#56 - The Nation's 'Normous Noodle Chip Shop Curry Flavour

• Brand: The Nation’s 'Normous Noodle (Golden Wonder)
• Flavour: Chip Shop Curry
• Cost: £0.98
• From: Morrison's
• Description:Dried noodles in a chip shop curry flavour sauce with peas and carrot
• Weight: 112g (360g when made up as per instructions)
• Allergies: Cow’s Milk, Wheat Gluten, Egg, Soya, Mustard
  
  
     'Normous eh?

So I've already tested this flavour in the not so 'Normous range so this should be exactly the same, just a bit bigger - let's see...

As usual with a Symington's product (the manufacturer from Leeds) there's no sign that any of the product is recyclable. It's easy enough to prepare however; open, pour to fill line, stir, wait, stir, wait, add sauce and then eat. 1 out of 2.

How do they taste? The answer is not bad. They're quite spicy and have a fair bit of flavour to them. There's a fair amount of sweetness coming through that balances quite well with the spice. 2 out of 4.

Do they remind me of a traditional chip shop curry? The answer is yes they do. The sweet / spicy combination is very reminiscent of a chip shop curry without the tang you get from onions which I think are the key to a good chip shop curry. What I definitely like is the consistency, really reminds me of chip shop curry sauce. 2 out of 2.

How do I feel now I've finished it? The answer is pretty good, quite full and ready for the rest of the day, plus there's spice running over my palette and I like that. The only thing I'd say is that I now feel a bit heavy. 1.5 out of 2.

Conclusion - Size doesn't matter, the difference in size is only about 15% bigger and to be fair I can't really tell the difference.

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 6.5/10 - Exactly the same as the smaller counterpart

#55 - Batchelor's Southern Fried Chicken Flavour Super Noodles

• Brand: Batchelor’s Super Noodles
• Flavour: Southern Fried Chicken
• Cost: £0.50 (reduced from £0.68)
• From: Tesco
• Description: Super Noodles in a tasty southern fried chicken flavour sauce
• Weight: 100g (400g when prepared)
• Allergies: Contains Celery, Gluten, Milk and Wheat
  
  
     Garbage!

This is the last packet of Super Noodles I have in my cupboard (thankfully) so I'm going to go a little deeper into this product on this review. First of all, here's a complete ingredients list:

Noodles (Water, Wheat, Flour, Palm Oil, Antioxidants (Butylated Hydroxyanisole, Citric Acid, Propyl Gallate)), Flavouring, Dried Glucose Syrup, Salt, Flavour Enhancers (MSG, Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides), Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin, Smoke Flavouring, Mushroom Powder, Garlic Powder, Anti-caking Agents (Silicon Dioxide, Tricalcium Phosphate), Colour (Paprika), Vegetable Oil, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Celery, Milk Powder, Wheat Flour

The ingredients I've listed in bold are the ones that I recognise as actual food (any you don't recognise you can see explanations of on our glossary page), following is a list from a recipe for Southern Fried Chicken from the BBC website, you can see it for yourself here:

Buttermilk, Coriander, Garlic, Shallots, Chilli Flakes, Salt, Chicken, Flour, Celery Salt, Cayenne Pepper, Ground Black Pepper, Paprika, Vegetable Oil

Just from looking at those two sets of ingredients which one would you prefer? Now a look at the nutritional information, which for some bizarre reason is shown per half packet. I can only guess that's because if they emblazon the front of a packet with the full truth it would look horrendous. For the purposes of this blog I'm going to list the nutritional information per full packet:

Calories - 530 (26%); Sugars - 2.8g (4%); Fat - 23.8g (34%); Saturates - 12.0g (60%); Salt - 1.5g (26%)

60% of the RDA of saturated fats (again why just the term saturates - it's almost like they're hiding in plain sight) and the consumption of saturated fats has been associated with poor health since the 1950's - I'm starting to think that Batchelor's are actually EVIL!

To support that assertion it's also worth pointing out that none of their packaging is recyclable so who, might I ask, are they bothered about? If you read the rest of my reviews of these products you'll see that they haven't achieved a score over 4.5 and to be fair that was a bit of a one off with the rest of them averaging under 2.5 out of 10. This tells me that, as a rule, they don't taste very nice, that they don't taste like what they say they taste like and that you're not left with a great feeling when you've finished them - I am soooooo glad this is the last packet for a while!

Shall we get on with it:

How do they taste? The answer is bland. The prevalent taste seems to be smoke but even that's week. They're both sweet and salty but not in the right proportions. Let's face it, these aren't very tasty - 0.5 out of 4.

Do they remind me in any way of Souther Fried Chicken? The answer is not in the slightest. The only thing that's anywhere near is the fact that they're sweet and salty but as I said above it's in the wrong proportions. Take a look at the difference in the ingredients lists I put up, how are they supposed to taste anything like Souther Fried Chicken??? 0 out of 2.

