Robot Claw

You better believe I found some more chicken ramen, so let’s dive right in:

Dr McDougall’s Vegan Ramen (180 Calories, 1g fat, 680 mg sodium)

This was purchased from Whole Foods and as you can see is a healthy option for those that shun flesh. But could it be good with so little fat and sodium? The cup was strangely lightweight, and when I opened it I could hardly believe what I beheld: the so-called ‘ramen’ looked and felt much more like dried spaghetti! Preparation was the same as any other type of cup noodle, and even though I followed the instructions precisely the noodles remained almost completely solid. I was even more suspicious they weren’t ramen!! So I followed the additional instructions for those who desired softer noodles and microwaved it for 60 seconds…

It was, as you can see, a disaster! To make matters worse the noodles were still mostly uncooked! I tried it anyway and the taste was acceptable but that doesn’t forgive the fact this ‘ramen’ is a fraud marketed by criminals and if I ever see ‘Dr McDougall’ in my travels he can look forward to a strong lunge punch to his rectus abdominus! My review of this product: 0/10

Gefen Noodle Soup (300 Calories, 13g fat, 1200 mg sodium)

Another option for vegetarians, this is an unusual product that never calls itself ramen but most definitely is. It’s made in Singapore and has information about Australian importing on the back so the Ozlings reading this may want to watch for it.

The noodles were strangely white and the flavor/veggie packets were similar to others I’ve already tried with the exception of dried onion pieces being included. Once again preparation was as easy as steeping with boiling water for a few minutes.

And then I tried it. There’s not much more to say other than it’s hard to believe I’ll ever taste better! This is an absolutely exquisite cup noodle product, with a robust and slightly peppery chicken taste (despite containing no chook) and perfect noodles that tickle the cockles on their way down. If they serve ramen in heaven, surely it’s this brand. An easy 10/10!

Maruchan Bowl (420 Calories, 19g fat, 1640 mg sodium)

I’ve already written about the brick and normal cup noodle from this brand, so it was time for this giant-sized bowl product. And it’s not just more of the same, since the topping packet also contains dehydrated chicken pieces for that authentic chicken soup feeling. As usual, just pour in boiling water and wait patiently for three minutes before eating.

And the end result: better than both the brick and the normal cup! The taste was more robust than the others, and while I’m sure the chicken pieces were essentially flavorless they gave me an extra sense of satisfaction as I shoved the noodles down. But in the end this was perhaps a little too much food for a culinary dilettante like myself and I didn’t finish it. I think 8/10 is fair.

And that’s enough for the third installment in this now regular series! A quick glance in my cupboard confirms that there will indeed be (at least) a fourth set of reviews coming in due course, so watch this space 🙂

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2021 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Blog, Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.