Review: Mr. Kon is one of the premium chinese brands of instant noodles. The packaging is excellent made with thick foil and the vibrant design on the front assures a tasty meal. This packet contains 3 sachets; chilli, dried vegetables/seasoning and paste. The appearence of the noodles before cooking is very nice. It is presented in a round shape and will nicely fit a small saucepan perfectly.
The taste is delicious. The hot pepper and chilli combine to provide a satisfying aroma and the noodles absorb the flavours quite well. If a minimum amount of water is used to cook these, the resultant broth is very strong in taste but it is more peppery than chilli in flavour. The noodles are springy in nature and the portion size is reasonable.
Cost: £0.65
Ingredients: Noodle: Wheat flour, palm oil, starch, salt, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, carrot extract powder. Powder Soup: Salt, monosodium glutamate, spices. Vegetable soup: Dried vegetables, chilli
Rating: 7.5/10
Filed under: Uncategorized
Hello there friends,
I have not made a post in a couple of years and I was suprised to see the statistics for the site have remained consistantly good. This has provided me with motivation to continue the site and update it regularly.
When I first started the blog, I was restricted to cooking noodles only in prepackaged bowls, but now I am able to review packets, which is what instant noodles are really all about. I hope that you continue to view my site, and enjoy the reviews. Don’t be afraid to leave a comment.
Regards,
RamenReviewer
PS: I will no longer be providing nutritional information as it is too time consuming.
Review: This is the first rice noodle of the series, and the first ramen from Thailand. First impressions are not so good. Plastic bowl with two sachets, which incidentally were placed under the noodles, so the lid had to be peeled all the way off. The basil leaves do give off a nice sweet aroma, however the flavouring paste was almost like a solid as opposed to liquid form. Both sachets had no easy-open-mechanism and had to be cut open with scissors. Also note the strange figures in the nutrition information.
The broth has an extremely strong salty flavour. With 3.2 grams of sodium in the soup it is almost like drinking salt water. Hence, I’d recommend using only half of the flavouring sachet. The spices are well integrated, and give off an aromatic scent reminiscent of restaurant quality. The noodles did not cook fully after 5 minutes, which is disappointing, as I’m a fan of rice noodles. The flavour stays on your lips for at least five minutes after drinking the broth. The strength of the broth was far too intense for my palate, and this is the first soup I have not finished drinking so far.
Cost: $0.80
Ingredients: Rice Stick: Rice Flour 99%, Water 1% Soup Mix: Onion 35%, Soya Bean Oil 14.5%, Garlic 13%, Salt 12%, MSG 8.5%, Sugar 6.5%, Soy Sauce Powder 2%, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein 2%, Ginger 1.5%, Beef Artificial Flavour 1.5%, Cinnamon 1%, Spices 0.5%, Chilli 0.5%, Citric Acid 0.2%, Water 0.8%
Rating: 4.0/10
Review: Paldo employ a good quality rectangular polystyrene container with resealable plastic lid which provides a good cooking environment. It is worth noting that the container doesn’t burn your hands when carrying it after it is filled with boiling water. A nice selection of dried vegetables and flakes and a good serve of seasoning powder is provided. The noodle cake is a good size for a bowl-ready ramen. The broth has a spicy kick to it, however it isn’t overpowering and balances the meaty flavour perfectly. The noodles were well cooked after five minutes and absorbed the soup flavour allowing an enjoyable eating experience. The textured vegetable pieces were chewy and enjoyable, reminiscent of textured soy. However, they didn’t hold much flavour. Overall a very well balanced box noodle soup, for a very reasonable price.
Cost: $0.99
Ingredients: Noodle: Wheat flour, Palm oil, Salt, Modified Potato Starch, Onion Paste Soup: Red Pepper, Soy Sauce powder (Soy bean,Salt,Water) Monosodium Glutamate, Bean Powder. Vegetable flake, Textured vegetable, Pork flavour, BBQ seasoning.
