The best way to have a gourmet meal at home is by buying a meal kit. It is a perfect alternative if you don’t want to spend hours in grocery stores and supermarkets just to buy ingredients. You also won’t need a lot of prep time, as it provides all the ingredients you’ll need and easy-to-follow recipes – enjoy and savor your meals with half the effort!
A meal kit is a great time saver, allowing you to spend more quality time for yourself and your family. There are various meal kits in the market, and buying one will mainly be based on your personal preference. We’ve provided a buying guide, fact-checked and reviewed by registered nutritionist-dietitian Samantha Morales, and a list of delicious meal kits that you can buy online to help you out.
Quick List - Top Meal Kits
KooKit
A Customizable Meal Kit for Delicious and Healthy Home-Cooked Meals
Bad Bird
Enjoy Crispy and Juicy Fried Chicken With an Umami Taste
Samantha began her career in clinical nutrition and weight management at a tertiary hospital in Manila, Philippines. Her practice allowed her to give nutrition counseling and plan modified diets for patients with medical conditions. Presently, she does private practice to focus on true holistic wellness - an approach that believes in aligning one's mind, body, and spiritual well-being.
Our recommendation articles are carefully researched and crafted by the mybest Philippines team of writers and editors. To stay true to our company’s mission and vision to help users’ selection process easier, we also collaborate with experts from various fields to ensure that our content stays factual and useful.
The expert oversees the Buying Guide only, and does not determine the products and services featured.
Here are some key points to consider:
Health is always a priority; thus, you need to be careful with the ingredients of the food you eat, especially when buying a pre-made kit.
For those who have certain food allergies like peanut and seafood allergies, checking the ingredients should be done as a habit before buying any food to avoid the worst situations.
For those who are following a strict diet, checking the ingredients list and looking at the fine print is also important. There are some meal kits that are dairy-free, gluten-free, have diabetic-friendly ingredients, Halal, and so on. Be mindful of the expiration date as well!
If you’re new to buying meal kits, it is recommended for you to buy single packs as it helps you try new things and see which service works for you. It is also just enough for those days that you don’t have much time on your hands but still want a freshly cooked, homemade meal.
Meanwhile, bundles are perfect if you don’t have the time to prepare meals often because meal kit services usually offer a variety of dishes. They are also a good alternative if you want to prepare different meals for parties or get-togethers so that you can have time and energy to socialize with your family and friends.
Meal kits come differently, so they have different procedures to be cooked. For example, some meal kits require to be baked, which means you’ll need an oven. Make sure you have all the equipment needed before buying a meal kit.
Some meal kit sellers list the equipment needed in the packaging of it. If ever there’s no list included, you can ask the seller. Thinking ahead will help you a lot because you’ll be able to know what you’ll need. To do it, check its procedure so that you’ll be able to know what you’ll need in the process of cooking.
Also, take note that some meal kits do not come with oil, salt, and pepper as it is given that most, if not all, households already have these. So make sure that you have the additional ingredients ready as well.
Everyone surely misses dining out since quarantine. To satisfy your food cravings from a specific restaurant, considering getting ready to cook or meal kits from your favorite restaurants might help. It allows you to enjoy your desired meal without going to the actual restaurant.
One of the advantages of this is that you get to experiment and experience making your own version of the food from the restaurant out of the meal kit. Also, this is a fun activity that will surely get you out of boredom from staying at home!
