Price: Provided by PR Company
Serving: 1/2 package, 4.25oz.
Calories: 230
Fat: 22%, 14g
Cholesterol: 13%, 40mg
Sodium: 20%, 470mg
Protein: 13g
Carbs: 3%, 10g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 0g

Weight Watchers Points: 6 points

Kahiki says: Traditional Asian-style battered chicken with our famous sweet and sour sauce

Abi says: I have to start this review by telling you right now that I detest sweet and sour anything. Sorry folks, but I just don’t get how anyone can eat that pink goo that restaurants and food manufacturers try to pass off as an edible sauce. James Carville and Bill Frist might be able to settle their differences over a Diet Coke (did anyone outside of DC see and/or get a bit sentimental about DC/laugh at the Segway people while viewing that ad? I think everyone on Capitol Hill went ‘Awwwww’. Actually, we all said “Bill Frist? James Carville? What? Does America have any clue who these people are?” Weirdly enough, I’ve actually run into James Carville. Literally. I was just chatting with my friends and he and his buddies were moving at a significantly slower pace and boom! somewhat embarrassing moment. If you’re looking for a brief physical encounter with a political-type person, you’re much better off hanging out in front of The Palm than on the Hill. Uh, end of tangent.), but sweet and sour sauce and I will never get along. We will never play jinx. It will never buy me a coke:

So, about those tempura chicken nuggets (It is 7am and I’ve already had two cups of coffee): they are awesome. I really wasn’t ready to like these previously deep fried and then baked in my oven nuggets of white meat chicken. I was ready to dismiss them the way that I dismissed the sauce (blecchh), but when I sat down and actually ate them, I thought “Wow, the breading on these is light and it doesn’t overpower the tender, tasty chicken action.” I’ve never before had such elegantly breaded frozen chicken nuggets. Of course, chicken nuggets aren’t a regular part of my diet and my complete inability to enjoy sweet and sour sauce will likely prevent me from ever purchasing this item again, but if you’re looking to host a psuedo-Chinese food-themed party and you need an appetizer, then these chicken nuggets could work for you. They are infinitely better than anything I’ve ever had from Tyson’s.

Kahiki Famous Sweet and Sour Sauce

Price: Provided by PR Company
Serving: 1 packet, 0.25oz.
Calories: 10
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 1%, 15mg
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 1%, 3g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 0 Points

SRP: $3.99
Serving: 1 tray, 9.5oz.
Calories: 360
Fat: 8%, 5g
Cholesterol: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 37%, 890mg
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 15%, 46g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Kahiki says: Grilled white-meat chicken with no added antibiotics. Served with vegetables and brown rice in our signature zesty sauce.

Abi says: I was torn when Tim Tsao, the VP of Sales and Marketing (and son of the company founder) at Kahiki contacted me after reading Jess’s review of Kahiki Sweet and Sour Chicken and offered to send a case of their reformulated entrees. Being a person intrigued with reformulated recipes and nearly incapable of declining free frozen meals, I accepted the offer. I’d just read about their makeover in an issue of Refrigerated and Frozen Foods Magazine (yes, I subscribe) and I was curious about the new Naturals line.

“But,” I told myself when the package arrived at my office (a.k.a. home) “You are going to be strict about these meals. You are not going to let their freeness affect what you say in your review. You will be firm.” Yeah, I gave myself a talking-to. And then the meals sat in my freezer for a month. What if I didn’t like them? What if I broke Tim’s heart?

Finally, I decided to start with the General Tso’s Chicken. Never a fan of the chicken in my youth due to its unidentifiable pieces of fried dark meat (hey, I couldn’t tell what was in there), I looked forward to trying a healthy non-fried version.

Can I just say ‘Wow’. Wow. Not a Carolyn Hax ‘Wow’ of disbelief about what your mother-in-law just said about your grandma’s apple pie recipe. No, this is a wow of yum. The General Tso’s sauce is spicy, wonderfully spicy. It has enough tingle to almost make your nose run with the spice, but not enough heat to make you get up and get a glass of water right at that moment. The chunks of chicken breast are moist, lean, and feature weird grill marks that look really fake but I forgive them that because they are delightfully smoky. Sure, that grilled flavor comes from vegetable oil, but by the time I learned that I’d already consumed the entire meal and used my finger to lick the remaining sauce out of its section of the tray.

Under the chicken you see in the photo is a little village of broccoli, drenched in that fantastic sauce. There were also two insignificant carrots. And maybe a water chestnut. I’m not sure what it was, but I ate it because it was in the zesty sauce. Mmmm, sauce.

The rice is brown rice. It is boring. There is an amount appropriate to the other items in the tray. It is actually very pale and non-nutty for brown rice. It seems more like white rice. Or maybe beige rice. Perhaps it is a new strain of non-healthy-seeming brown rice. I do not know because I am not a rice scientist. Lacking a rice-science background, I’m going to assume that the rice was ultra-nutritious.