Rating: 7.0/10
Review: Nissin Japan like to confuse the foreigners by having odd ingredients in the front picture of the package. This salt flavour has prawn and asparagus in the bowl on the main picture, but the soup is salt flavoured with noticable chicken overtones. It is a welcome relief to go back to the Japanese version of the Nissin ramen after sampling the Hong Kong ones. This ramen has two sachets, containing the soup base and a seasoning oil. Sesame seeds also make a small appearance, however there are no dried vegetable flakes. The broth is clear and yellow, with a low odour, while the noodles glisten with their coating of the seasoning oil. This leads to a nice presentation of the ramen.
Nissin do a great job with this ramen, and it helps that their noodles are so delicious, and hold the flavour extremely well. The broth is flavoursome, with a hint of pepper and an almost non-existent aftertaste. Even though it is labelled as a salt flavour, the sodium content is reasonable, and not too strong. Although it is a nice ramen, it is not worth buying when overseas due to the high cost and relative similarity with the plethora of other cheaper chicken flavoured noodles.
Cost: $2.00
Ingredients: In Japanese, sorry. 😦
Rating: 6.5/10
Review: An opaque milky yellow broth frames the Tonkatsu (Pork) flavoured ramen very nicely. The inclusion of sesame seeds is a nice touch, and the aroma of the broth is quite pleasant. Although I was a bit critical of the Hong Kong Nissin noodles in the previous review, they seem to have fluffed up nicely this time, which could indicate a slight undercook in the sesame/chicken review. Two sachets are included again, the soup base, and a seasoning sauce.
The pork flavour combined with chicken is extremely complementary. It is a very filling broth, and by utilising a slight overcook on the noodles, they are able to absorb the flavour quite well. The soup is a perfect balance of strength and weakness, and has a pleasant aftertaste. Add some shredded pork or chicken to the broth, and Nissin’s tonkatsu flavour would be worthy of a low-budget Asian restaurant. However, a noticeable lack of dried vegetables is still a problem.
Cost: $0.70
Ingredients: Noodles: Wheat Flour (73%), Palm Oil (Contains Antioxidant 306), Tapioca Starch, Salt, Mineral Salts (501,500) Soup Base: Salt, Dry Whole Milk, Pork Flavouring (Contains Corn Starch), Sesame Seeds, Flavour Enhancers (621,627,631), White Sugar, Garlic Powder, Chicken Flavouring (Contains Corn Starch), Dehydrated Green Onion , Soy Sauce Powder (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt, Dextrin), Hydrolysed Plant (Corn, Soy, Wheat) Protein Seasoning Sauce: Sesame Oil, Pork Flavouring, Soy Sauce, (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Vegetable Oil (Palm, Rice, Antioxidant 306), Cooking Wine, White Sugar, Flavour Enhancers (621), Salt.
Rating: 7/10
Review: These Nissin ramen are licensed by Nissin Japan, and while the quality is good, it doesn’t compare to the original. The noodle cake looks a lot different with thinner strands, but the bonus of having two sachets; one containing regular seasoning and the other sesame oil, tries to make up for it. Once the sesame oil hits the boiling water, a strong scent emanates from the pot. Having sesame as a main flavour is a unique and works well.
The noodles are definitely not up to par when compared to Nissin Japan. The thinner strands mean that not as much flavour can be absorbed into them, hence they don’t carry much taste. The broth consists of a strong sesame flavour with high soy overtones, it didn’t seem as though the chicken powder was strong enough and was drowned out by the previous two ingredients. I also would expect more dried vegetables, as there is very little green onion flakes in the soup base. Overall it is a quality ramen, however there are far better choices in the market.
Cost: $0.70
Ingredients: Noodles: Wheat Flour (73%), Palm Oil (Contains Antioxidant 306), Salt, Mineral Salts (501,500) Soup Base: Salt, Soy Sauce Powder (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt, Dextrin), White Sugar, Flavour Enhancers (621,627,631), Chicken Flavouring (Contains Egg Powder), Colour (150a), Hydrolysed Plant (Corn, Soy, Wheat) Protein, Spices, Garlic Powder, Dehydrated Green Onion, Food Acid (330) Seasoning Oil: Sesame Oil (1%), Rice Oil, Colour (160b), Spices.
