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.

NONGSHIM Shin Ramyum Noodle Soup

So we come to one of my favourite noodle soups; at a cost of 85p these are well worth the expense! As you can see from the pictures though there are only two sachets with these noodles the soup itself is full of flavour and the noodles are large and thick egg noodles. This is one very hot noodle soup, it will open up your sinuses and has a very pleasant afterburn. The heat of the soup doesn't detract from the flavour however as you can certainly detect the flavour of the vegetables and the flavour of the tuna (bone extract apparently). Certainly one for those looking for a hot noodle soup without wanting to add their own hot sauce! As for price I feel they are slightly overpriced but the portion size and heat of the dish more than makes up for this.
Nongshim  is South Korea's largest processed food manufacturer and specialise in noodles though I rarely see their products in the UK. I would really like to try their Seafood Noodle Soup after trying this and will definitely be out to hunt it down in future.

If they were a computer game: My current favourite game is Killing Floor and as a co-op zombie killing game these noodles share the same heat and excitement. A flavoursome bowl of noodles you will want to return to.

If they were an American Football star: These noodle have the heat and talent of Richard Sherman and are something to rave about. Lets hope I can be celebrating a Seahawks victory with a bowl of these afterwards!

VIFON Bún Rieu Cua Sour Crab noodles!

Okay so these cost me 33p! 33p!! I want you to remember this. VIFON are like the Gods of noodle manufacturers; a Vietnamese consortium who often put out some of the best quick noodle packets in the world. You'll notice that these are rice vermicelli noodles and not egg noodles (hence being included in the picture) while the large silver packet contained real crab (and shrimp). The vegetables and soup base were pretty plain but there was a real wholesome flavour of crab, lemongrass, ginger and shrimp. Definitely one for those days spent in bed feeling ill as it reminded me of chicken soup to be honest. The noodles themselves were gorgeous and I can imagine it would be quite easy to overcook these. For this price I cannot be critical at all.

If they were a computer game: Pac Man; nothing amazingly exciting but an old favourite you will want to come back to though easily forgotten.

If they were a rock band: Ben Folds Five; great if you are in the mood for some quick comfort but not like an album you will return to again and again.

Omachi Shrimp Hot Pot

So this is the first of my noodle reviews. Bought plenty of noodles from the South-East Asian supermarket local to work and thought I'd start on one of the cheapest first. As you can see the added extras for these were impressive considering they cost 40p! The packet of dried vegetables actually included some dried potato. As a pescatarian I should have read the ingredients however; this contained meat and bone broth and my wife swore she could taste the beef in this! Tasted delicious though; lovely thin noodles with lots of chillies and a great soup base which tasted slightly of shrimp but was that was overpowered by the meat and hot chillies. For the price I paid these come highly recommended!

If they were a computer game: Thomas Was Alone; full of interesting flavours but like all things over too quickly.

If they were a rock band: Early Red Hot Chilli Peppers; think Mother's Milk. Full of flavour and rather meaty basslines!