The Paldo Fire Cup was great, it was a good level of spice and the spice stayed on your tongue, but just in the background. I liked the green onions which added a small crunch, and I enjoyed the tiny bit of sweat on my brow that showed up as I finished the hot and spicy bowl. I had trouble identifying many flavors other than spice, but I found that I didn’t mind. The flavor was complex enough to be enjoyable and the spice level was just right for me. The Paldo Fire Cup contained “soy peptides” which apparently might make me fly and also be invisible or maybe are just good for you.
You can see from the picture below what the Paldo fire cup spice looked like when I dumped it in, basically it looked like I just added 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper:
Now onto the Chlorella (Paldo Green Tea Cup).
This ramen was one of the more interesting flavor mixes that I’ve had in awhile. Despite my initial reaction that it might be named after a disease, it is in fact named after a type of algae, also called Chlorella, which is supposed to be good for you to eat.
When I opened the cup after adding the water and waiting the 3 minutes, I immediately smelled an “ocean” smell, to me it smelled like seaweed and oysters, so I was certainly getting that coming through. The little bits of meat in there appeared to me to be oysters and tasted as such also. The noodles themselves are greenish, due to the chlorella and green tea most likely. I didn’t get too much green tea flavor coming through, but I did like this one. I managed to scald my tongue when eating the Fire Cup, so I missed more of the subtleties with this one, and I’d have to say that I enjoyed the Fire Cup more. Note that the darker spot in the pic is just where I didn’t stir the noodles enough after dumping in the seasoning.
Overall, I was ordering a RamenBox of just these two, I’d order 15 Fire Cups and 5 of these.
The Wall Street Journal has a tasty story about the Retsuden Ramen festival in Tokyo. The festival unfortunately ended today, but it sounds pretty fun. I didn’t quite follow from the story if you could sample anything without buying, it sounds instead like you pay per bowl, so basically it’s like having a bunch of great vendors in one spot (like a Taste of City X event).
I enjoyed this description:
Ramen fans queue up to buy a “one-bowl” ticket for 800 yen (about $9) at the entrance to the event, held in a public square in front of a large office building, and then select the shop they want to try. It’s a tough choice, as the nine shops at the event at any one time are all dishing out top-quality ramen.
We tried a bowl of Mr. Aoyama’s ramen, which combines several classic influences in a thick, porky soup, topped with slow-roasted pork belly, greens and grated yuzu, an Asian citrus fruit. Despite the fresh citrus undertones, the bowl packed a delicious, meaty punch — like consuming a pig in liquid form.
If you are old like me then you remember back when MTV showed what is called “music videos” (kids, you may need to ask your parents about them). One of the videos featured this guy in a funny hat in a grey room with a sliding floor. This video has basically been taken as-is, dubbed over in Japanese, and is now an ad for Nissin Ramen. I have no idea what they say in the ad, but I’m going to guess that it resembles the Mister Sparkle commercial from the Simpsons episode.
It seems that jail is like a movie theater in that they know that they can gouge you for the snacks, the good news is that you don’t have to watch Ben Affleck or Nicholas CoppolaCage films in jail most nights. I know that around here (in Colorado), ramen is not 10 cents a pack, even at Sams Club, but it is certainly not $1.06 per pack either.
The price of instant noodles and candy bars in the Bucks County Prison became a subject of discussion this week as the county commissioners considered a contract with a company to supply snacks, clothing and toiletries to inmates.
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A female inmate interviewed during a 2008 inspection complained that Ramen noodles available for 10 cents in a food store cost $1.06 in the prison, according to notes Marseglia provided. The price of Ramen is now listed as 95 cents. Another prisoner complained in a March letter to Marseglia about the $2.75 price of Little Debbie Snack Cakes.
After the meeting, Marseglia said dissatisfaction among prisoners is harmful to the atmosphere at the facility.
“When you treat people in such a way that you make people feel they are being gouged, you create a hostile environment and you put our workers at risk,” Marseglia said. “When you put our workers at risk, you are putting tax dollars at risk. And you’re certainly not creating an environment where you can change people’s attitudes about society.”
Jimmy from Illinois sent me this note and attached picture today:
I have seen many people with Japanese and Chinese writing on their tattoos. So for the last five years I have wanted to have my own. I bought a package of Ramen noodles from the Oriental store and had it tattooed on my arm yesterday. Here is a pic of it.
Can anyone read it? I’d always be afraid that the guy wrote “idiot” on my arm.
Cupmen are little plastic guys that sit on the lid of your instant ramen cup and change color when the ramen is ready. They also hold the paper lid down so the steam stays in better. They were released this week at a price of 840 yen, about $9. If you can read Japanese, there is more info on the inventors, H Concept, website.
Nissin Ramen is releasing a new instant noodle product with one of the best names ever, MEAT KING. This cup is packed with extra meat, specifically beef, chicken, and pork. This was just released and costs around $2 per cup, depending on the exchange rate. I’m not sure you can buy this in the US, the original press release is all in Japanese. Read about it in English here.
The meat in the image below looks like the pork that you get on a pizza, but I’m honestly not sure. Personally I’d rather either add my own meat or do without it for instant noodles.
My colleague at work “Wild” Bill McCollom sent me this story, but apparently if you eat too much ramen and not enough other stuff, you can get sick. There is no mention as to whether Natural Light offers any complementary nutrition when paired with ramen. Also is this really ground-breaking? Cash-poor students have been eating ramen for years!
Researchers Dr Danielle Gallegos and Kai Wen Ong surveyed 811 Brisbane-based university students on their household income, health and nutrition status, and access to food.
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Dr Gallegos said cash-strapped university students were prioritising university fees, accommodation and bills over “discretionary expenses” such as food.
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“There seems to be an acceptance out there that getting by on less nutritious food is a typical part of being a uni student,” she said. “But a diet of baked beans and instant noodles is not good enough when health and academic results are at stake.
RamenBox offers the “worlds first customizable box of ramen”, where you pick from over 50 types of “premium ramen” and they put it all together, and mail it to you. These are not your 10 cent packages of ramen, they are more higher end, rare, and more interesting flavors. Personally, I’d like to try WuMu Garlic Sesame Oil ramen and the Paldo Fire Ramen The site even has a vegetarian section, and a selection of non-fried noodles, which have up to 80% less fat.
They offer 2 box sizes, a 20 slot box for $19.95 and a 40 slot box for $34.95. Much of the ramen packets take up 1 slot, but stuff that is large will take more of your slots.
Hey Ramenbox.com guys, send me a box!
UPDATE (June 20, 2010): I’m sadly still awaiting my box. They contacted me and said they’d send one, but nothing yet!
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