How do I feel now I’ve finished? I don’t feel terrible but I've got a very salty mouth and it's not very pleasant. 0.5 out of 2.

Conclusion: Garbage!

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 1.5 /10

#54 - Batchelor's Barbecue Beef Flavour Super Noodles

• Brand: Batchelor’s Super Noodles
• Flavour: Barbecue Beef
• Cost: £0.50 (reduced from £0.68)
• From: Tesco
• Description: Super Noodles in a tasty barbecue beef flavour sauce
• Weight: 100g (400g when prepared)
• Allergies: Contains Celery, Gluten, Milk, Wheat and Barley
  
  
                 A Turn for the Better

Yeah, Batchelor's Super Noodles! The last 4 flavours of these I've tested have resulted in an average score of below 2.5 for the range thus far, surely these can turn around their fortunes! (Bit of positivity never hurt anybody now did it?)

As always the prep is simple, the packaging isn't recyclable and so they get the usual score of 0.5 out of 2 in the first round.

How do they taste? The answer is not bad, I mean not great but not bad. They actually taste quite meaty but then again if you concentrate they actually taste a bit like Bovril. I like Bovril though which is a good thing for me and for those of you who don't know Bovril is a thick, salty meat extract. It has a similar consistency to Marmite. I can also taste a bit of onion which is nice. Out of 4, they're going to get 2.5 for flavour.

Do they remind me in any way of a barbecue beef dish? The answer is slightly, in that they taste a bit beefy. This is surprising as there's no mention of any kind of beef flavouring in the ingredients. There is the rather disconcerting ingredient called 'Flavourings' and although we're told that they contain no artificial colours or preservatives it doesn't mention flavourings so I am very interested to find out what 'Flavourings' means. We are told there is 'Smoke Flavouring' in there but that passed me by I'm afraid. Out of 2, they get 0.5.

How do I feel now I've finished? I don't feel bad, satiated for the time being, nice meaty flavour on the palette. Don't get me wrong I don't feel full of beans and ready to take the afternoon apart, but I don't feel bad at all. Hmmmm,  1 out of 2 I think...

Conclusion: They're not all bad!

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 4.5 /10

#53 - Ko-Lee Go Noodles Xtreme Hot & Spicy Flavour

• Brand: Ko-Lee Go Noodles
• Flavour: Xtreme Hot & Spicy
• Cost: £0.29
• From: Morrison’s
• Description: N/A
• Weight: 85g (315g when made as a noodle soup)
• Allergies: None Given
  
  
  Innovative!

This is the first packet of Ko-Lee Go Noodles I've tried. The others have been in pots but there's something else different here too. They have produced a product that can be eaten in 3 different ways; you can either add the sachets directly to the pack and eat them as a dry snack, you can add 300ml of water and have a noodle snack or 350ml of water and have a noodle soup snack - I went for the latter and preparation was easy enough. Chuck everything in a pan with 350ml boiling water, simmer for 2 minutes then serve.

You get flavour sachets in this product, one is a dry flavouring and the other appears to be some kind of chilli oil. The only problem here is getting all the oil out of its sachet, you can see from the picture that I couldn't manage it. None of the packaging appears to be recyclable.

How do they taste? The answer is niiiiiiice! There's not a lot of complexity going on but there's fresh flavours that are sweet with a great chilli kick. The packaging points out that there's no MSG in them and that's true but looking at the ingredients they do use flavour enhancers - disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate and disodium succinate. If you want to know more about these, and other things you might find in your noodles, take a look at the glossary page.

Do they remind me of a traditional hot & spicy dish? The answer is yes as they are nothing if not hot and spicy. The ingredients include mushroom powder, sugar, salt and caramel powder but then there's also coarse chilli, pepper powder, and vegetable oil (with chilli).

How do I feel now I've finished it? The answer is raring to go, got a great chilli flavour left on my palette and I'm full enough to face the afternoon!

Conclusion - An innovative brand with great flavours!

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 8/10

#52 - Ko-Lee Go Noodles Curry Flavour

• Brand: Ko-Lee Go Noodles
• Flavour: Curry
• Cost: £0.44
• From: Morrison's
• Description: N/A
• Weight: 65g (265g when rehydrated)
• Allergies: Soya, Wheat, Gluten, Mustard
  
  
             Too much packaging!

I've tried one of the Ko-Lee pot range before (Thai Hot & Spicy Tom Yum) and I was very impressed, giving them a score of 8.5 out of 10. The packaging here is identical, too much of it, but you are given the choice of whether you want a noodle soup or a noodle snack which I like. The only problem I had is that I wasn't paying attention and just filled it to the ridge inside the pot which is higher than both of their suggested fill lines - oops, let's hope it's not too watered down.

First thing you notice is the colour of the flavourings, it's a bright yellow so it must have a fair amount of turmeric in there - nice.