This meal is not your typical restaurant Genera Tso’s. It is a healthier adaptation that features a cringe-free ingredients list (how often does that happen?) and no mystery breading. Thinking about other General Tsos’ meals I’ve tried for HeatEatReview.com (Healthy Choice General Tso’s Chicken and Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers General Tso’s Chicken) I have to say that Kahiki’s variety leaves them in the dust. Sure, it lacks that deep fried hallmark coating of restaurant General Tso’s, but when I caught myself eyeing another box of it at Whole Foods, I knew that I’d found a gem.

Price: $2.50
Serving: 1 package, 11oz.
Calories: 310
Fat: 6%, 4g
Cholesterol: 12%, 35mg
Sodium: 62%, 1490mg
Protein: 15g
Carbs: 16%, 49g
Fiber: 7%, 2g

Kahiki says: Chicken meat, steamed rice, and vegetables in a sweet Teriyaki sauce

Kelly says: Kahiki doesn’t make promises it can’t keep. This sweet, sweet, sweet meal features chicken and vegetables dripping in teriyaki sauce. There’s plenty of chicken and vegetables, but the sauce was so overpoweringly bland that I’m sort of scared to try other things in the same brand family.

I’m also worried that I’ll become a diabetic from eating the sauce. It is that sweet.

The steamed veggies included carrots and water chestnuts and light colored vegetables I was unable to identify. Yeah, it is a bit sad when you can’t ID your own food. I am a brocolli-lover, so I was happy to get five good-size florets. It is just too bad that the picture shows approximately twice as much chicken and half as much carrot as I was provided in reality.

Another plus? I like getting rice with my meals (I know, it is a waste of money to buy frozen rice), so I was happy to see that Kahiki does pretty well with white rice. However, plain white rice shouldn’t be the centerpiece of a meal.

There’s plenty of food here and I didn’t finish the entire meal, but I don’t know if that was because I was full or just sick of the sugary sauce they called Teriyaki. What I do know is if I ever ate this at a place claiming to be an Asian restaurant, I’d probably never return.

Having said that, the experience probably won’t keep me from giving the brand another try, so long as it is on sale. But I’m adventurous and perhaps you’re not.

Price: $3.75
Serving: 1 tray, 11 oz.
Calories: 470
Fat: 17%, 11g
Cholesterol: 19%, 25mg
Sodium: 35%, 840mg
Protein: 14g
Carbs: 27%, 81g

Kahiki says: Tempura chicken nuggets, steamed rice, pineapple, papaya,and carrots in a tangy sweet & sour sauce.

Jess says: During my last trip to the Safeway, something unfortunate happened. I found myself unimpressed by the freezer aisle.

Normally, it's the best part of the trip. I can hardly hide my glee as I pace up and down and overanalyze the stock like a psychopath. Which Lean Cuisine has HER not explored and can I beat the other hippies to it? Is today the day I fold to your questionable fried items, Marie Calendar? California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Pizza, stop mocking me! $7? #@$&! Am I made of money? Amy's, please show me something new and deliciously wholesome!

Sure, the other patrons get creeped out as I talk to the shelved microwaveables, but I pay no mind to them. I have bigger fish to reheat.

On my most recent grocery trip, I grew weary thinking of the same old gummy chicken and soggy vegetables and sticky noodles and tasteless sauces of so many lunches past. And then I saw you, Kahiki. A new brand to reach out and rescue me from the freezer fog of sameness!

Novelty aside, this meal was like a trip to a cornstarch sauna. This is breaded chickeny, fruity islandy dessert. The second ingredient to the sauce is sugar. The first is water. For once, I'm not exaggerating. Ketchup is also (oddly) one of the primary ingredients and ketchup also includes corn starch, so I don't know if that counts double. Oh and then there's honey and brown sugar. Sorry Dr. {my dentist name's is protected to preserve his reputation}.

All cavities aside, I really like sweet entreés on occasion and so I rather enjoyed it. The chicken was similar to what I often find at lower end Chinese restaurants. There was the same texture to the breading (sort of crispy and sort of saturated saucy all at once). No gristle, which was appreciated. Pineapple and dried papaya make both an appearance, which is odd (and yes, sugary), but I enjoyed the burst of (sort of fresh) citrus that they brought to it. I would have liked more rice, since sweet cornstarch sauce is only as good as the rice you have to absorb it. Kahiki did separate the rice into its own compartment - a nice touch. It allows you to choose your own rice ratio adventure and that's considerate.

If you've got a sweet tooth and you're tired of Lean Cuisine's Sweet and Sour Chicken, then I'd give this a try. Otherwise I'd say that LC's version is better (and leaner — do NOT check out the calories from fat on this thing!) I must say Kahiki is a damn sexy name for just a food brand. I wish it were a rum drink or a small island's term for the sensation you feel when your thighs first touch cold ocean water on one of the hottest days of the year.