1.) EZ-Choice

B29 at 7-Eleven
Perhaps not surprisingly, our winner was the only contender that was fresh, proving (yet again) that freezing and thawing diminishes flavor.Although this one is a touch dry, it has a nice combination of sweetness, spiciness, herbs and garlic. Plus the rice is fluffy and aromatic. Compared to the other contenders, which were largely too one-dimensional in flavor, this one was strongest in terms of authenticity and execution.

2.) EZ-Go

B39 at 7-Eleven
Fresh or not, 7-Eleven is clearly on to something as even their frozen option was enjoyed by the tasting panel. There were a number of things we didn’t like about it, though: it took forever to heat up, the texture of the chicken was gristle-heavy and the purists on our panel were weirded out by the addition of kaffir lime leaves in this krapao dish, which made it taste slightly like hor mok. Still, if you forgive the creative license in this dish, it was pretty delicious. It also comes with a fried egg, and it’s the second-cheapest option in our roundup.

3.) CP

B65 at Tops
Very pretty to look at with a nice, dark color, but alas the pleasantness stops there. There’s no exciting aroma, and the chicken itself is extremely spongy. As for the flavor, it’s overwhelmingly one-dimensional, with lots of heat, lots of garlic but no herbs to speak of. The only saving grace is the aromatic rice, but that’s really it.

4.) Pranpai

B59 at Tops
Pretty disappointing on all fronts: a small portion and a sickly look don’t create a good impression, nor does the small pool of broth at the bottom after you microwave it—we like a thick almost gravy-like sauce. The aroma is lacking, too, as is any discernable flavor of herbs or garlic. Oh, and the chicken is spongy. Bleh. It comes with an omelet, but we didn’t consider it in our tasting.

5.) S&P

B65 at Tops
If you like your krapao a bit sweet and not very spicy, you’ll like this one. The dish looks pretty, with pale chicken and red peppers. Once you eat it, however, there is a touch of coconut cream, which is pretty odd, but does give the dish a nice texture, even if it does taste a bit like Penang curry. There’s a slight wilted-herb aftertaste, but that’s to be expected, considering the dish is thawed out from a deep freeze.