Kabuto Noodles

Kabuto Noodles is a range of posh instant noodle pots that come in three flavours: Chicken Ramen, Beef Pho and Miso Ramen.

The concept of adding boiling water to dehydrated noodles and seasonings isn't new, but Kabuto are aiming for a more upmarket image than that of the infamous Pot Noodle. I guess their competitors are the instant noodle pots from East Asia such as Cup Noodles.

Chicken Ramen

I liked the chicken ramen. It had a surprisingly natural tasting soup, with a nice depth from the ginger and a pleasing hint of chilli. Along with the coriander and spring onion, the soup had a somewhat South East Asian flavour rather than the Japanese taste I was expecting. The noodles, a Chinese-style egg noodle rather than Japanese-style ramen, were decent quality. If I were to be ultra-critical, I would've preferred slightly thicker springier noodles.

Beef Pho

I also tried the beef pho, and again the soup had a nice depth from the ginger and a pleasing hint of chilli. The addition of garlic was welcome, and I could also pick out some cinnamon. However, there was something missing. The soup lacked that perfumed aniseed punch that star anise provides. Its absence was profoundly felt, as pho (and indeed beef noodle soups in general) should always be made with a stock containing star anise.

My other gripe was the presence of sweetcorn. Not only did it seem out of place but it also didn't hydrate sufficiently. And those of you expecting slippery rice noodles, you'll also be disappointed as the same noodles used in the chicken ramen feature in the pho. Nothing wrong with these noodles, but pho should be made with the proper rice noodles. That said, I can come across as the Lynne Truss of the noodle-world, and most of you probably couldn't give a toss about the noodle used.

Of the two flavours I've tried (I haven't got round to trying the miso yet) I prefer the chicken ramen. I would even go so far to say that it would hold its own against many of the East Asian brands. However, even allowing for the fact that Kabuto Noodles is a premium product, I'm not sure I'd fork out £2.95 for a pot (Waitrose Online) or £17.70 for a six-pack (Amazon). Not when you can pick up some instant noodle pots from a Chinese supermarket for a fraction of the price.

I received a free sample of Kabuto Noodles from their PR peeps.