Today, I have a half of a documentary – unfortunately, if you want the other half you have to pay for it… But the first half is a real eye opener for people who have frequented the Seattle International District. Definitely spend 15 minutes of your day to watch this.
Gong Xi Fa Cai! A couple weeks ago, I got an email from my friend Zi Hua from Prima Taste in Sngapore inviting me to a lunar new year’s celebration. It sounded great, but Singapore is so far away and such short notice. I quickly realized I was being invited to a Singaporean event very near where I live! The Seattle Singaporeans Meetup Group holds an annual lunar new year celebration at a restaurant called China Harbor on Westlake down in Seattle. I happily accepted the invitation and yesterday got to attend!
I got to sit at the dragon table! If anyone is wondering, I’m a rabbit – maybe that’s why I was lucky to be at this table! The event organizers sat here.
One of the first things we got to do was have Lo Hei Yusheng. What happens is a big plate comes out with some raw fish (usually salmon) and some thin sliced vegetables. Then, different spices, sauces and such are added, signifying different things like health, wealth and prosperity. Once everything is added, everyone at the table stands and with chopsticks, tosses the whole thing like a salad and says different positive things like prosperity and happiness. Then we got to eat it! I wish I would have gotten more video of this, but I was taking part.
Here’s what is looked like at the end. It was really good!
During the event, I was asked to come up and say a few words about The Ramen Rater – I must admit I haven’t done a lot of public speaking and was pretty nervous! It was fun though and I was really honored by the gifts from Prima Taste who sponsored the event and the letter that was read.
Next, we enjoyed a multi course meal – Honey Walnut Prawns, Crispy Roast Chicken, Curry Vegetables, Black Pepper Beef, Mixed Vegetables, House Crispy Noodles and Black Glutinous Rice for dessert. Everything was very delicious.
At the end, the Lion Dancers came and put on a great show! Turns out the leader of the group was in a Jackie Chan film called Who Am I – pretty cool! He explained how busy they were – running from one lunar new year event to another putting on the show.
When I got home, I opened the gift from Prima Taste – a very nice Risis pen and card holder with a Merlion (a special symbol of Singapore which is a fusion of mermaid and lion) and an inscription to me. I didn’t expect this and was very honored to be sure. They also gave me a couple cartons of their Curry and Laksa LaMian! They’re #2 and #3 on my top ten list.
I’d like to thank Eric Sim and Chan Zi Hua of Prima Taste, Ai Lin and Clement of the Seattle Singaporeans Meetup Group and Jim & Lucy who brought me to the event! Thank you all for your kindness and I was truly honored to know you and to have been able to attend this auspicious occasion!
If you’d like to learn more about the Seattle Singaporeans Meetup Group, you can find them here. You can find out more about Prima Taste here. You can find out about the China Harbor restaurant here. Gong Xi Fa Cai to all!
This was sent to me by Kristina W. of Arizona – thank you! Jjajangmyun is basically a noodle that is coated in a black bean sauce. Let’s check it out!
The back of the package (click image to enlarge). Not sure if it contains meat or not.
The noodle block.
The only packet included is a big one full of sauce. Decided (as I did yesterday as well) not to make a big mess by trying to fit this stuff in one of the little sake cups I usually use.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added some beef, carrot and Vidalia sweet onion. The noodles good – a little chewier than usual and nice and plump. The jjajang sauce is really great – has a rich black bean flavor with a little bit of extra heartiness, especially from the potatoes. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 8801128506571.
Here’s a recipe for jjajangmyeon!
Here we go with the 28th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!
In the last week, I’ve had a lot of traffic from upset Taiwanese that none of their country’s beloved instant noodles made the list. I saw videos like this one and then this angry one. I felt a video message would be appropriate, and here it is.
Another one from my March birthday trip to Canada. I tried to translate this one but no luck – the name I got from the distributor’s sticker, so if anyone knows for sure this is the wrong name, please let me know. Let’s check it out!
Distributor sticker (click image to enlarge). Contains egg.
Detail from the side and bottom (click image to enlarge).
The lid (click image to enlarge). Note the drain spout on the top left.
Lots of Japanese yakisoba products have this drain spout.
Liquid seasoning.
Has a light Worcestershire sauce scent.
The vegetable packet.
Looks like cabbage amongst other dried veggies.
The garnish packet.
Lots of seaweed and little bits of fried tempura.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added beef sauteed with garlic and Worcestershire sauce, sweet onion, broccoli, kizami shoga (pickled ginger), and red, yellow and orange bell pepper. These noodles are nice – good texture, quantity and gauge. They’re a little chewy but not overly so. The flavor is nice – what you’d expect from yakisoba with a little extra oiliness which works well. The vegetables went well too – decent sized pieces of cabbage rehydrated well. The garnish is good too – lots of seaweed (goes nice with the noodles) and bits of tempura (lost their crunch as the meal went on). I like this one – 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 4903088008882.
