I know what you're all thinking and that this is just the Asian version of Pot Noodle. I agree there are similarities but Cup Noodles are in a different league when it comes to 'trashy bad for you' snacks. My favourite is 'blue' or seafood flavour but in an attempt at healthy living, I haven't eaten these noodles in a long, long time. However, I am willing to take one for the blog and I bought some to see if they were as tasty as I remember.
My initial reaction was that they had shrunk as I remember them having a larger cup size. Or perhaps my memory was playing tricks on me. As well as noodles there are bits of veg, cuttlefish, 'crab' stick and fish (Pollack allegedly) and more E-numbers than you knew existed. After pouring the boiling water in, I waited three minutes before tucking in.
The noodles are of good quality and when rehydrated the little bits of fish and veg are very moreish. Beware if you're sensitive to MSG, the soup is full of flavour enhancer. You have to be student or an idiot to live off these but they won't do you much harm as an occasional treat.
PS: The last word is on the photo on the packaging. I know it says 'serving suggestion' (in the smallest writing legally permissible) but really who would go to the trouble of topping their 'Cup Noodles' with fresh squid, octopus and king prawn?
You've actually made these sound quite tasty!
ReplyDeleteI bloody LOVE cup noodles and I also did a similar post on them (http://lizzieeatslondon.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-guilty-pleasure.html) Blue is also my favourite.
ReplyDeleteKake - they are more than quite tasty!
ReplyDeleteLizzie - as you say, definitely a guilty pleasure. Also like many a post I've written I suspected someone had beaten me to it!
Cup/Pot noodles, like a cheap late night kebab - you know they're bad for you, but at certain times (and in certain states) they really hit the spot. And feel healthier than a burger/chips/balti
ReplyDeleteThe blue one is my favourite too, but I also really like the chicken flavour one (comes in mustard yellow), which I have fond memories of getting as a midnight snack on the long-haul flights to and from Hong Kong.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't eaten Cup Noodles in literally years too, partly because my local supermarket only stocked Pot Noodles (which, I have to say, simply don't cut it), and partly because I learned the concept of 'healthy eating.' However, like you, I found myself wanting to try them again to see if they tasted as good as I remembered.
Perhaps after years of not having had MSG, my body reacted to those noodles like a field would to rain after a drought - it couldn't get enough of the stuff! I ended up having Cup Noodles for lunch and dinner everyday for about a week and a half before I my body shrugged off the cravings. Didn't do my body alot of good, but my food expenditure had never been cheaper!
Cup Noodles are great. Pot Noodles suck. But my fave might just be the Shin Ramyun cup!
ReplyDeleteGworm - I've been mulling over whether you could fill a split pitta with the contents of cup noodles.....
ReplyDeleteSara - thanks for dropping by. I know cup noodles are addictive but eating so much really can't be good for you!
Su-Lin - I must check out the Shin Ramyun cup noodles next time I'm in Chinatown.
I haven't had cup noodles for ages...I do a shin ramen from time to time though!
ReplyDelete3HT - must definitely try the 'Shin' brand if you and Su-Lin are fans.
ReplyDeleteI have now tried the Nissin cup noodles! Albeit the crab flavour rather than the blue flavour - Loon Fung (Silvertown branch) didn't have the blue ones :( Liked them a lot despite this.
ReplyDeleteKake - glad you liked them. Crab flavour sounds exotic, I can just imagine what the picture of the serving suggestion looked like !
ReplyDeleteMy wife has a reserve supply of Asian pot noodles at work for when I cannot be arsed to cook lunch for her. I.e. like tomorrow.
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