For my Indonesian readers...

My thoughts and prayers today are with the people of Indonesia and anyone affected by the Mount Kelud volcano. Please try and be safe.

Not necessarily new news but...

Psy of Gangnam Style fame is endorsing Shin Ramyun Black in Korean ads and on TV. Check it out!

And this fancy store display.

And even on trucks.

Pretty cool. I wish we could have dynamic noodle advertising in the US like they do overseas.

Vina Acecook Hao Hao Mi Chay Vegetarian Flavor

Country of origin: Vietnam

I don't have high expectations for vegetarian flavor noodles but I'll try just about anything once, twice if you're lucky. I am by no means a vegetarian and never will be. In fact, I'm about as carnivorous as they come. However, I can put these personal choices aside and try something vegetarian once in a while. The ingredients are mainly spices and vegetable stock. Let's stop yammering and give em a try.

Kind of neat shaped noodle block and two seasoning packs. Time to cook!

These really surprised me! I was expecting somewhat bland tasting soup but instead I got a nice mix of garlic, pepper, soy sauce, paprika, and maybe chili powder. The noodles are a little chewy in consistency and I seem to remember other Acecook noodles I've had before being the same way. Bottom line: somewhat low quality noodles, great tasting soup. I'm giving these a solid 7/10 for pleasantly surprising me for being both vegetarian and tasty.

Myojo Yomise-No Yakisoba Oriental Flavor with Mayonnaise

Country of origin: Japan
Bought at Tokyo Asian Food in Hoover, AL

I just want to say something up front. I don't think I've ever seen this much thought and ingenuity put into a yakisoba before. I was extremely impressed with the way this product was engineered and the sheer amount of time and thought that was put into these noodles. You'll see what I mean.
So, yakisoba is a Japanese word that literally means "fried noodles." You've no doubt seen those Maruchan yakisoba trays over with the cup noodles and Nissin's attempt at it also which they call "chow mein," which is Chinese for, you guessed it, "fried noodles." I've tried a few different kinds of both and they aren't bad by any means but just not really my cup o' noodles.
I have pretty high expectations of Myojo products as I've tried a few of their other offerings and found them all to be very good so I hope this lives up to the hype. I must admit I'm a little unsure about the mayonnaise since I'm just not a huge mayonnaise fan, but my girlfriend is, so I got her to help me review these. Alright, here we go!

So this is what we see upon removing the wrapper, some detailed instructions and a very well drawn diagram. It specifically says not to microwave, and thankfully we have our awesome 1970s harvest gold tea kettle at the ready so this shall not hinder us.

I like going to yard sales.

Pretty sweet, huh? Anyway, I heated up some water and opened the package.

There's a SAUCE pack, a SPICE pack, and huge vegetable pack, and a fairly standard if not cute looking pack of mayonnaise like you'd see at a fast food joint. The directions say to add the veggies to the noodles before adding the water, so we do so and proceed to let them steam.

I needed something to hold the tray closed so I figured I'd use these humorously named cookies from Malaysia I picked up on the same visit. They steam for three minutes or so and then it's time to drain, which is a semi pain when you're making one of those yakisoba things, am I right? Wait, what's this???

They built a fucking drain into the package under that other flap up there. Holy shite, they thought of everything! The built in drain makes the draining process very easy as you can imagine. Then it's time to mix everything up and put the mayo on top.

  

Like so. This is a very cool concept and very well designed, and I also like the fact that one of the main included vegetables is broccoli, which I've never seen before in an instant noodle. Very cool! So how do they taste?

I let my girlfriend try them first and she thought they were pretty damn good, saying they are a little spicy but not much and she really likes the taste of the mayo along with everything else. She finished them off without hesitation after giving me a taste. I thought they were pretty good, definitely better than I expected them to be with the mayo, which wasn't overpowering in the least. This one gets a lot of points for originality and tastiness so I'm giving it an 8/10.

Indomie Special Chicken Flavor Soup Noodles

Indomie recently changed their packaging and I really enjoy the new look. You can't see it too well in this pic but they have started clearly labeling their noodles "Soup Noodles" or "Stir Fry Noodles" for people like me who are too stupid / in a hurry to read the instructions. Thanks, Indomie.
Anyway, I've wanted some Indomie noodles since they are just about always extremely good and I'd never had these before, so it was a match made in ramen heaven. Special chicken flavor sounds good, and upon looking at the ingredients it sounds even better with ginger, chili powder and other delicious sounding spices.

One of the reasons I enjoy eating Indomie noodles is that I always know the noodles themselves are good quality and will have a pleasant consistent texture. Here they are with some spices and some chili powder.

Pretty regular looking stuff, except that if you let it stand for a few minutes the soup thickens up a little and really adds a lot to this soup. You can also see chili powder in the soup and the taste of the chili really adds a great deal to the overall spicyness. These are very good, and definitely a lot better than other regular chicken flavored ramens. Can't go wrong with this one, I'm giving it an 8/10.

Hmmm....

I can't help wondering if this would work.