Interview With Miandom * Product Samples From Miandom * Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles * Miandom Tasty Asia Black Pepper Crab Flavoured Instant Noodles * Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles
I was contacted by a guy from Singapore recently about some new products. Green curry and black pepper crab flavors he told me – and I was definitely interested in trying! So we start the series today with an interview with Miandom!
Interview With Miandom – Singapore
THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you for agreeing to this interview! To start, can you tell my readers about the history of Miandom?
MIANDOM> Miandom is a joint venture founded by partners in Singapore, Malaysia and China. You will be familiar with our Chinese partner, the founder of Bai Jia Brand, well known for it’s signature Sichuan spicy instant vermicelli. The Singaporean partners are their distributors in the Singapore market, whereas the Malaysian partner is an old friend of the founder of Bai Jia, whom helped founder find his footing in the FMCG business. The Malaysian partner used to oversea bottling plants in Sichuan, China when the founder of Bai Jia decided to enter the FMCG business from the advertising industry. The company is headquartered in Singapore and our production is undertaken in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The company is currently headed by Harry, a Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology business graduate and Leon, a Purdue business graduate.
TRR> Why the name Miandom?
MIANDOM> Miandom is a portmanteau of the word ‘Mian’, which means noodles in Mandarin and ‘Dom’, from the word Kingdom. It is our aspiration for Miandom Noodles to be found in Mainstream markets around the world.
TRR> Can you tell us about the varieties of noodles you make?
MIANDOM> Our current noodle range is focused on South-east Asian flavors with an emphasis on using our proprietary non-fried air dried mini-flat noodles. We currently have 2 flavors, Black Pepper Crab and Green Curry Shrimp. Black Pepper Crab is an iconic Singaporean dish whereas Green Curry Shrimp is really a derivative of the Green Curries that Thailand is famous for.
TRR> Your company is located in Singapore. Can you tell us a little about your locale?
MIANDOM> Singapore is located right in the middle of Southeast Asia and as an entrepot, is a blissful mixed of several culture. Our food reflects this entrepot heritage. Singapore is set to be heavily featured in the upcoming film, Crazy Rich Asians (We do not sponsor the film in anyway). We are certainly far from crazy but the broths for our instant noodles are crazily rich!
5. How does your noodle making process differ from other instant noodle manufacturers?
Our approach to making instant noodles is 2 pronged, namely the broth and instant noodle
block. Our broths are derived from quality ingredients blended into a thick, rich paste, giving the soup a quality that is comparable to those found in restaurants. Secondly, our noodles are nonfried and made in a proprietary process that results in a springy texture.
TRR> How do you decide on what varieties to produce?
MIANDOM> The initial phase of the process is a lot simpler than what you would imagine. There’s a lot of discussion internally and externally about what type of flavours we should produce. Generally, everyone of us already has some idea of what makes a good, hearty bowl of noodles, and it’s all a matter of identifying what flavours are rarely explored and what we can do about it. For example, Black Pepper Crab was very quickly identified as a Singaporean delicacy, and while there are other brands out there who have already attempted to bring this flavour to the market, we believe that none of them has been successful in capturing the essence of what makes the dish great in the first place: the savoury black pepper sauce complementing but not overpowering the already strong crab flavour. Once we’ve identified these elements as essential to the dish itself, we work on creating a flavour profile that closely matches this taste, using as many of the same ingredients as we can, while at the same time tweaking the texture slightly to ensure that it becomes a perfect partner to our non-fried mini-flat noodles.
TRR> How many noodle products do you produce every year?
MIANDOM> We currently produce 2 flavors in 4 Skus but plan to introduce new 2-3 new flavors each season.
TRR> Apart from noodles, are there other products you produce or plan to produce?
MIANDOM> We currently plan to focus on our instant noodles range.
TRR> Can you suggest pairings for your products, like meats, seafood or vegetables?
MIANDOM> Crab meat or crab sticks will go really well with our Black Pepper Crab flavor. Adding a small squeeze of fresh lime juice as well as fresh curry leaves will go a long way in enhancing our Green Curry Shrimp, add some shrimp for protein.
TRR> A lot of people are concerned with their sodium intake. How would you recommend people enjoy your product as part of a healthy meal?
MIANDOM> While our sodium content is admittedly average in the industry, we try to mitigate it by having our noodles non-fried.
TRR> Are you involved in in your local community or participate in charities?
MIANDOM> Not at the moment.
TRR> Are there any new products coming soon?
MIANDOM> Yes, we are planning to launch several new flavors, including Singapore’s famous Chilli Crab. That is admittedly a hard flavor to master!
TRR> In what countries are your products available?
MIANDOM> We can be found in Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Japan and USA. In the US
TRR> When you make noodles for yourself, what do you like to add to them to make them extra
special?
MIANDOM> We love to add extra ingredients to jazz it up and make it an all rounded meal. For flavors that are curry based, I will go one step further and use milk instead of water as a base. However, for Miandom Tasty Asia Range, nothing needs to be added! 😉
THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you very much for this opportunity to learn about Miandomand your products!
MIANDOM> Thank you very much for your time!
Alright! Thanks to Louis Cyd for contacting me! Let’s give these varieties a try!
