Instant Noodles around the World 8 - Korean Udon

Eating instant noodle too much is not good for you because most of the time the noodle has been deep fried. But what about eating something that has not been deep fried?

Yes, udon. It's a type of wheat-flour noodle that is very chewy and very thick. All these years I have never seen any type of thick udon sold in its dried form. Yes, you can buy udon in its dried form as well, but the noodles are not going to be as thick as those sold in its wet form. The thickness of the dried udon is probably 10 times thinner than the wet udon.

I didn't have time to take a photo of the contents still in its original packaging because there were other people in the kitchen and although they must have seen me taking pictures of food with my phone, I feel somehow embarrassed to take pictures of instant noodle packaging.

As I expected, the noodle is still in its wet form. The noodle was vacuum packed separately in a thick PET bag and before I heat it up in water the noodle was actually rather brittle but you can definitely feel the noodle's chewiness. It's quite astonishing how they managed to entrap moisture within the noodle and put it into a glassy state. And the noodle perfectly returns to its rubbery state when you heat it up in water: the noodle remains chewy and each strain doesn't stick to each other. No oil was added at this point, by the way.

The whole concept was great, but the overall taste is not satisfactory. It doesn't live up to its "suggested way to prepare" picture (and this is of course nothing new), especially the soup color. It's so brown and cloudy. I've had Japanese version of instant udon, and the soup was much better. I like the seaweed bits in it, but that's the only positive thing about the soup that I could say.

The packaging is excellent and the quality of the noodle is pretty good. I wish they could reformulate the soup base a little bit.

My verdict? If I miss eating udon and there is no restaurant around me selling udon, I will buy this and make my own soup.

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The Netherlands - Kwark Taart

During the introduction week, my mentor brought us to the supermarket and told us about Kwark Taart. It's something like mousse cake, but different. The other day, my friend mistakenly bought kwark taart instead of yogurt and she said she loved it. Last week I decided to try it out:

"Because a day without pudding is a day wasted."

After reading those words, I started to get confused. A pudding and a mousse cake have totally different textures. Well, the definition of "pudding" also differs by country as well, I suppose. A pudding in Indonesia is solid like agar, while a pudding in the US is like a viscous paste.

When you have an expectation towards a certain product in terms of texture, shape, or flavor, you tend to get confused or even disappointed at the product if it doesn't fit your expectation. Sometimes I feel that I shouldn't think much when buying a product on the shelf, but I can't help it. I'm nerdy, but I guess that's how I managed to have fun in class.

The actual product look like homogenous, dense foam, but when you eat it, it's actually pretty light. There are chunks of wet, soggy pie crust (or perhaps graham crackers) inside, but they don't provide much flavor or texture to the overall product. I felt like eating air as I ate the kwark taart. Strangely enough, I could only finish half of it and this was my only lunch.

Kwark taart has only 200 kcal per 100 g (and the normal size of a kwarktaart in the market is about 280g). I managed to stuff myself with only half of it although it wasn't the "right" feeling of satiety. It could be a good food to eat for someone who is on diet.

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The Netherlands - Rijste Pap

From experience, I know rijst means rice in Dutch. I went to the supermarket last week and stopped at the yogurt section. As adventurous as usual, I tried the weirdest option available on the shelf: rijste pap.

Rijste pap literally translates as rice porridge. Growing up as a Chinese by blood and Indonesian by nationality, the rice porridge I know is savory. Since this product was in the same section as yogurt, I figure that this rice porridge will be some kind of sweet dessert.

I opened the package, and when I tried to stir the rijste pap, I had a feeling that the rice was cooked in milk. It had thick consistency, and there are still rice grains in tact. Before tasting it I had an image of a creamy, sweet dessert, but actually it is far from sweet.

It didn't taste too good. Firstly, the rice flavor from chewing the rice grains presented a conflict of taste to me: the texture of the rice grains has been very well associated to salty or savory flavor. In my mind, I know it's supposed to be leaning towards the sweet side, but at the back of my mind (unconsciously) I expected something rather salty.

