Simply Asia noodle bowl, sesame teriyaki

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Okay, ramen. Honestly I don't think today's noodly treat is actually ramen, causing me to once again think about switching to VaguelyAsianInstantNoodleProducts.blogspot.com. What can I say? I'm running out of options.


(TECH NOTE: Due to a computer malfunction, commonly called "they're all taken," I had to take this picture using my laptop. I was unaware of how much better the cameras are on the new iMacs than on MacBooks. See? I'm capable of blogging about other topics. It's just much more boring.)

Whilst at the store, I made a few observations about this instant noodle product. Firstly, I noticed it wasn't expired. It had a long way to go, actually- over a year! This either means it sells more or the company is willing to let it sit around longer. Either way, not expired is always reassuring. My second observation was that the product had a mass of a whopping 8.5 ounces. The typical ramen is about 3! That is a lot of food. However, this sudden tripling in mass may be explained away by this not being ramen. A third observation came in the discovery of the tiny red text on the side proclaiming this product vegan. While my experiences with vegan foodstuffs other than salad and the like have been generally negative, this didn't seem too bad. I don't really know where there could be animal products in something like this, seeing whereas it's not meat flavored. The only thing I can think of is processed sugar, which doesn't seem very necessary. Then again, I don't know much about veganism.

When it came time to eat a tasty lunch, I removed the cardboard outer to find a plastic bowl wrapped in plastic wrap. I undid the plastic wrap, took the lid off of the bowl, and found four more plastic packets inside, along with a plastic fork. The sheer amount of plastic involved clearly outweighs the environmental benefits of the vegan contents. It was also a hassle- the plastic wrap itself needed scissors to remove and it didn't get any easier from there. Once I was done with all that nonsense, I had to follow the very specific directions about what order to dump packets into the bowl, which wasn't a big deal until it called for two tablespoons of water. I have water, but I do not have a reliable way to measure its volume, so I just dumped in an indeterminate amount. The product gives the impression of easiness, especially with the fork, but it's nearly impossible to open and cook precisely without additional tools! And how much of that 8.5 ounce mass is plastic, anyway? >=(

On the plus side, it only had to be microwaved for two minutes due to the noodles being precooked. They came apart fairly easily once hot, which is always a good thing. It stirred easily with the seasoning distributing well, and after a few minutes all the liquid had been soaked up. All well so far.

The end product was too sweet. I don't like my teriyaki sauce overwhelmingly sweet. The "vegetables" consisted of dry pepper flakes (at least I think that's what they were) which had the all too common problem of not absorbing any water, leading to tough flakes with textures that clash with those of the noodles. Also in this instant noodle product was "sesame topping," a fancy term for a packet of sesame seeds. I decided to forgo the "topping" aspect and just stir it in. This really freaked me out. The thick noodles with the tiny dots clinging to them reminded me too much of octopus tentacles! While I'm not as bothered by octopi as badly as some people I know, the thought of the feel of those suction cups against my tongue is not a pleasant one to say the least. I'm getting the chills just thinking about it. Ugh.

Pros: Fork! Vegan?
Cons: Plastic! Sweet! Octopi?
Final score: 1.5/5