Ha

Natty and Noodles

Nothing like some crappy, cheap beer to go with some ramen. At least it's free.

Vina Acecook Mikochi Spare Ribs Flavor

Country of Origin: Vietnam
Bought at Super Oriental Market

And now, for your entertainment and reading pleasure, the first review in a while!
Great to be back, America. And the rest of the world.

On to the noodles. I've had a few Vina Acecook noodles in the past and I remember them being decent, not spectacular, but decent. I'm going into this review with an open mind and trying some ramen I probably wouldn't normally choose. Here, take a look:

These are non-fried noodles. For those who didn't know, nearly all ramen noodles are deep fried, and that's how they stay together in their signature block shape, and also gives them their near-infinite shelf life. Some people don't like eating fried foods, or can't for whatever reason, so there are some non-fried noodle options out there. Some people also say that eating non-fried ramen tastes more like noodles that are prepared fresh, like what you would get in a ramen shop (which sadly, there are none of near where I live).
The noodles in this particular package are very thin, which makes me instantly apprehensive. There's also a soup base which smells pretty generic, and some oil, which they INSIST several times on the package that you wait three minutes to add after these are done cooking. I guess I'll listen... this time.

Must be the Japanese technology. Anyway, time to cook!

The noodles almost instantly soak up all of the soup so you're left with a kind of pasty, goopy, mess of noodles all stuck together, and they're very thin so eating them isn't the easiest thing in the world. Honestly they don't taste that bad, but the texture is very unpleasant to me. I guess I just like my noodles like I like my chicken: deep fried with hot sauce. 3/10.

So.....

It's been two years and my life has gone through a whole bunch of changes. I went through and counted up my posts and realized that I've reviewed 88 different types of ramen over the past six years, off and on. I want to devote more time to this blog because I love the experience. I love going to new Asian markets I've never been to in search of new types of ramen I've never seen before and trying them and seeing how they compare with others I've had. I love seeing which posts get read frequently and which ones don't, and what countries my readers are from. According to Google stats I've had over 33,000 unique page views and that number doesn't include my own views of my blog. I'm going to stick with this, though I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update it. I'm a college student and I work full time so those two things alone take up most of my time, but I'll find a way to at least update once in a while. Thanks to everyone who has read, and a big thanks to those that give me feedback. I'll have a real post for y'all soon.

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.