We've reached that time of year where beige leftover buffet food is practically spilling out of our fridges, and I don't know about you, but I'm about 90% 'picky bits' at the moment. However, it's not time to say goodbye to buffet food just yet, with New Year's Eve just around the corner, I wanted to put some buffet essentials to the test.
For years there's been a bit of a rivalry between M&S and Aldi food, like the Colin the Caterpillar row as a prime example. I'm a massive fan of Aldi and its ability to offer quality without the price, but let's be honest, you can't beat Marks & Spencer as a treat now and then.
To me, M&S is always considered a luxurious option, so I had really high hopes for its buffet food offering. I visited my local Food Hall on the Croft Retail Park in Bromborough and picked out what was left, which was on offer at four for the price of three.
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Marks & Spencer offer a 4 for 3 deal on buffet food, so I went for the Penguin Bao Buns (which I ended up freezing) the Prawn Toast, the Coquille St Jacques and the Onion Bhaji Chicken Bites.
In total, my bill came to £22.50 - which I didn't think was too bad for the amount I got, but it definitely would've been cheaper from a frozen section from somewhere like Asda. Separately, the products all cost £7.50 each with the Bhaji Bites priced at a slightly cheaper £5.50, so it definitely makes sense to make the most of the deal.
For my Aldi buffet, I went for the Mini Pies, the Korean Style Chicken Sliders and the Mini Beef Wellingtons. For the three items, my bill came to £9.97, and although they didn't offer a deal as such, the individual prices for the products were around £3/4 each which was a fair bit cheaper than the M&S selection.
But how did the quality of the buffet food compare?
M&S Collection Mini Coquille St Jacques - £7.50
This was definitely one of my favourite buffet food options out of all of them, as it tasted so luxurious and creamy. On the M&S website, the full product description reads: "Tender, responsibly sourced scallops bathed in a creamy white wine sauce, topped with vintage mature cheddar and a crunchy parsley crumb."
Even my partner loved these, which was pretty shocking because he can be really fussy. The party food felt extra special, and reminded me of dining out at a posh restaurant.
For £7..50, I didn't think the price was too bad at all considering you get ten. The scallops were a good size and gloriously tasty.
You can check out the full product here on the M&S website.
M&S Collection Penguin and Polar Bear Steamed Buns - £7.50
Filled with crisp vegetables in a rich hoisin plum sauce, I loved the look of these adorable steamed buns. I didn't end up trying these, and have frozen them for a later date, but I wanted to make the most of the deal.
The steamed buns are vegan, vegetarian and freezable and would make an adorable addition to your New Year buffet. You can check out the full product here on the M&S website.
M&S Onion Bhaji Bites - £5.50
These were a second favourite for me, purely because of the very moreish taste. I absolutely love onion bhajis, and to combine them with chicken is basically my dream.
The bhaji bites were crispy on the outside, yet tender and juicy on the inside, and had a lot of flavour. The onion flavour wasn't too overpowering, and didn't take away the main event of the chicken.
They came with a tikka sauce which I heated up in the microwave. To be honest, the bhaji bites didn't really need the sauce in my opinion, as they were tasty enough on their own.
The chicken bites currently aren't being displayed on the M&S website but you might be able to find them at your local store if you're lucky. Find out local store here.
M&S Our Best Ever Prawn Toast - £7.50
Without sounding too dramatic, this prawn toast was to die for. It was the perfect size, it wasn't greasy, and it was bursting with flavour. I'm a bit of a prawn toast fiend so I absolutely knew I was going to love this, but it had a bit of a 'premium' feel about it, as opposed to prawn toast from your local Chinese.
It came with a delicious sweet chilli sauce that really complimented the prawn toast, which had a good crunch to it. It was juicy on the inside and just enough sesame seeds on top.
The ginger really came through which gave it a 'fresh' taste. I was obsessed.
On the M&S website, the full product description reads: "This is not just prawn toast. This is Our Best Ever Prawn Toast, because we use responsibly sourced aromatic black tiger prawns, handmade with the perfect blend of fresh spring onions, warming ginger and crispy toasted sesame seeds. Served with sweet-sour citrus ponzu dipping sauce."
You can check out the full product here on the M&S website.
Aldi Specially Selected British Steak & Ale And British Chicken & Bacon Mini Pies - £2.99 (currently on offer for £2.49 at the time of writing)
I didn't think I'd love these pies as much as I did, but they were so tasty. My favourite flavour was the chicken and bacon which were super creamy.
I loved the size of these pies, and I particularly enjoyed the pasty which was crispy on top yet fluffy surrounding the filling. Considering this party food selection is literally just a bunch of pies, it still had that extra special feel to it.
For the price, I was really impressed with the quality. My husband wasn't as bothered about the pies as I was, but I loved them!
You can check out the full product here on the Aldi website.
Aldi Specially Selected Korean Style Chicken Sliders - £3.99
Warning - avoid these if you're not a massive fan of spicy foods. These chicken sliders had a real kick to them, but they were generally quite tasty nonetheless.
My only criticism would be that the buns were quite hard after cooking. They would've been much better if they were a little softer.
I'd say this one was my least favourite, but only because I think the spice overpowered the actual chicken taste. Of course, it's all subject to opinion.
You can check out the full product here on the Aldi website.
Aldi Specially Selected Mini Beef Wellingtons - £2.99
These were definitely my favourite out of the Aldi options, despite them being a little messy to put in the oven. When taking the mini wellingtons out of the pack we found that the pastry kept crumbling off, so it lost its wellington shape.
However, once they'd been in the oven they rose significantly to create a gorgeously soft and fluffy mini beef wellington. We added some salt onto the top of our pastry and it was absolutely delicious.
The beef chunks were tender and the wellingtons were very moreish. For the price, I'd definitely recommend these.
You can check out the full product here on the Aldi website.
The verdict
I'm not even just saying this, it was generally such a close call. Both party food options were extremely delicious, with Aldi beating M&S in some ways, and M&S beating Aldi in others.
For the price, I do think that the Aldi party food was an absolute steal, and not to be sniffed at. However, for me, M&S will always be an absolute treat, and with the party food deal, it's definitely worth taking advantage of.
I'll always be loyal to Aldi because it's my big shop supermarket of choice, but for a special occasion with that exquisite prawn toast, Marks & Spencer's is my winner.
It offered luxurious quality that you can have in the comfort of your own home. You can view the M&S party food selection here.
