NONG SHIM Seafood Ramyun

Regular readers will know that I reviewed NONG SHIM's Shin Ramyum Noodle Soup previously and gave it a glowing review. These noodles were just as expensive but just as tasty. The packet of 'Vegetable flacks' contained the dried fish cake that can be seen in the picture as well as a healthy dose of seaweed. My wife complained that the noodles stank but I see this as the ultimate compliment to a seafood noodle soup. It tasted heavily of assorted fish but also a hot aftertaste that cleared my sinuses well. Not as hot as NONG SHIM's Shin Ramyum Noodle Soup but just as filling. Recommended to those that enjoy seriously fishy soup and don't mind hot sauce!

If they were a computer game: My current favourite game is Killing Floor but these were more like ORION: Dino Horde; not as good but just as worth playing with a great variety of gameplay!

If they were a rock band: Rammstein; some good tunes but not to everyone's taste!

King Chef Seafood with Kimchi flavour

 King Chef Seafood with Kimchi flavour

King Chef noodles are 'Korean Food Style' but on further investigation appear to be produced and imported from Vietnam as part of Acecook Vietname JSC. A huge conglomerate I would imagine!

 See here!

I'll get my rant in quickly however... I don't get the whole No MSG! thing, MSG is lovely and tasty! I do understand however that some people are allergic to mono-sodium glutamate and that it can be a serious allergy. Myself, I love it... King Chef is also a dreadful name for any company producing food!

These noodles were thick and gorgeous and the sachet of dried seaweed and carrot really added to the flavour of the hot paprika soup. Kimchi is a flavour made from fermented vegetables and added to the richness of the soup. I love seafood soups, seawood and fermented veg so was in absolute heaven; the hot aftertaste was just the icing on the cake! I could honestly eat these every day for the rest of my life! Reminded me a lot of some of the misu soups I've had, but now way as overpowering. 

If the rest of the noodles I got are this good I will be very happy!

If they were a computer game: Portal 2; not to everyone's taste but certainly one of the most creative computer games of it's generation.


If they were a rock band: A Day To Remember; solid rock tunes with a harsh metalcore vibe, the fermented veg with the paprika works equally well!

Pokka Milk Coffee

While I was at the Vietnamese supermarket I picked up one of these drinks, very expensive for £1 but worth trying. It is in fact a cold coffee drink with milk. The only instruction is to shake the can before drinking, it's not fizzy thank goodness! Tastes very nice if a tad sweet for my taste. Made in Singapore but shipped from Japan at this price I'll not be running to get another but as an occasional treat this would go lovely with a dark chocolate bar. If you haven't tried it then I very much recommend it.

If this drink were a computer game: Super Meat Boy; very much an individual taste for gamers due to it's difficulty but great for a quick thrill!
 
If this drink was a rock band: The Rolling Stones; been around for years but still sounding great!

Purchasing new noodles to try!!

So I decided to go off and investigate some new instant noodle products and found myself near Elephant & Caste where they have a specialist Vietnamese supermarket. As you can see there are a couple of rows of just instant noodles with a great variety (some of which I will be reviewing this month). I've visited a few times and found the staff very helpful while being open until 22:00 at night is great for all kinds of late night purchases. It seems a few people beat me to it as there are definitely some products missing from the shelves but with such a large selection I can hardly complain!

The only issue I had was that I forgot to collect my receipt!

Anyone wanting to check them out can visit their website http://www.longdan.co.uk/?mod=prod&go=1&group=12&cate=35 . The one in E&C also has a restaurant but I have not eaten there yet.

VIFON Hot & Sour Instant Noodle Soup (Hot)

VIFON Hot & Sour Instant Noodle Soup (Hot)

After the disappointment of  the VIFON Tom Yum Instant Noodle Soup my expectations were low but these were really nice. Not as hot as the packet promised but the soup flavour is delicious. What it lacks in chilli it has in a great sour fish flavour with coriander and slight citric taste giving it that lovely sour aftertaste. The noodles are still thinner than I would like but it's a filling soup base and a tasty snack. I wouldn't complain at having these again.

If they were a computer game:Alan Wake; good but rather repetitive. A game to return to but once completed little replay value.
 

If they were a rock band: Artic Monkeys; good early material but recent albums have been merely okay to listen to, nothing that special. Neither the greatest or worst band.

VIFON Tom Yum Instant Noodle Soup (hot)

 VIFON Tom Yum Instant Noodle Soup (hot)

VIFON noodles  are everywhere in London; usually sold in small corner shops (especially Polish ones as we have a large Polish and Eastern European population). They can usually be bought for three packets at £1 or four for £1.20 depending on shopping around. It terms of food these noodles can be purchased 24/7 as a lot of these shops also operate as Off Licences.


Tom yum is a spicy clear soup typical in Thailand and popular in Malaysia and Singapore but given the  popularity of cheap noodles and restaurants in London it is becoming a popular flavour for any fish soup. These noodles do it a disservice however; possibly the blandest I have tasted so far. Even the noodles are thin and tasteless but the soup base almost offends in it's lack of taste. There is a mild shrimp and vegetable flavour and absolutely no heat at all; perhaps this being the reason why the term 'hot' appears within brackets. I would have added hot sauce but I felt it unfair to add anything when attempted a review.

If they were a computer game: The F2P version of dungeon keeper; known as 'free to wait' or rinse your cash. So bad you will be tempted to go onto GOG and buy the original!

If they were a rock band: Katy Perry; largely inoffensive pop music that fills the radio playlisters hole but won't change anything musically or artistically.

Indomie Vegetable Flavour instant noodles

So these cost 35p and I have to say that the noodles themselves are gorgeous; thick and filling. The noodles came with Bumbo Sauce in powdered form ( sweet soy sauce, scallions and garlic), a Minyak Bumbo seasoning oil (a pale almost solid oil with a touch of soy sauce) and Chilli which I poured straight in with the other two. Indomie are the largest manufacturer of noodles in the world apparently and have factories in Indonesia and Nigeria.
These actually tasted a lot better than they looked; the cover of the packet made me think that they would actually contain vegetables but it was just a normal bowl of noodles with soup. It tasted of onion and garlic with a slight chilli kick and a subtle taste of vegetable (either pea or celery). Sadly the soup was in no way as nice as the noodles which were perfect. I'd certainly have these again and think they would make an excellent accompaniment to a meal but rather plain for a lunchtime snack.

If they were a computer game: Any racing game; fun for a while but after you've learned the courses not one you'll be returning to in a hurry.

If they were a rock band: Mumford & Sons; inoffensive and bland, nice background music but nothing special.