MAMA Oriental Style Instant Noodles Artificial Tom Yum Pork Flavor

 Made By:  Thai President Foods, Ltd. [Thailand]
Required to Prepare:  Hot water (10oz)
270 calories per package

(Available online from VeryAsia.com)

Today I chose another noodle from MAMA, just so I can remind myself how good their 'regular' noodles are compared to those 'non-fried' ones I had last time.  I've already reviewed two of these Tom Yum flavors--Shrimp, and Creamy Shrimp--so I'll also see how much different a Tom Yum Pork can possibly be from a Tom Yum Shrimp.

Inside the package is our lovely golden-brown block of noodles, along with three seasoning packets.  The pink one is the powdered Tom Yum soup base, but unlike the shrimp varieties, there is no chili powder packet--instead, the yellow foil pack has mostly sesame seeds in it, and rather than a bright red chili oil packet, the orange oil packet has a thick oil infused with minced garlic.  Preparation is the same, at least:  We place all the ingredients into a bowl, add 1-1/4 cups of boiling water, and cover and wait three minutes.  Then we stir it up and serve!

While the Tom Yum hot-and-sour flavor is still the primary flavor of the broth, the sub-flavors are indeed quite a bit different.  The garlic sub-flavor is subtle but blends with the Tom Yum flavor well.  Despite the absence of either chili oil or chili powder packets, it is not mild in the least, although it's possibly a little less aggressive than the shrimp versions.  I think it might be my favorite version of Tom Yum soup I've tried so far!  As far as the noodles themselves go, I'll just say that MAMA's firm, light, delicious oriental-style noodles are still my favorite.  I'm definitely going to be keeping this one in stock from now on!  :D

MAMA Oriental Style Instant Noodles Shrimp Creamy Tom Yum Flavour

Made By:  Thai President Foods (Thailand)
Tools Required:  Bowl, Hot Water, utensils
420 calories per package

(available online through VeryAsia.com)

The weather is getting colder here in Western Washington--we've had frost in the mornings a couple of times, and the rainy seasons have started.  It feels like a nice day to have some warm spicy noodles!  This particular variety has a place in my heart; it is one of the first imported noodles I tried when I made my first trip to an asian market a few years back.  I found it in a large full-meal size instead of the typical 200-250 calorie portions from MAMA, and I am excited to have it again!

Inside the package is a big block of MAMA's dark colored ramen, a plastic packet of seasoning paste, and a foil packet that has pockets for chili powder and dry soup base.  The directions say to put the noodles and seasonings in a bowl, pour 450ml (roughly 2 cups) of boiling water in, cover, and wait 3 minutes.  Because of the larger size of the product, though, it seemed more practical to me to boil the water in a saucepan and put the noodles and stuff in there for the three minutes (removed from the heat and covered of course) before putting it in the bowl.  Same technique, different container, so it should all work out the same.  It looks just like I remember!  (Why do I always happen to be wearing white when I decide to eat soup with red oil floating in it though?  I decided to use protection this time--I put on an apron before sitting down to eat.)

These really hit the spot!  They definitely pack some heat, but I think the flavor is very well balanced between the creamy, tangy, and spicy notes.  Those who do want a little less heat have the option of leaving some or all of the chili powder packet out, although I suspect a lot of the spice is in that bright red seasoning paste too, so I wouldn't count on them to be mild no matter what.  The flavor is very similar to the other Shrimp Tom Yum that MAMA produces, and it probably just comes down to personal preference as to which one is better.  The other one has a little bit cleaner or lighter feel to it, while this one seems more hearty and complex.  Both are very good; personally I think I prefer this one, although I really think I would pick whichever one I happened to find in this 90g size, since I strongly preferred this portion size over the dinky standard size ones.  I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I hope the store has more than just one of them in stock next time. :D

FF Tom Yum Seafood Creamy Flavor

Made By:  Fashion Food Co. (Thailand)
Tools Required:  Hot water, sharp object
270 calories per package

Rating:  :)

(available through Amazon.com)

My sweetie told me I should have a "Japanese-style" breakfast this morning, which is her way of saying she's going to sleep in and I can eat noodle soup for breakfast.  I picked this Tom Yum Seafood bowl from Fashion Food, since the portion size is fairly small and I won't be ruining our 'real' breakfast later.  I've had this one in the cabinet for a while and I've been avoiding it for some reason; maybe the "Fashion Food" name gives me the feeling that the presentation took precedence over quality or something.  Anyway, this seems like the perfect time, so let's open it up and see what's in there!

