instant noodle reviews

I've always loved instant noodles, and so this is my place to post reviews of any brands and flavours I can find!

[noodle-reviews]

Maggi saucy noodles sesame chicken taste

is what we got today! I saw these in Netto today and was like you know what, Maggi has a reputation for giving lots of flavour to food and I like sauce style noodles, so let's give these a shot.

The instructions say to add the powder before the water, so the water that cooks the noodles will turn into sauce as well, which is new to me. Very handy compared to the usual method where you have to drain them and retain a little water before adding the powder. You do have to stir it around after one minute and then let it sit for another four minutes, so it's not as simple as soup style noodles where you just pour and wait. It comes with two giant powder packets that turned out to contain the same kind of powder, so i wonder why there were two instead of one big one, but it's nbd. The powder smells like sesame oil and nothing else.

The noodles broke up a bit when I stirred them, since they were still crunchy after just one minute of steeping, so they'll be a bit cumbersome to eat. The sauce was already starting to thicken though which was cool to see. The smell has a lot more to it with the water added, nice and savoury.

The fully cooked texture is kinda gloopy, with a starchy sauce and soft but thankfully not mushy noodles. The taste is bland but not that bad. However, as I eat, the gloopiness gets the better of me and I don't wanna finish them.

Texture: 3/10

Flavour: 6/10

Packaging: 9/10 easy to use and recycle, weird with the two powder packets

Spice level: 0/10

Portion size: snack

[noodle-reviews]

I'm excited to try today's noodles! I've had them lying around for a while for this blog, and what's special about them is that they're organic. I've seen very few organic instant noodles, and as a proponent of sustainable agriculture I would love to see it spread to the "cheap junk" world that we all love.

what we've got is Perfect Earth tom yum flavour, a favourite flavour of mine for instant noodles. it looks like the noodles are made with brown rice, a first for me.

The instructions say to steep the noodles for five minutes and then cool for two minutes, which makes them pretty long-steeping for instant noodles. The bag is very sturdy and has no notches, there was no way to open it with my bare hands but the flavour packet did rip open pretty easily by hand. the noodles have a very unique look, shiny like a lot of vermicelli rice noodles are, but a golden brown. unfortunately as i pour the powder on, i am hit with a strong smell of artificial lemon, it smells like tart plastic and nothing else. Pouring water on improves the smell a little bit, but we'll see.

coming back to the noodles after the 5 minute steep, they look very nice. it looks like they've plumped up quite a bit and it looks like this might be one of the more filling types of instant noodles. interestingly, they've turned white as well. The taste of the noodles is of brown rice first and of lemony broth second. thankfully the flavour doesn't have the strong plastic aspect that the smell had. the noodles are really nice. slightly firm, almost springy, and the taste is very pleasant. the broth, though, barely leaves a taste on them. tasting the broth on its own, it really doesn't taste like much. it certainly doesn't taste like tom yum. it's like if lemonade was a warm savoury broth instead of a sweet cold drink. thin lemonade, too. it does have spice! i would call it a strong medium. for those who like spicy, it's a pleasant non-challenging level that warms your mouth. the three pieces of dried scallion weren't necessary, though. I feel like with freeze dried veggies you put them in or you don't. the money you spend half-assing it can be better spent improving the taste or lowering the price.

texture: 9/10

flavour: 4/10

packaging: 5/10

spice level: 6/10

portion size: hearty snack

[noodle-reviews]

Today we’ll have a look at Koka brand tomato flavour noodles. I realise I’ve been avoiding tomato flavour noodles out of childhood habit despite liking tomato in general, so it’s time to see what it’s all about.

Inside we have the noodles we know from Koka, along with one flavour packet with cute little tomatoes on it.

The smell as it steeps is so discreet that I forgot to evaluate it. The texture of the noodles is nice and pleasantly firm, but the taste is bland. The only taste I’m picking up is the taste of powdered tomato I know from other types of “just add water” tomato soup. However it’s not unpleasant and the noodles are easy to finish. I feel like the blandness could be a nice blank slate if you want to add a bunch of toppings and seasonings to your noodles. I actually don’t mind a bland bowl of noodles as long as they don’t taste bad.

Texture: 10/10

Flavour: 7/10

Packaging: 7/10 it could all be opened without scissors but it was messy

Portion size: small meal

[noodle-reviews]

Hi. Sorry about reblogging a bunch of irreleveant stuff here, I guess tumblr kept directing posts here from my main after I reblogged the pig post and I didn’t realise

[reallyabitch]

good morning everyone my pig stole a box of top ramen out of the pantry, ate 11 bags, then laid in the noodley carnage how are you all doing

[reallyabitch]

[reallyabitch]

omg i am getting a ton of comments and messages worrying if he’s okay so here’s an update:

he is totally fine! he tears the plastic open and ate only the noodles, didn’t touch the flavor packets either. then he slept it off all day. he actually went to the vet on monday for a check up and they said he is very healthy, just a little fat (150 pounds!)

Thank you all for your concern his royal highness is a-okay he just does what he wants

[reallyabitch]

his royal swineness……………..