“How do they taste?” The answer is not bad. The feeling you get is certainly of an Asian influence, I'm just trying to narrow down exactly where though. The ingredient list doesn't really help as all it says is curry flavourings and garlic, with a little bit of E621 / MSG of course. The veg floating around adds good texture and all in all - they're just alright.

“Do they remind me in any way of traditional curry?” The answer is mostly, it's just strange as it seems to have the sweetness of a chines curry but the other flavourings of an Indian curry - it's a bit confusing. Maybe it would have been a bit more obvious if I hadn't watered it down so much but I doubt it.

“How do I feel now I’ve finished it?” The answer is pretty good. I would have preferred to have a bit of spice in my curry but the flavour wasn't bad, the noodles were nice and it's completely inoffensive.

Conclusion – Not as good as the Tom Yum but still not bad

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 7/10

#51 - Batchelor's Mild Mexican Chilli Flavour Noodles

• Brand: Batchelor’s Super Noodles
• Flavour: Mild Mexican Chilli
• Cost: £0.50 (reduced from £0.68)
• From: Tesco
• Description: Super Noodles in a tasty mild Mexican chilli flavour sauce
• Weight: 100g (400g when prepared)
• Allergies: Contains Wheat, Gluten, Celery, Milk
  
  
             Pah!

I'm starving today, how disappointed was I to see that the only noodles left in the cupboard are Super Noodles, we haven't become very good friends as of the 3 I've reviewed so far none of them have scored more than 3 points. As I always so though, you've got to give each product a chance, so here we go.

 

No recycling here!

There is a sign on the back of the packet that makes you think the packaging is recyclable, until you actually read it - I mean what's the point of putting the recycling sign on something just to say that you can't recycle it? Preparation is the usual hob affair, chuck it all in a pot with 300ml of boiling water and keep stirring it on a simmer until the water's gone. As simple as this is I've found another problem with Super Noodles. You will be aware by now that I am no noodle novice but I consistently have had 'sticking to the bottom of the pan' issues with Super Noodles, no other product seems to want to weld itself to my cookware so why these?

“How do they taste?” The answer is bland! It's always the same, bland, bland, bland. There's a nice hint of smokiness running through them but that is the only flavour you get, apart from that of noodle.

“Do they remind me in any way of a mild Mexican chilli dish?”  The answer is no and no. It gets no twice as it neither reminds me of a bowl of chilli nor an actual chilli. All you can taste is smokiness. I should put a caveat in here, there is a chilli called chipotle which is very popular in Mexico. It is basically a smoke dried jalapeno and they're not that mild. It could therefore be possible that after creating this flavour someone at Batchelor's said "Do you know, that tastes a bit like a really mild chipotle chilli" and if that's the case then well done but as that is a flavour that isn't very popular around the UK I find the whole nomenclature of this product a bit weird.

“How do I feel now I’ve finished it?” Like I've been sucking on a BBQ. Bizarrely there's some heat coming through now which wasn't there before, the smokiness just suppressed it earlier it seems. Still, I'm still starving...

Conclusion – I'm so depressed by Super Noodles

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 2/10

#50 - The Nation's Noodle on the Block Chilli Flavour

• Brand: The Nation’s Noodle On The Block (Golden Wonder)
• Flavour: Chilli
• Cost: Forgot to look again, I will sort this out
• From: Morrisons
• Description:N/A
• Weight: 100g (400g when made up as per instructions)
• Allergies: Contains Wheat Gluten
  
  
  Disappointing

The Nation's Noodle pot snacks have had mixed results, Chip Shop Curry got 6.5 and Beef & Tomato got 1.5, but every product is different so let's see how we get on with these. Symington's produce these in Leeds and as usual none of the packaging is recyclable. Preparation is easy enough for a packet product, noodles in pan with sachet contents, add boiling water, cook until the liquid's gone and serve. Given the scoring system this means a total of half a point out of two.

“How do they taste?” The answer is alright. There's not much flavour to them though, they appear to have gone for the spice element over the flavour element. The ingredients speak of curry powder but I didn't get any of that, the main flavour is noodle.

“Do they remind me in any way of chilli? The answer is almost a little bit. As I say above they've gone for the spice element but they've bulked it up with citric acid. If you're going to say something tastes of chilli then make it taste of chilli. After all, that's what's on the front CHILLI FLAVOUR!!! It doesn't say chilli heat or chilli spice it says CHILLI FLAVOUR. If you were to bite into a popular chilli, say a jalapeno you'd get a sweet pepper flavour similar to that of a capsicum (or bell) pepper and then the heat from the active ingredient which is called capsaicin.

“How do I feel now I’ve finished it?” The answer is annoyed. These didn't seem to fill me up and I can't taste chilli, I just have a weird ascorbic after taste.

Conclusion – Just because something tastes 'all right' doesn't mean it should be popular. The manufacturers need to be put to task to create a dish that encompasses the flavour they emblazon across the front of the product especially when it is alongside a graphic saying "FULL ON FLAVOUR!". They also need to be more eco-conscious.

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 3.5/10