, Freeze-dried Raspberries, Freeze-dried Goji Berries, Beetroot, Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavouring. 

Oh god this porridge was amazing. I could have this every single day! As soon as I put a spoonful of Porridge in my mouth, I was hit with a blast of uplifting Coconut and I loved it! The Coconut coated my mouth like how the perfect blanket coats you at night. After this, the bunch of berries popped flavour onto my tongue like how a dart has the ability to instantly pop a balloon. I absolutely loved it as it created a great contrast against the sweet Coconut This is definitely a great product that would perk up your morning perfectly! 

A lightt pink cylindrical pot filled with powdered product with mr lees so very berry porridge written in white font on a bright background

Salted Caramel Porridge: 

Ingredients: 

Gluten Free Oats, Coconut Milk, White Rice, Organic Coconut Blossom Sugar, Maltodextrin, Psyllium Husk, Natural Flavouring, Modified Food Starch, Sea Salt. 

If anyone knows me well then you will know that I have a habit of trying Salted Caramel products and end up complaining about the fact that they never have a distinct Salt flavour to them. I was pleasantly surprised that one of the first flavours to hit my tongue was Salt which was probably Mr. Lee's telling me that I was in good hands when it cane to them putting what I wanted into their products. The next thing that hit my tongue with flavour was a sort of toasty warm Caramel flavour which I believe came from a mixture of the flavouring, Coconut Blossom Sugar and Oats. I love anything with a warn sort of smoky flavour to it as it stops products and food from being too sweet and this was no exception! It added a sort of sweet smoky flavour to the product and made me want to go back for more and more every time that I had a bite. 

A cylndrical yellow tub filled with dried powder with mr lees salted caramel porridge in white font on a bright background


Original 3-Grain Porridge

Ingredients:

 Gluten Free Oats, Coconut Milk, White Rice, Maltodextrin, Psyllium Husk, Modified Food Starch. 

Simple but sublime. The first flavour that flooded my mouth was a toasty note from the Oats which I adore. I love that sort of warm smoky tastiness that comes from Oats especially on a cold morning. Whilst the smoky note took a slight step into the background, the Coconut Milk came out to shine and gave the oats an amazing contrasting flavour of not only Coconut but also comfort. As a lactose intolerant person, Coconut Milk is my milk of choice because of this sort of comforting note as it reassures me that everything will be okay when I drink it.

A golden cylindrical pot filled with powdered porridge with mr lees original 3-grain porridge in black font on a bright background

Directions On How To Prepare An Mr. Lee's Instant Pot Product: 

Boil the kettle, take the lid off, fill the kettle up to the line, stir, wait four minutes and enjoy! 

Would I Buy These Again?

Honestly? Yes, I would! I absolutely love these. As someone who sometimes forgets to have breakfast and as someone who craves food like Porridge and Congee on the cold days, I would stock up on these to ensure I always have something in to eat for breakfast or those cold days! I love the simplicity of them and they taste amazing which I was pleasantly surprised about as I've had some instant pot products that haven't been up to a great standard of quality. Overall I give all of these a 9/10. 

Where Can I Buy These? 

You can purchase these at Amazon, The Mr Lees website, vending machines and Ocado and start from £2.25. 

Check Mr Lees here

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post. Have you tried any new food products lately?? Let me know down below! 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x 

This post was in collaboration with a brand and was in exchange for products. All views, opinions and ramblings are my own.