#1 - Kabuto Beef Pho Noodles

• Brand: Kabuto Noodles
• Flavour: Beef Pho
• Cost: £1.49 (20% off - normally £1.99)
• From: Sainsbury's
• Description: A fresh tasting noodle dish with beef, soy, garlic and ginger
• Weight: 85g (450g when rehydrated)
• Allergies: Gluten, Egg, Soya, Milk
  
  
                                                              Nice Packaging

Reminiscent of the Pot Noodle variety these Kabuto Noodles arrive in a tall cup, however these are made of cardboard and not plastic which immediately resonates with my 'must recycle' mentality.

To make them you simply add boiling water to an easily distinguishable line on the inner of the cup, replace the foil lid and wait for 3 to 4 minutes. Then stir, wait another minute and dig in.

"How do they taste?" The answer is pretty good. I wouldn't substitute a pot for a meal at Tampopo but when you combine the ease of making them with the lovely aroma and ratio of noodle to flavourings I'm quite happy with them.

"Do they remind me in any way of traditional pho bo (beef pho)?" The answer is, a little bit. Pho bo is an aromatic dish that usually contains star anise. This pot doesn't but they have made a good effort to include pepper, ginger, cinnamon, chilli, garlic, coriander leaf and mint. The ginger content is 0.4% but it comes through quite heavily.

"How do I feel now I've finished it?" The answer is pretty good, they certainly filled a little hole. I've got a nice hint of chilli dancing around my palette and I'm ready to crack on with the afternoon's workload.

Conclusion - Not bad at all, I like the eco-friendly packaging, the flavours are certainly indicative of the region all be it not smacking of Vietnam and they're relatively filling. The egg noodles soften up really well. My tip would be to pour the whole thing into a bowl though as the noodles tend to get in the way of being able to stir the flavourings evenly into the entire pot.

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 8/10