I shared this dessert with my Mexican friend who very kindly prepared me Mexican quesadilla (she calls it 'fake quesadilla' because she replaced the ham with turkey slice but nevertheless it was still very delicous!). She said similar rice porridge dessert exists in Mexico, but she said this rice porridge doesn't have much flavor and sweetness. In Mexico, they add cinnamon and brown sugar to the rice porridge. Well, the packaging of this Dutch rijste pap says "it is delicious with brown sugar" but I didn't read it before I tried it.

After a spoon of the rijste pap in my mouth I decided to "fix" the flavor by adding some crystal white sugar. Obvious enough, the cold and thick rijste pap doesn't allow the sugar to dissolve easily. Actually, the 'crunchiness' from the undissolved sugar gives an interestingly nice texture and sudden burst of sweetness in my mouth. It wasn't a bad decision :)

I kept half of the rijste pap in the fridge. The next day I ate it, I grew accustomed to its taste and texture, and I actually love it!

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Instant Noodles Around the World 7 - MAMA

This time, it's from Thailand. When I was in high school, my Thai friend told me of this brand. My first MAMA instant noodle was Tom Yum Flavour (the clear soup version, not the creamy one). The flavor was absolutely wonderful, and the spices kicks you in. I could even say that I like the tom yum soup from MAMA much better than in those in Thai restaurants. The less authentic ones, of course. 

I decided to try the Shrimp Creamy TOM YUM Flavour this time. The packaging is only slightly different from the non-creamy tom yum: the non-creamy one has this purplish, metallic packaging while this one has orange, metallic packaging. You can't really tell any difference once you opened the package:

The same thin, slightly brown noodle. The noodle is actually very crispy and you can actually eat it as uncooked. It's weird to say that the noodle is uncooked, because in reality all instant noodles have been either fried or oven-dried, so they are technically cooked. Well, let's just say that the noodle has not been boiled according to the preparation steps :)

The powdered seasoning has dried cream / coconut milk powder. I was a little skeptical about the end product because a lot of times powdered cream soup doesn't give you the right consistency: you can sometimes see floating cream particles that do not dissolve into the soup, and they normally give you this unpleasant grittiness in your mouth. I thought the cream would be in the oil-based seasoning, but I guess not.

Judging from the packaging, this MAMA instant noodle must be an export-quality product. The main language of instruction is still English, though.

It turned out much better than I expected. The cream didn't dissolve very well, but it didn't give grittiness. The only warnings I have for preparing this noodle is the fact that the noodle gets soft really easily (maybe because it's thin?). You can even prepare this noodle by pouring boiling water into a bowl of unprepared instant noodle and it will be ready to eat in about 3-5 minutes. It's the perfect instant noodle for people who are too lazy to wash the pan. I don't mind washing dishes, but I have certain moments when I just don't feel like doing so. For example, in the morning.

The portion size is also a bit small compared to other instant noodles, so it is most likely not enough for people with big appetite. But the good news is that when you want to eat something rather light and refreshing, MAMA instant noodle is a good choice. I'm not too sure about the caloric content because it's somehow not stated in the packaging (yet it's an export-quality product - maybe I missed it).

My verdict: I LOVE IT!

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The Netherlands - Fire Drill

It's unfair to say that this kind of fire drill occurs in all part of the Netherlands, but at least it was like this in Wageningen University this year.

At 10:00 AM I was sitting comfortably in front of a public computer in Forum (the name of the building where the Student Services Center is), and my friend casually approached me to "ask for the time" (he was kidding; he just wanted to say hi). I turned to him, and then I suddenly saw this thick smoke covering the top 3 floors of the building. Then I asked him if it was smoke or fog, because today was rather cold and cloudy. We were wondering what had happened for quite some time until the fire alarm rang and there was an announcement for evacuation.

I obediently followed the instruction to evacuate the building because I thought it was real. I saw the smoke. I attempted to take a picture of the smoke from inside the building but one of the proctors caught me in action and hushed me out of the building. Just right outside the building, I could still see the smoke and I took a commemorative picture of it. It's kind of hard to see, but there was definitely smoke near those glass windows above.

