Busog Meal | Chili con Carne

“Chili con Carne” is a Spanish dish meaning “Chilly with Meat,” a spicy stew containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes and often pinto beans or kidney beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions, and cumin. The dish originated in northern Mexico or southern Texas. Rarely a popular dish in Asian region like in the Philippines, and it is not as widely known in the country save that being popularize by an American fast food restaurant that is still part of their menu. But as a rice meal it is an uncommon dish you’ll see being part of a menu until 7 Eleven adds their take on the Chili con Carne in their range of affordable “Busog Meals.”

This new meal variant was recently introduced along with another dish (Ham & Cheese Omelette), but due to popular demand it wasn’t stock at the nearby 7 Eleven store until most recently with this new product that has been sitting on top of the freezer shelf s of this writing.

Packaged in a black microwaveable tub for a moment there you thought it comes with a cardboard slip cover featuring the image and other description of the product. It turns out this was a large label that sealed the vacuum sealed translucent plastic over the tub that you’ll not notice it as a cheaper way to protect the contents.

Meaty but not-so chili

Once you removed the protective label/sticker it also removes the protective plastic top that protects the content of the product. There you’ll find the “Chili con Carne” sitting on top of the rice. You can also see that there’s cheese in it, but what makes this dish known is the beans which is largely absent.

They included a few beans and the rest is entirely ground meat like the ones used in spaghetti, but not that saucy. The texture is darker red with cheese. When you heat it via the microwave you see it is definitely cooked for a minute as instructed in the product description and it doesn’t appear to fill up the tub.

Snack-size Meal

Expectations depends on whose eating and having it for lunch. It is expected to fill-up your lunch, but this one need some more rice. It may not be spicy though the meat really was good with a few handful beans to make it a tad right for just a quick meal to go through the day.

Despite being a new product it is still superior to its other dish (Ham & Cheese Omelette) that was also introduced a few days earlier. This still moves the shelf since it’s ‘new’ and people want to try one. But due to ‘keeping it within the budget’ there are some sacrifices for the quality to be that close to a genuine “Chili con Carne.”

Overall the price is great though it tries to be the genuine dish, but it is really good as the portions and ingredients really made it not what you expect as a “Chili con Carne” despite being marketed as a lunch meal. It wasn’t enough to fill your day, but it really can pass up as a late afternoon snack.

• Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
• Affordability: B+
• Overall: Quality was good, but food portions have to fit within the budget cost.

Chili con Carne | Retailed at: ₱ 59.00 Pesos [$ 1.53 AUD | $ 1.02 USD]**

** - Currency Converter via Google.com