Category: Food

Ramen 25: It’s Always Cold Inside The Chicken House

  • May 28, 2024

You didn’t even dare to believe it possible, but I found some more Antipodean chicken ramen! It’s time to review them:

Mama Ramen Chicken Flavor (1278 kJ, 11.3 g fat, 1350 mg sodium)

I reviewed the brick version of this product many installments ago and my hopes about this cup version weren’t high. Therefore I wasn’t even slightly surprised with the rotting stench that rose as soon as I poured the water in, or the cardboard texture of the noodles in my first bite, or the sickly aftertaste redolent of waste. This was a repulsive product, hardly even worth pouring into a storm drain. Without hesitation it gets a strong 0 out of 10.

Lian Pho Ga Chicken (870 kJ, 2.2 g fat, 410 mg sodium)

I call this ‘fo’ but Sue says it’s called ‘fe’, but there’s probably a few other one-syllable words it could be called. I struggle to see the appeal of these type of soup since I find the noodle texture unappealing and every single chicken version I have tried tasted of cut grass. This one was no exception, and was in fact so extraordinarily awful I took pleasure in disposing of it. Another indisputable 0 out of 10.

Only two today, but given how many different ones I have now tasted every new version is special! That said, you’ll want to skip both of these 🙂

“McFeasting With The Heroes”

  • May 23, 2024

We returned to Newcastle yesterday (in a car driven by one of Chris Hemsworth’s private drivers!) and since it was an unremarkable day this is as good a time as any to provide an update on the Happy Meal situation down here.

Astonishingly, the current promotion is a collaboration between Yu-Gi-Oh and Hello Kitty. This is apparently a worldwide Happy Meal promotion although it has so far only launched in Australia and a couple of European countries.

I had no idea what I’d find inside and was surprised to see a boxed toy! I would later get a second meal so I’ve now received two of the toys:

They’re surprisingly well made little stuffed toys. There’s apparently ten in total but – and I’ve checked – no Gudetama. I like/hate them enough I’ll probably try to get more 🙂

Another Maccas visit gave me this strange box. It’s got a variety of Warners Brothers characters on it and refers to ‘multi versus’ event. You may also note that it is heavily perforated, and indeed the box itself is part of the toy:

It converts into an arena in which the characters on the box ‘fight’. Adam would love this since he’s such a big fan of Wonder Woman Bugs Bunny so perhaps I should have saved it for him? The toys for this promotion were little metal tins but apparently the Maccas had run out since that’s when I got my second Yu-Gi-Oh toy.

Stay tuned (perhaps) for a similar update on the Japanese Happy Meal situation in a couple of weeks or so…

Ramen Universes Beyond: Pusheen

  • April 23, 2024

If you’re keeping track, this is the 5th ‘Universes Beyond’ post and the 31st ramen-related post! What do we have today? This:

Pusheen is a character created in 2010 by an American illustrator. In the years since the fat fluffy cat has become heavily merchandised and there’s a large array of Pusheen items available today. Apparently he’s big enough he now has his own ramen!

You can clearly say the package is labeled ‘chicken ramen‘, but when I opened it I found this:

That’s not ramen! Those are pho noodles, and since I’ve never tried a chicken pho that I liked I was immediately suspicious of this incorrectly labeled product.

I followed the sparse instructions and – like most other instant pho soups I’ve tried – the noodles hardly softened. My suspicion only deepened since the smell was abhorrent, but I sealed it and let it steep another few minutes.

Eventually it was time to sample it and – surprise, surprise – the taste was reminiscent of weeds and the noodles had the consistency of elastic bands. A dreadful product, not even worth 1% of the $4.99 I paid for it. Pusheen can go to hell!

  • Posted in Food
  • Robert