Rating: 6.5/10
Review: Toyo Suisan have bucked the trend and gone for a flat based noodle, which is a welcome relief from the monotony of the round noodle. The cake size was generous, and it is packaged with one seasoning sachet. The seasoning consists of curry powder and flavouring together with a sprinkling of dried spring onion. As soon as the seasoning hits the boiling water, the aromatic essence of curry taps upon the sense of smell with a full force, however it is not unpleasant. Toyo Suisan recommends a noodle cooking time of five minutes, however I feel this is too long and three minutes into the boil you should add the flavouring and let it simmer for another minute, allowing the seasoning to permeate the noodles.
Curry has always been high on my list of good instant noodle flavours, and Toyo Suisan doesn’t disappoint. The flavour is strong, but not overbearing. The noodles were very good, although it must be said that the difference between a good and bad noodle usually comes down to cooking it to perfection, as 30 seconds too long or too short can make a lot of difference. The broth was well balanced and the flavour kept it’s strength throughout the drinking experience.
Cost: $2.00
Ingredients: In Japanese, sorry. 😦
Rating: 7.5/10
Review: Upon opening the package, the first thing which struck me about this ramen was that the noodle cake had managed to completely stay in one piece all the way from the factory in Japan to my home in Australia. The second thing which bamboozled me was how I’m going to write a review when there is no English on the package. The noodle cake itself was a good size (120mm x 100mm) and it’s packaged with two sachets. The first was an average flavouring sachet and the second was in liquid form, which I presumed to be a combination of some type of oil, combined with soya sauce. The only thing I feel this ramen was missing was some form of dried vegetables.After cooking the ramen for the recommended 3 minutes, I poured it into my bowl and was a bit shocked at how much broth there was. I had cooked it according to the directions, and for the first few sips I thought that I had used too much water as the flavour was quite subtle.I decided instead to plow into the noodles. The quality exibited by Nissin’s noodles is outstanding. Quite simply the best tasting noodles I have ever experienced. They were extremely soft, without being overcooked and mushy. After I had finished the noodles, I proceeded to drink the broth, and was surprised as the flavour seemed quite stronger than previously. While the broth wasn’t overpowering, in retrospect it wasn’t too weak either. Hence Nissin have finely balanced between the two extremely to produce a well satisfying soup.
Cost: $2.00
Ingredients: In Japanese, sorry. 😦
Rating: 8.0/10
Filed under: Australia, Trident | Tags: australian, chicken, packaging, salty
Review: Upon first impressions, this bowl noodle soup is a bit disappointing. The paper lid tore upon opening, unlike the Nong Shim brand which was paper with a foil layer underneath. A plastic fork is included, but given its size (105mm with 25mm prongs) they really shouldn’t bother, as it is too little to be of any use. The single flavour sachet contains both the seasoning and dried vegetables. The texturised soya pieces give the noodles a much needed visual benefit as they really look like chicken. After sitting for the recommended three minutes, the noodles and soup give off no smell apart from the polystyrene container.
Trident are relatively new on the instant noodle scene compared to many of the well known Asian brands. This however is no real excuse, as the flavour is merely ‘ordinary’. Although the company is Australian owned, the product is produced in China from both Australian and international ingredients.
After cooking, the noodles had absorbed little of the flavour, but they did fluff up nicely after five minutes. The broth itself did have a chicken flavour however this was overpowered by the high level of salt. It is also worth noting that the broth has a lengthy aftertaste.
Cost: $1.04
Ingredients: Noodles 88% Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil, Water, Salt, Potato Starch, Wheat Gluten Flavour Sachet 12% Salt, Dehydrated Vegetables (23%) (Texurised Soya Pieces Carrot Spring Onion), Flavour Enhancers (621, 631), Sugar, Soy Sauce Powder (Soya Bean, Salt, Maltrodextrin, Water), Turmeric Powder, Spices.
Rating: 3.5/10
Ramen Reviews 