Emilia Bona and her colleagues have shared their verdict on what supermarket sells the best sping rolls ahead of the Chinese New Year. They compared Tesco, M&S, Asda and Morrisons
A group of foodies decided to try spring rolls from a range of supermarkets – but were left stunned when one tasted like a toilet roll tube.
With Chinese New Year around the corner, spring rolls will become even more popular in stores, with some cities set to celebrate in style with street parties. The tasty treat is a common item to be found on a Chinese banquet, but with so many different supermarkets set to put them offer, it might be tough for shoppers to understand where to go.
Journalist Emilia Bona and her colleagues visited Tesco, M&S, Asda and Morrisons to find out where sells the best spring rolls. And according to the team, M&S came out on top. And sadly, despite Tesco offering a Clubcard deal, it still ranked last on the leaderboard.
Emilia explained that they purchased the supermarket own brand option from each store and decided to buy similar products from each store such as the same size, reports Liverpool Echo. “All of the spring rolls were cooked in an air fryer to ensure maximum crispiness,” she added.
Asda – 6 vegetable spring rolls – £1.86
“The most noteworthy feedback on Asda’s spring rolls related to the casing, which our taste testers unanimously felt was too thick,” said the journalist. “This threw off the ratio of filling to wrapper and while everyone felt that the pastry itself was very tasty, there was just too much of it for our liking.
“Unlike the Morrisons spring roll, the verdict was that Asda’s offering was very flavourful, nicely spiced and had the classic flavour you’d expect from this dim sum item. However the thick pastry let it down slightly, which resulted in points being deducted from the overall score. This one placed itself firmly in the middle of the pack – overall, average.”
Score: 3/5
Morrisons – 4 vegetable spring rolls – £1.50
Commenting on Morrisons, she said: “Sadly the Morrisons spring rolls were a case of all filler, no thriller. They were absolutely packed with filling and had a generous stuffing of crunchy vegetables, but we found them to be largely flavourless. Criticisms from our taste testers included ‘too much onion’ and ‘no spice’.
“The overall verdict was that these spring rolls were bland and underwhelming, but not offensive to the taste buds. With four to a pack, the individual spring rolls were all bigger than those purchased from other supermarkets which sold their spring rolls in a six-pack. And at £1.50 per pack, they were the cheapest option of all the spring rolls we purchased.”
Score: 2/5
M&S – 6 vegetable spring rolls – £3
Comparing M&S after completing the blind taste test, she said: “Coming in at £3 per packet, the M&S spring rolls were the most expensive option by some distance and the price tag was double that of the Morrisons option.
“But it seems you really do get what you pay for, as these spring rolls received a rapturous reception from our taste testers. They were crunchy, flavourful and carried the perfect ratio of filling to wrapper. These weren’t just spring rolls, they were M&S spring rolls.”
Score: 4/5
Tesco – 6 vegetable spring rolls – £1.75 (Clubcard price)
“To say our taste testers were unimpressed with the Tesco spring rolls would be an understatement,” she said. “The flavour profile, texture and overall experience was likened to eating the tube from inside a toilet roll – by more than one person.”
One reviewer said the ratio of casing to filling left a lot to be desired, while others declared the contents of the wrapper to be flavourless and limp. She added: “Ultimately, this was not an item we’d be placing in our baskets again. “
Score: 1/5
