Lawson Premium | Cordon Bleu

Exploring other types of rice meals does not always equate to having a good meal. Pitfalls and challenges are going through every single day as most people now are leaning towards healthy food. Sometimes there are not available hours to prepare and most depend on instant meals that only need to be heated. Of course, local convenient stores try to experiment with their take on established ones and sometimes try very hard to even create something that the masses are not familiar with. Take this Cordon Bleu as an example from Lawson that they have recently introduced which sounded a bit fancy for the majority.

“Cordon Bleu” is a French dish loosely translated to “Blue Ribbon” Though the product itself when you see it do not look it appear to be blue, but rather the name sounds fancy enough that a majority of the masses are unfamiliar with the name more like a product for the middle to upper class.

It is a type of schnitzel filled with cheese that traces its origin in Brig, Switzerland. The founding of this dish is called “Blue Ribbon” for a reason that has a connection to the highest order of knighthood for its wide blue ribbon appeals more to the upper crust with the above country of origin.

But Lawson trying its best to make their dishes unique and appeal to be a “budget meal” does not mean that people would go crazy over some fancy dish that is quite unheard of outside of the Philippines.

Fancy Sized Rolls

The packaging itself doesn’t try to be fancy but wants to be marketed to the masses so that you can now afford a dish that sounds so French it won’t cost you a thousand to have it for your everyday lunch. It does look like a classy Filipino “Embutido” that is cut on thinner strips of meat.

It’s rather small packaging that does not look to grab your attention, but the label and the name say so French you won’t even wonder where the name came from. It does however look fancy for the name to a local would wonder if this is the upper crust version of an “Embutido,” but it is an entirely different food not to be confused by it.

Portions and Tartar Sauce

The way it is presented you won’t see it until you have lifted the plastic cover and been a little bit thinking a missed opportunity for the way the portions of sliced Cordon Bleu and a pinch of Tartar Sauce would make it memorable to have for the way the budget constraints of the product trying to appeal to low-income household.

The combination of Tartar sauce and the sliced Cordon Bleu would have been great, but due to the small portions with rice, the viand is not enough to even fill the gap for some fancy lunch on a budget cost. When you run out of Tartar sauce that’s when you ever wonder if it is worth the price.

Overall, Lawson is trying its best to present an original rice meal that would appeal to the majority of the masses. But they can do that if they do an actual “Embutido” product without the fancy excuse to sound unique. Just serve straightforward Filipino food and people would appreciate it even more.

It is a missed opportunity, but it is still good despite the lack of sliced Cordon Blue or the very tiny Tartar Sauce portions. Fancy food doesn’t get the masses excited, they want something “homegrown” produced into a unique take. How about a “Veggie Embutido” or something people would gravitate to the feeling of home cooking?

Fancy-sounding dishes are a hit or miss people might get alienated with that type of concept for being unheard of. Sure, 1 out of 10 foreign nationals from France would probably know what a Cordon Bleu is, but a blue collard low-income Filipino earner would mistake it to be a fancy version of an “Embutido,” which is an entirely different dish that might get mixed results like this dish.

• Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
• Affordability: B-
• Overall: A Fancy Meal trying to appeal to the masses with small portions doesn't get a win.

Cordon Bleu | Retailed at: ₱ 125.00 Pesos [$ 3.43 AUD | $ 2.25 USD]**

** - Currency Converter via Google.com