Nong Shim Chapagetti

I apologize up front for the many poorly-taken photos in this entry. I am not good with Photo Booth.

Today's ramen is another one of those Probably Not Actually Ramen type deals. I saw it at Meijer and figured that since it wasn't udon I could review it. Right? Right. I didn't have any idea what it was, so I Googled it. You can also do this, using the handy ramen-themed Google box at the bottom of the page!



I'm going to be a bad person here and not cite my sources, but apparently people are- in general- unpleased with this product. It's a Korean black bean-type foodstuff that is uncharacteristically bad in comparison to what the company normally puts out. I trudged on anyway.

Here are the directions. Since this picture is blurry, I will translate.

Microwave directions:
1. Add vegetable mix into a microwaveable bowl, then add noodles on top. Put 17 1/2 fl oz. of water.

I've never seen anything before that had me boiling the veggies with the noodles, but I was willing to try. I opened the package.

This is a particularly bad photo. I'm sorry:

You might not be able to tell, but those noodles are really thick and the (round!) brick isn't very flat. Oh boy. I wasn't sure if this said anything about quality control or if I was just looking to place blame where there wasn't any.

I put the vegetables into my trusty Microwave-Safe Faux-Tupperware Bowl, put the disk on top of it, and dumped the contents of my water bottle (about 17.5 oz) on it. The water came almost all the way to the top of the bowl. I knew this was a bad idea going in, but for some reason I proceeded to Step 2.
2. Place a microwaveable cover on the bowl. Cook for 8 minutes. If you use hot water, cook for 5 minutes.
I placed the cover on (thinking to myself how weird it would be to have a microwaveable bowl with a non-microwaveable lid) and secured it halfway, making sure not to make any of the water gush out. I then put it in the microwave for 8(!) minutes.

I got really hungry about halfway through and started eating Cheetos.

After the grueling eight minutes, I opened up the microwave to find (predictably) a flood. I grabbed some paper towel out of the bathroom, and then had to go get more, and ended up taking the turntable out and just dumping it out over the trash can. It was a mess, and if I wasn't careful, I would burn myself. That is one of my least favorite kinds of messes! On the plus side, it smelled pretty good, and from rather far away- I could smell it when I was only halfway back from the bathroom. I would've rather been eating it, but it wasn't TOO unfortunate.

3. Drain water completely. Add 3 tablespoons of water, soup base, vegetable oil. Mix well and serve.
So then it was to the sink to drain what water was left in the bowl (there wasn't much.) The sink is in a lounge that isn't exactly meant for me- it's for people who technically aren't higher ranking, but everyone knows they are. So when I went in and it smelled like delicious cake that was not meant for me, I was disappointed. I love cake. =(

I then went back to my own office and realized I didn't have three tablespoons of water. Another trip out. That made four. I was losing my patience by then. I just dumped water in because who carries measuring spoons on them? Then I dumped in the soup base- oddly named because Chapagetti isn't a soup- and the slimy little packet of vegetable oil. I stirred and stirred and it took forever to make even. It smelled good, looked fine, and I was ready to eat.



I took a bite, and... ew. It was not pleasant. I couldn't figure out what it tasted like- I didn't really taste black beans- it just wasn't pleasant. I poked at it for a while, determined not to waste my $1.29, and then eventually gave up and went and got something else. People know I don't like wasting money- that's why I eat ramen (well, that and for the sake of the blog)- so for this to happen, it had to have been bad. I wish I could be more descriptive, but it's hard when you can't put your finger on the flavor. It's completely possible that it's an acquired taste, a cultural thing, that I'm just not fully appreciative of, like V8 juice. I wanted to like it, too. Trust me.

I'll give it this much: The noodles had potential. They were thick and cooked almost surprisingly well- very consistently, without getting too soggy.

Pros: Smelled pretty darn tasty, and the noodles have hope.
Cons: Tasted almost awful, took eight minutes to cook, bad grammar, doesn't photograph well.
Final score: 1/5