Now, ten months later, the rebranding exercise is completed and the name ‘Tesco’ will forever be etched in our memory.

But having said that, fans of Tesco have nothing to be worried about, though, because despite the name change, the prices of items and the quality of their products will never change.

According to Lotus’s, they are committed to maintaining the selling price on a majority of their products as well as constantly innovating to provide the best delights to their loyal customers.

To do that, Lotus’s has introduced their extensive range of ‘Own Brand’ products.

Ranging from household items to self-care products to yummy food items, Lotus’s ‘Own Brand’ goods aim to provide Malaysians with a cheaper alternative but not sacrificing on quality. In fact, Lotus’s claims that their ‘Own Brand’ products are of the same quality, if not better, than those you can find in Tesco!

And here’s the best part: their prices did not change although the quality of some of their products did for the better.

Better, high quality products but at the same low price? One thousand times yes, please!

We try them out!

Now, we know what you’re thinking, “Sure or not? Why Lotus’s so nice give us quality products but the prices still cheap?”

So, to put Lotus’s claims to the test, we at Rojak Daily decided to make our way to the nearest Lotus’s outlet and pick up a few of their ‘Own Brand’ food items because, well, we love to eat.

To do this, we picked up five food items that we Malaysians would usually eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and of course, an afternoon snack; so, you’ll see items from coffee to potato chips to pizza.

Are they worth the price? Are they of good quality? And most importantly, how do they taste?

Here’s our mini review:

1) Lotus’s Rich 3-in-1 Coffee

Price: RM7.99 Lotus’s offers several types of 3-in-1 flavours under their ‘Own Brand’, but we decided to go with the Rich one because, well, we love our coffee ‘kaw’. The first thing that hits you is its aroma, which is fragrant and smells really, really nice. It definitely has the aroma that makes you want to wake up and smell the coffee.

As for the taste, it does its job. Personally, we expected it to be a little bit more ‘kaw’, considering it was supposed to be rich. Also, it was a bit too sweet for our liking as well. However, if you love your coffee with a strong aroma and a tinge of sweetness, you’ll love this one. The aroma itself is worth the RM7.99 you pay for the packet of 25 sachets.

2) Lotus's Instant Noodle Asam Laksa Flavour

Price: RM3.99 Just like their premixed coffee, their instant noodles come in many different flavours, and just like the coffee, we’ve decided to pick the Asam Laksa flavour because 1) this writer loves asam laksa and 2) we would love to see how it compares to a bowl of authentic asam laksa.

And boy, it compares really well. The asam laksa broth is really fragrant, and it is so rich in flavour, we’re impressed. We loved the tanginess of the broth, which also has a slight ‘pedas’-ness to it. The noodles were springy and chewy - just the way we like it.

Being a lover of asam laksa, we’ve tried our fair share of asam laksa-flavoured instant noodles, and we have no problems putting Lotus’s near the top of the list. This is the good stuff, guys.

3) Lotus's Ridge Cut BBQ Flavoured Potato Chips

Price: RM1.99 Now, on to the potato chips - our teatime snack of choice. We opted for their BBQ flavour because, well, we love barbecue, ahem.

We like that it has a hint of smoked BBQ flavour on the chips, so it wasn’t too overpowering and you could still taste the flavour of the potato. It kinda reminds us of the same BBQ sauce ‘em fancy restaurants use on a rack of lamb, so that’s a win. The chips are pretty light, airy and incredibly crunchy, making it the perfect afternoon snack. We had no problems finishing the entire packet in one sitting - and then wishing we didn’t, because we had to go out and buy another packet again.

4) ​​Lotus's Chicken Lasagne 280g

Price: RM6.99 The next item that caught our eye was the Lotus’s Chicken Lasagne. Their lasagne is made up of a couple layers of different types of cheeses, tomato sauce and minced chicken - classic lasagne ingredients, if you will.

The first thing that hit our tongue was the tomato sauce, as the taste is strong and rich. The layers of cheese have the right amount of creaminess to it – and yes, it’s cheesy as well – so if you’re a fan of cheese, you’ll love this. The minced chicken meat was seasoned and marinated really well with the tomato sauce.

We like how the tomato sauce wasn’t too overpowering, so that we can taste just how well-seasoned the minced chicken meat is. However, we did find the meat to be slightly dry at certain parts. Overall, the Lotus’s Chicken Lasagne will fill your tummy right up, so it’s a pretty good alternative for a lunch time or dinner time meal.

5) Lotus's Seafood Pizza 320g

Price: RM9.99 Now, what’s a party without pizza, right? Further down the aisle, we spotted their instant pizza selection, and they have a lot of them! We decided to pick up their seafood pizza.

The moment we took it out from the oven, we got a whiff of the pizza, and it smells pretty good. You’ll find a generous amount of prawns and crab-flavoured filament sticks on the pizza, so that’s a win for us. The crust is not really thick, but it still feels quite doughy.

The tomato base is on the lighter side, so the taste kinda got blanketed by the layer of mozzarella cheese. Although the portion may not look very big, it still managed to fill us up to the brim. Overall, if you have a pizza craving but you don’t feel like spending a bomb on it, Lotus’s pizza selections will definitely do the trick.

Verdict:

There you go, guys; our mini review of some of Lotus’s ‘Own Brand’ food items.

In total, we spent just over RM30.95 for five food items at Lotus’s, which is pretty incredible, if you ask us.

A majority of the food items, we feel, hit the mark as they were affordable yet of high quality. Of course, you can’t compare them to restaurant-quality food lah, but you aren’t paying just RM9.99 for a pizza either.

If you want to fill your tummy but you’re not willing to splurge that much, Lotus’s ‘Own Brand’ products are good alternatives.

So, did Lotus’s keep to their promise of improving the quality of their items while maintaining the selling price?

We would say yes, they definitely did.

(Disclaimer: the prices of some of the items may vary or change from time to time)