I ended up needing a knife to open the shrink wrap; not a real problem but good to know if I were packing this for lunch.  (I also nearly destroyed the instructions by tearing the shrinkwrap off.)  Once we get in there, we find an inner liner that contains our dark-colored brick ramen noodles, a packet of powdered seasoning, and a packet of orange oil.  There is also a small pack of dried seafood and veggies, and another one of those silly little forks which I shall ignore.  We put all of our ingredients into the bowl, fill to the line with "bowling" water, and put the lid on for three minutes.  Once the time is up, I give it a stir, and notice that the noodles seem to resist separating out of their block shape, which is unusual.  I eventually get it all stirred up and photogenic, though.

The noodles are firm and flavorful; they are very similar in color and texture to the ramen-style noodles made by MAMA brand, also from Thailand.  The broth is significantly spicy, and unlike the MAMA products, the chili powder is not packaged separately, so there wouldn't be any good way for someone to 'tone it down' if they didn't want that much heat.  The flavor is nice, though; it seems comparable to the MAMA Shrimp Tom Yum, with the addition of the seafood bits.  One thing that might be a positive about not having the chili powder separately is that the broth does seem a little less grainy once we get down to the bottom of the bowl.

I did enjoy this one, although I can't help thinking the fancy bowl and fork were wasted on me.  Since the purchase price of these is roughly triple that of the MAMA packet-style product, I think that one would get the nod from me over this one.  :|

MAMA Tom Yum Shrimp Flavour Oriental Style Instant Noodles

Made by:  Thai President Foods (Thailand)
Tools Required:  Hot Water, Bowl, Spoon & Chopsticks
Snack Size (280 calories per package)
Rating:  :D

(available online through Amazon.com)

Time for another noodle review!  I needed a noodle fix today.  Today's random draw is a package of Tom Yum flavor noodles from Thailand's MAMA brand.  The actual printing on the package is "Oriental Style Instant Noodles Shrimp Flavor (TOM YUM)," but I decided to rearrange the name in the post header so it makes a little more sense.  Call it artistic liberties.

The size of the package is a bit small by American standards; this might be a Thai thing as most of MAMA's products are 200-300 calorie portions, as are the Snapdragon bowls which were also from Thailand.  I decided to pad it out to a lunch size by also having some steamed gyoza; I realize I am mixing cultures, but I don't often worry much about authenticity when it comes to instant noodles.  Opening the package, we find the noodle block along with three sachets of seasonings--a plastic packet that has a dark reddish paste in it, and a foil double-packet with chili powder in one side and a mixture of dried green onions and light pink powder in the other.  The noodles are a nice golden brown color, instead of the nearly-white color we usually see.  The package directions call for a hot water preparation; we put the noodles and seasonings into a bowl, pour in 1-1/2 cups of boiling water, and cover for three minutes.

MAMA's noodles have a bit of a different flavor and texture than usual; they are quite firm and seem to have an interesting wheat flavor to them.  I rather like them!  The broth has a nice spicy-and-tart flavor and aroma too.  I haven't experienced a "real" Tom Yum soup before, so I can't say anything about the authenticity of the flavor, but it is quite nice.  It is decently spicy, but in a different way than I am used to; it is more along the lines of a hot-and-sour instead of just chili-pepper heat.

All in all, I enjoyed this packet of noodles very much, though I do wish it were perhaps a bit larger.  [I understand that MAMA products can occasionally be found in a "jumbo" packet; I will update with the calorie info for that size if I run across one.]  Combine that with the very inexpensive price point, and these easily earn their happy face. :D