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | KooKit 3-Dish Subscription Plan|Good for 1 Week | ![]() | A Customizable Meal Kit for Delicious and Healthy Home-Cooked Meals | |
2 | Ramen Nagi To-Go Butao King | ![]() | Savor a Bowl of Hearty Pork Ramen Noodles | |
3 | Persia Grill Beef Kebab Bundle | ![]() | Whip Up Some Extra Tasty Kebab Easily | |
4 | Bad Bird Umami Fried Chicken Cook At-Home Kit|6 Pcs | ![]() | Enjoy Crispy and Juicy Fried Chicken With an Umami Taste | |
5 | Pizza Express Original Pizza Making Kit | ![]() | A Pizza Making Kit Kids Can Enjoy | |
6 | Manam Lechon Kawali | ![]() | Crispy, Flavorful Lechon Kawali as a Main Course or Side Dish | |
7 | Zagana Sagyupsal Set | ![]() | A Kit to Recreate the Samgyupsal Experience At Home | |
8 | Din Tai Fung Shrimp & Pork Wonton | ![]() | Have a Bite of Rich-Tasting Pork and Shrimp Dim Sum | |
9 | Fearless Apron Reuben Sandwich Kit | ![]() | An Easy to Make Sandwich, Even for Beginners | |
10 | Shabu Shabu Set | ![]() | Quick and Easy Shabu-Shabu Set That Just Needs Water |
If you want to step up your game in the kitchen, KooKit Mnl ought to help you out. They are the country’s first food delivery service offering customizable meal kits. This means you can pick and choose the type of ulam you want, from staple Filipino meals to international cuisines, and they can even accommodate different dietary preferences.
Their kit uses locally-sourced ingredients that are carefully packaged to ensure freshness and zero waste through recyclable packaging. Moreover, it comes with recipe cards containing calorie counts and instructions that even beginners in the kitchen can easily follow.
Reviewers also noted that the quality of their meal kits is similar to what you’d eat at a restaurant! Their menu consists of 10 dishes, which they change every week, so you have a lot of options to choose from. Beginner in the kitchen or not, if you’re looking to eat healthy yet delicious home-cooked food, they’re definitely the ones to pick.
Given how thorough the preparation is, it is safe to say ramen is one of the few things we can’t prepare in a jiffy. If you’re craving ramen, Ramen Nagi now offers their best-selling Butao King frozen, so you can prepare it at home. Each order is good for two people, so you can share it with a partner or savor it by yourself!
This kit contains two portions of pork chashu, ramen noodles, vegetables, mushrooms, and their delectable tonkotsu soup, which reviewers note tastes just as good as what you’re eating in-store. Simply boil the soup and noodles, then assemble them. If you want the ultimate ramen feast, you could also order their equally delicious chicken karaage.
Who's up for Kebab? Persia Grill now offers one of their popular dishes, which is the Beef Kebab. This is the perfect food when you want to treat yourself, or you can also easily whip up a couple of these for sharing at family get-togethers.
The beef can be grilled using a metal skewer or fried just by using a pan. It is best served with grilled onions and tomatoes for the best kebab experience at home! If you want to switch it up a bit, you can try making kebab burgers!
Fried chicken is a well-loved food for us Filipinos, but it can sometimes be tricky to get the breading down pat. If you’re craving fried chicken, try Bad Bird’s Umami Fried Chicken Kit. This kit consists of a combination of the tastiest parts of the chicken - the thighs and legs for a crispy and juicy treat.
This is great for sharing with your family, whether it is for snacking, eating dinner, or even for get-togethers. Apart from the chicken, the kit also includes a batter and breading mix along with their seasoning powder, which they are known for. Now you can have crispy and umami chicken that’s seasoned just right.
We can all agree that everybody loves pizzas. Almost everybody is up for pizza, especially on days when you don’t have time to cook. But with Pizza Express’ Pizza Making Kit, you can now make your own pizzas at home. It is a great activity that can serve as bonding with your kids.
This kit already comes with pre-portioned ingredients such as tomato sauce, pizza dough, mozzarella cheese, and your topping of choice. You could choose from pepperoni, ham, bacon, mushroom, and more. Let your children experience the joy of creating and decorating their own pizzas!
Even cooking can sometimes take a backseat if we’re too busy. If you miss Filipino delicacies, Manam is the one for you! Their name came from the Filipino word malinamnam, and they prove their identity by serving people different kinds of Filipino dishes with a twist. Now, they offer ready-to-cook meals too!
One of their best dishes is their Lechon Kawali. It is perfect for lunch, dinner, and best as pulutan. It is easy to cook compared to other lechon kawali. Just heat cooking oil at medium heat for 20 minutes, fry the pork belly, and wait for it to turn into a golden brown color, which only takes 2-3 minutes per side!