A video by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
Found this one at Uwajimaya in Bellevue and thought it was worth a try. I do like Worcestershire sauce!
Back of the package (click image to enlarge). Contains egg white.
The noodle packet.
Flavoring packet.
Has a nice strong Worcestershire sauce scent.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added green onion, beef, sweet onion, red and orange bell pepper, broccoli and kizami shoga (pickled ginger). The noodles have a nice consistency – exactly what you’d expect out of yakisoba – kind of like an Asian spaghetti if that makes sense. The flavoring coats and invades every nook and cranny with a sweet and salty Worcestershire ambience. It’s great stuff! 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 011152104294.
How to make yakisoba!
This is one you can probably find quite easily in a grocery store here in the United States. Let’s have a look.
Here’s the detail from the bottom (click image to enlarge).
Under the wraps (click to enlarge).
The noodle block.
Liquid seasoning packet.
A good amount of dark liquid.
Veggie packet.
A nice looking mixture and decent quantity.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added red, yellow and orange bell pepper, sweet onion and broccoli along with some chicken lunch meat and a bit of Dua Belibis Chilli Sauce. The noodles are pretty good – plentiful and have a slightly broad and flat way to them. Decent consistency. The flavor is good – has a nice taste of chicken teriyaki, but not sweet. The veggies plumped up well. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 070662087213 – get it here.
Nissin Chow Mein TV spot.
Another from my trip to Canada for my birthday. Wow – what a past two days here! The Top Ten 2013 list came out to a clamor of Taiwanese disapproval – Taiwan didn’t make the list. But, hopefully out of it all I’ll get contacted by one of the companies in Taiwan, but so far nothing. On to other things though – that being this interesting bowl by Nongshim. This one’s made in Shanghai, China. Let’s check it out.
Very red side panels (click to enlarge).
Hey look – an included fork! A new one, too!
The noodle block.
The seasoning powder packet.
Nice and red like one would expect!
No veggie packet – this is what was in the bottom of the bowl.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added cheese, green onion, sweet onion, and sauteed beef with some mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic. The noodles were a little disappointing – had some songiness I didn’t enjoy. The quantity was good though. The broth seemed a little on the weaker side and didn’t have the ‘oomph’ that I would have expected from Shin Ramyun. Not to say it wasn’t tasty – has a nice red broth flavor as I would expect from Shin Ramyun, just not very fiery in the spiciness department. The veggies hydrated nicely and were alright. 3.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 6920238083016.
Making of video for Nongshim CF by T-Ara.
If you watch this from beginning to end, not only proven yourself a true fan of the instant noodle, but also seen pretty much every single instant noodle review and re-review I’ve ever done. Clocking in at an hour and forty-nine minutes, this is pretty heavy duty. Enjoy!
Yep – another one from my Canadian birthday trip! Let’s check this one out.
Export sticker (click image to enlarge).
Back of the package (click image to enlarge); Doesn’t look to be any meat ingredients, but check yourself.
The wispy noodle block.
Powder packet.
Has a lighthearted, high pitched scent – like a chicken and sage smell.
The paste packet.
Reminds me of heavily herbed chicken.
Veggies.
A yellow smell; saffron and herbal notes.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added a fried egg, red, yellow and orange bell pepper, sweet onion, chicken I seasoned with garlic salt and baked and some broccoli. The noodles are kind of uninteresting; they’re very thin and wispy and don’t seem to have a lot of character to them. The broth has a deep and rich chicken flavor and another flavor I can’t quite put my finger on… Like an oily chicken skin grease thing going on. The veggies did alright. This was a peculiar one. 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 6920377218317.
Sp my friend is in a metal band and gonna go and see them play tomorrow night. They’re called Ravages Of Time – here’s their MySpace page – listen to ’em 🙂
Another one I got while in Canada for my birthday. I’m sure many folks will immediately ask ‘where did you get this’ and ‘where can I get it,’ and I’ll just say I’ve only seen this in Canada. See, they get stuff in the Vancouver area from not only the Nongshim plant here in the states but the one in Shanghai, China. Got a couple more coming down the pipe of reviews soon that hail from China. Let’s check this out!
The export sticker (click to enlarge). This was on the side of the 5-pack I got. Says pork bone seasoning, so not sure if that’s pork or not.
The back of an individual pack (click image to enlarge).
Potato noodle block!
A nice fat seasoning packet.
The soup base. It has a really nice flavor – one of the most porkflavor powders I’ve tasted.
Veggie packet.
A small array of bits.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added some baked pork chop I made last night with apple, onion and garlic salt, some sweet onion and some green onion. The noodles are thick and have a gauge not unlike Nongsdhim Shin Ramyun, however the consistency is different. They seem almost heartier. The broth is amazingly good – has a really good pork flavor I’ve not experienced at this caliber in an instant before. A little slight spice in there too. The veggies were good as well. This was a real surprise! 5.0 out of 5.0 stars .UPC bar code 6920238087014.
Here’s a commercial for this one.
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