#34 - Instant Noodle King Beef Soup Flavour

• Brand: Instant Noodle King
• Flavour: Beef Soup
• Cost: £1.14
• From: Asda
  
• Description:
• Weight: 75g
• Allergies: Wheat, Soyabean (May contain traces of nut)
  
  
                 A lot of packaging (and flavour)

This is my first review of a product produced outside of the UK. The brand is Instant Noodle King which is part of the Sau Tao company which itself is part of Sun Shuk Fuk Foods Co. Ltd from Hong Kong. Sau Tao offers over 150 different types of noodle products - crikey, best get testing.

There is a sign on the packet which implies that there is some recycling of the packaging to be done, which is a good thing as there is a lot of it. Of the bowl, lid, insert cover, 3 sachets, fork in packet and actual cellophane outer skin I would suggest that only the pot and the insert cover can be recycled.

Preparation is as simple as opening all the sachets into the pot, filling with boiling water to an obvious fill line, replacing the lid, waiting for 3-4 minutes and stirring. When you open the sachets you really get a good idea that these are a well considered product. The dehydrated vegetables alone is a really good helping of chives, cabbage and coriander and then there's the flavouring and sauce sachets too. In the UK the sauce sachet is usually a bit of soy sauce, mango chutney, ketchup or something similar, here the sauce sachet contains palm oil, leek, garlic, artificial beef flavour, sesame sauce, bean paste, salt and spices - awesome!

“How do they taste?” The answer is quite lovely. You get a really nice leek taste throughout, the noodles are lovely and soft and the broth has a relatively complex yet well balanced flavour. The little bits of veg floating around give some texture to the whole thing too.

“Do they remind me in any way of traditional beef noodle soup?” The answer is no. They say there's  beef flavouring in both the soup and sauce sachets but I really can't detect it. It does however have a very authentic Chinese feel to it and I like it.

“How do I feel now I’ve finished it?” The answer is light yet satiated with a myriad of flavours dancing around the palette.

Conclusion – As my first review of a non-UK product I can now see why my international foodie friends have pitied the state of our UK noodle industry. On the Noodle League you will see Kabuto Miso Ramen currently standing proud at the top and that is because they have clearly tried to emulate this kind of product. This is the way forward and at just over a pound a pot you really can't complain.

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 6.5/10

(this relatively low score is due to the packaging and the fact they don't actually taste of beef)