The evacuation process was rather smooth. I wasn't panicking at all because I was only on the first floor when it happened and the smoke was far away from me. I was still wondering what was happening until another friend of mine told me that it was actually a fire drill. People who had been in the building longer than a year were aware of it; new students like me were not, naturally.

Still, it was the best fire drill ever. I had never been to a fire drill where they use real smoke to scare people out of the building and at the same time to simulate an actual fire occurrence.

The weather was not too friendly outside but at least it wasn't raining. We missed 1 hour of lecture (and nobody is really complaining about this). After about half an hour being outside (and goofing around the building), the drill was over and they finally let us in.

It was a fun (and exciting, in may ways) fire drill!

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The Netherlands - Raw Herring

Not sure if it's a traditional Dutch food but raw herring apparently is a delicacy in the Netherlands. My first raw herring experience was in Den Haag, close to the beach (it's always good to have fresh seafood near the beach area, right?)

I'm a big fan of sushi and sashimi, so I wasn't too scared to try this. In fact, I was looking forward to eating it. I put the herring on a piece of toasted bread, and then topped it with raw diced onions and pickled dills. To finish it, I squeezed a little bit of lemon juice on the raw herring.

It's more fishy than salmon or tuna sashimi, but I felt that the flesh was leaner (i.e. it wasn't slimy). I loved the texture, and it went really well with the crispy bread. I kind of wondered what happened to the bones. As I bit into the fish, I remembered seeing very thin, transparent needles that looked like fish bones, but I didn't get choked at all. I should have picked one of those "bones" and tried eating it on its own to find out, but I wasn't thinking about it. It was too delicious, I finished it very quickly.

The price was reasonable: about 5 euros for a plate with 4 herrings.

Will I eat it again? Yes!

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Instant Noodle Around the World 6 - Exported Products

As mentioned in my previous posts, I am now in the Netherlands pursuing my MSc degree in Food Technology. Before I came to the Netherlands, I was told that it is very easy to find Indonesian goods in the Netherlands, including our beloved instant noodles.

I went to an Asian groceries in Ede called Asian Toko (sounds a little funny to me because toko means shop in Indonesian and I'm supposed to be in a foreign country and they don't speak Indonesian here). It's a really cozy shop owned by a Vietnamese, and I love the fact that the shelves are well-organized. 

One of the first few things that caught my eyes were the instant noodles. I brought 2 packets from my hometown because it's our comfort food - it's delicious, it reminds us of our home, it's warm and it's easy to cook.

I normally don't like the flavor of export quality Indonesian products because they tend to be slightly different. For example, the exported version of IndoMie's instant fried noodles in Singapore tastes sweeter and less savory. It doesn't have the kick in the seasoning. I almost gave up buying export quality noodles from Indonesia until I saw this flavor:

It's quite extraordinary because I've never seen a Chicken Tikka Flavor, and I actually love Chicken Tikka Masala. It is funny how Chicken Tikka Masala is actually British national food although it sounds perfectly Indian to me.

Since it's an exported product, the ingredients list are presented in multiple European languages, although the instruction is still in English and Dutch.

There is nothing different about the packaging and the noodle. The only difference I remember is the antioxidant used: if I recall correctly, the antioxidants in export quality IndoMie uses natural antioxidants. 

It is currently pretty cold in the Netherlands - the temperature ranges from 10C to 16C. The oil-based seasonings that is supposed to be liquid has solidified. It made me think again if the shelf life of instant noodles in cooler countries are extended because lower temperature slows down oxidative rancidity (the rancid flavor that comes out from oxidation of oils and fats).

The verdict? YUMMY! I love the flavor: it's like a mix of Indonesian curry with Indian curry. I'm not sure if I get the thickness of the soup right because I believe Chicken Tikka Masala is supposed to be viscous. I never use measuring cups when I cook. The instruction says 400 mL, which is the standard amount of water used to cook IndoMie (unless it's a Mie Celor flavor).

The coriander and cumin kind of kicks in at the beginning and I have to say that these two ingredients are in my blacklist when present in high concentration, but the flavor of the soup in this instant noodle is very well-balanced. I'd love to know the developer of this flavor!