Known for their farm-to-table approach, you can expect nothing but quality produce from Zagana. This samgyupsal set is ideal if you want to have samgyup nights at home. This set contains all you need to recreate the Korean barbecue experience.
This makes it perfect for those who have busy lifestyles as everything you need is found in one bundle. You have the main dish, which consists of beef samgyupsal, green ice lettuce to wrap the meat in, and even veggies for side dishes like potato marble and cucumber.
Din Tai Fung is known for their award-winning dim sum, and it met an immense amount of hype when it opened a branch here in the Philippines. And, now you can have an instant food trip without going outside your house by adding their famous Shrimp & Pork Wonton to your cart!
It comes with a sauce of your choice: soy sauce, spicy sauce, and sweet chili sauce. The wontons are wrapped perfectly in semi-thick and delicious wrappers. With every bite, you get to savor a rich taste of mixed pork and shrimps. These wontons can be cooked as steam or fried, depending on your preference.
If you’re into sandwiches, then you’ll surely appreciate Fearless Apron’s Reuben Sandwich Kit. It is very easy to prepare because it requires simple steps such as reheating and assembly, making it convenient for busy persons, beginners in the kitchen, or those who live in condos or dorms.
This kit contains rye bread and the Old Swiss Inn’s house-made corned beef, which is one of their bestsellers. Unlike canned corned beef, this one consists of hearty beef brisket chunks, so you’re sure to feel satisfied after every bite.
Shabu-shabu or hotpot is very delicious, but it can be tricky if you don't know how to make the sauce. This shabu-shabu set takes care of that for you because you only need to add hot water. With super quick and easy steps, you get to have the best shabu-shabu you can have without going out to rare restaurants that offer this kind of food.
The meal kit includes shabu-shabu mixed balls, mushroom meatballs, taro, enoki mushroom, Japanese shirataki noodles, pork bone soup base, and bullhead shabu-shabu sauce. These are individually packed, so you can pick out some of those that you don't like to include in the dish.
Below are some of the most asked questions on the web answered by the mybest team.
Generally, meal kits are healthier than eating takeout. For instance, there are some meal kits that promote lutong bahay type of ulam, complete with fresh meat and produce. However, there are also meal kits from restaurants or fast food establishments, which mostly involve fried food. If that is the case, then consume them moderately.
Although meal kits offer the convenience of having everything set up for you, it may be more expensive than buying groceries, especially if you are feeding your family. This is because meal kits are mostly designed for one or two persons, which means you’d have to double your purchase if you were to feed your entire family.
In contrast, if you were to buy meat, rice, or produce in bulk, you could stretch them out and create different dishes. Also, do note that sometimes, even if you have purchased a meal kit, you’d still have to go to the grocery store if the recipe calls for an ingredient that’s not in your pantry.
This would depend on the establishment offering the meal kit as well as the item you’re getting. For main dishes, it could cost Php 400 and up. But usually, you’ll find that meal kits cost less than if you were to eat out. This is because you’d be getting raw ingredients or at the very least prepped ingredients, which drives the price factor down.
We can't deny that there are times that we would need to prepare food quickly, especially now that we have merged office-related tasks in our homes. Not to mention, our experiences during typhoons have pushed us to store these foods in case of emergencies. Read through some of our articles below, and consider purchasing some of them.
10 Best Food Supplies for Emergencies in the Philippines 2022 | Buying Guide Reviewed by Nutritionist-Dietitian
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Author: Roel Pillas Malubay
Re-editor: J. Cuizon
Our buying guide was carefully researched and crafted by the mybest team of writers and editors, in collaboration with the expert featured in this article. We used the buying guide as a basis for choosing and ranking the product recommendations, and we looked at reviews and ratings from different E-commerce sites like Lazada, Shopee, and more.
No. 1: KooKit|3-Dish Subscription Plan|Good for 1 Week
No. 2: Ramen Nagi|To-Go Butao King
No. 3: Persia Grill|Beef Kebab Bundle
No. 4: Bad Bird|Umami Fried Chicken Cook At-Home Kit|6 Pcs
No. 5: Pizza Express|Original Pizza Making Kit
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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