[noodle-reviews]

This week we have King Pot Noodle chicken & mushroom flavour. Something about the design of the pot makes me expect lesser quality from the experience with its heavy vibe of “marketed for western supermarkets only” but I like chicken and mushroom flavour so let’s give it a whirl.

It’s the type of pot noodles that has the flavouring powder already mixed in, but it comes with a small packet of soy sauce that you’re supposed to mix in after cooking. The noodles are rather short so I might have to use a spoon to eat them.

The smell after cooking is very familiar, just like other chicken or mushroom flavoured noodles I’ve had in the past. Neither notably bad or good, just regular ol chicken and musroom smell.

The taste is the same, an initially nice mushroom flavour that neither offends or blows me away. I’m not really picking up on any chicken flavour though. Upon further inspection the noodles are vegetarian, which makes me wonder why they didn’t just market it as mushroom flavour instead of making a mediocre attempt at faking chicken. Vegetarian chicken flavour can be done, but this isn’t it. The taste noticeably relies heavily on MSG, which doesn’t bother me, but I find it notable that there’s enough of it that you can taste the MSG itself. Not least because it means the taste gets a little flat as you keep eating, since the other flavourings don’t have as much of a presence. The soup is thick and creamy in texture, and the noodles are nice and firm. It needs slightly longer steeping than advertised though, before the noodles are fully cooked. The corn kernels are a little stringy in texture and have a mild sweet taste. Overall these noodles are a bit bland as you work your way through the pot.

texture 9/10

taste 5/10

packaging 10/10 cup noodles are easy to open, and this one had a lid that was easy to reattach for steeping.

portion size: small meal

[noodle-reviews]

This time we’ve got some noodles I’ve had lying around for a while for this blog and I’m excited to try them! They’re Akuan brand black duck flavoured noodles according to the sticker on the back. These are sauce style rather than soup style, and the ingredients have me expecting vibrant chinese flavours.

As with many sauce style noodles, they have one huge flavour packet containing the sauce. The noodles themselves are flat and smell like they have some flavouring of their own.

The sauce itself has a sweet, meaty, fragrant smell that I like. The taste is complex and nice, with a strong presence of sichuan pepper. the noodle texture is hard to discern because they’re so thin, but they seem soft with a slight bite to them. The sichuan maintains its punch as I eat, and it’s kind of an “eat through the spice” scenario, which honestly I like. I’m also coming down with a cold at the moment and it’s giving my throat a nice singe that I think will do me good. Overall really lovely if you like sichuan pepper.

Texture 9/10

Taste 9/10

Spice level 7/10

Packaging 10/10 everything could be opened without scissors

Portion size: snack

[noodle-reviews]

Today we have Knorr brand noodles with cheese and herbs flavour, which is new to me in noodles. Sounds like liquid mac n cheese, but let’s find out!

They have one single huge flavour packet, which is natural with a cheese flavour noodle as there’s bound to be a bunch of cheese powder in there. The noodles look run of the mill for a small packet of cheap instant noodles, thin and slightly cracky. They’re unevenly spaced, which is a worry for even cooking.

The scent as they steep is mild and cheesy, but the noodles are sticking together in sheets and have to be separated with chopsticks to make sure they cook properly. The taste is satisfyingly cheesy but a bit too salty, with noodles that are grainy but otherwise pleasant in texture. There’s somehow a slight staleness to the flavour when you keep eating, which you kinda have to get past. I don’t have to force it down, but I also didn’t enjoy finishing the bowl, and I left most of the soup. A few minutes after eating them, I notice a weird dry feeling on my tongue and a plastic-y aftertaste. When I want something quick and cheesy in the future, I think I’ll stick to spaghetti with grated cheese.

Texture 6/10 Taste 4/10 Packaging 9/10 I could open it without scissors but it weirdly opened in the middle instead of the side, which is impractical Portion size: snack

[noodle-reviews]

Today I’ll be trying these Koka brand noodles with laksa flavour. I’m familiar with the brand but I’ve never seen them with this flavour before, so I’m excited to see how it’s gonna be, as well as how far the “spicy” label is gonna take us. They’re also whole grain, which is rare.

On first impression the noodles are very densely packed and shiny which has been a bad sign in the past, and I wonder how evenly they’re gonna cook and how the texture will be. The flavourings are divided between three decently sized packages, which is promising but of course not a guarantee of good flavour.

As the noodles cook, they have a strong scent of seafood and cilantro, which is also promising, as I don’t often get the cilantro taste in instant noodles. The taste is very similar to the smell, but less fishy and not as full as I’d hoped. I stand corrected on the texture of the noodles though, they’re thin but have a lovely bite to them. Other whole grain noodles I’ve tried have been really gritty, but that’s not the case here. In honesty I can’t even tell that they’re whole grain. While a little watery, the soup tastes nice and has a pleasant heat to it. I’d call it medium spicy. The taste is savoury with a sweetness that reminds me of shellfish, and there’s that hint of cilantro.

Overall not bad, but I don’t know if I’d get them again.

Texture 9/10

Taste 7/10

Packaging 8/10 The spice and oil packets could be torn open with your hands but the noodle package itself had to be cut open with scissors

Portion size: small meal