Nissin Chow Noodles Cheddar Cheese Flavor

Made By:  Nissin USA
Tools Required:  Microwave, Chopsticks (or Fork)
Meal Size (460 calories per package)
Rating:  :)

(available online through Amazon.com)

Today I'm going with a 'non-asian' flavor and having some pasta and cheese!  Ramen is a comfort food for me, and mac & cheese is pretty much the universal comfort food, so this should have the ability to make anyone happy, right?

We remove the outer wrap and pull back the paper lid of the tray, and find a good-sized brick of fettucine-like flat noodles, along with a single foil packet of seasoning powder.  All we have to do is fill the tray to the line with water, replace the lid as best we can (these never really close once you've opened them) and then heat in the microwave for five minutes.  Oh, right, we have to stir in the powder at the end too, which turns out to be easier said than done.  After around two minutes' worth of stirring, though, I finally get it to look like all the noodles are coated with cheese sauce, although there are still some clumps of seasoning here and there.  Time to give them a sample!

The texture of the noodles is fairly uniformly al-dente, which is good; some of these microwavable "Chow Mein" style noodles can stay a bit undercooked where the noodles stick up above the waterline, but these don't seem to have that problem.  They do seem to clump together a lot, but I can't tell if that's because the noodles themselves are sticky, or if the cheese flavoring is gluing them together.  The flavor is nicely cheesy, rich but not too sharp; I would compare it to a Kraft Macaroni and Cheese flavor, except maybe a little more savory (which is probably due to the dose of MSG that these have in them).

These were a nice change of pace from the "usual" ramen flavors, and despite the difficulty in blending the cheese powder, they still seemed easy to prepare.  And, they seem like the kind of thing that could become even better with a few added ingredients, so I am looking forward to having this again in the future.  :)