Well then, I was moved by the Chicken Tikka Masala IndoMie and it drove me to try another different flavor that doesn't exist in Indonesia: Chicken Pepper Flavor.

It looked perfectly fine from the outside until I opened the package and realized that there is no oil-based seasoning inside.

To be honest, I am a little disappointed by this product. It's basically chicken stock with pepper and garlic powder. It's too heaty; I couldn't finish drinking the soup because my stomach got really hot after a while. Maybe it's nice to eat this in winter when it's below 0C but otherwise it's not really my favorite.

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The Netherlands - McDonald's

When I travel to another country, the last thing I want to eat is anything from McDonald's. Why? Because the menu is pretty much standardized around the country. Sometimes you will see unique menus that are only available in certain countries, for example Shaka Shaka (mini doughnut balls) in Japan and yam pie (instead of apple pie) in China.

I wasn't able to find McD in Wageningen (where my current campus is). I thought there would be one because Wageningen is a student city and fast food is most of the time a student's best friend during busy times. And then one day I went strolling at the Centrum (the center part of a town, kind of like a CBD but much, much smaller version of it) in Ede. I found it!

One fine Saturday I was with my friend studying food physics in McD because there is no Starbucks or Starbucks equivalent where you can sit down and spend hours drinking only one cup of coffee around. I took this opportunity to have a little investigation on McD in the Netherlands.

There was nothing too special on the menu (I was hoping to see something with Gouda cheese, but there isn't), so I ordered small fries. 

The size is just perfect, not too big and not too small for small size fries. I think the biggest small-size fries can be found in the US: it's about 1.5 times bigger than the one in the Netherlands, and about 2 times bigger than the one in Japan.

There is nothing different with the fries, but there is something different with the sauce. When you order fries from McD they'll ask you what kind of sauce you want, and I was only given a choice between mayonnaise and ketchup. So I said "mayonnaise".

Mayonnaise, in the Netherlands, is called fritessaus, which I believe means "fries sauce". 

 What surprises me more is that the mayonnaise is mixed with mustard!

The sauce actually tasted pretty good. I love the slight tang and spiciness from the mustard, accompanied with the creaminess from the oils in mayonnaise. The mayonnaise in the Netherlands is closer to Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie): more savory than sweet. I dislike the mayonnaise in the US because it's too sweet for me and there is no or almost no savory component to it.

I have to come back to McD again and see if they have any other unique sauces. Normally they'd have BBQ sauce, cocktail, Cajun or some kind of special sauces if you ask them for those. Maybe they have Hollandaise sauce as a dipping? LOL

I'm lovin' it.

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The Netherlands - Chocomel

I was told by a friend of mine that Chocomel is actually the best chocolate milk brand in the Netherlands. It's so famous that if you order a hot chocolate at restaurants you might actually be drinking a warmed up Chocomel.

And actually, they like to put a large serving of whipped cream on top. Yes, chocolate, milk, sugar, more sugar, and whip cream. Highly not recommended for the diabetics.

It is very creamy and smooth, and it actually reminds me of canned Milo. I can't say there is anything really special about Chocomel, although I have to admit that it is delicious (and sweet).

They recently came up with Dark Chocolate Chocomel, and I thought it was the most awesome idea ever. A person who doesn't really like things that are too sweet like me would probably enjoy it more, right?

Nope. It's really thick and it's really hard to swallow. Not to mention it is also very sweet as well. I had to dilute it with water or with half-fat milk. If I add water, I feel like drinking diluted dark chocolate. If I add milk, the balance in taste is somehow improved, but it doesn't help with the consistency.

I still love Chocomel, though :)

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The Netherlands - Den Haag

Also known as The Hague, Den Haag is the center of governance in the Netherlands. To be honest, I had not heard of this place before I met a new friend of mine who spent 3 years completing her bachelor's in Den Haag. 

It was a 2-day 1-night trip (thankfully it wasn't extended to 3-day 2-night one). Don't get me wrong: Den Haag is a beautiful place, but it's not a very big city where you have to spend three full days to explore.

Train station.

The Gemeentemuseum Den Haag was pretty interesting. It's such a shame that the exhibition on The Girl with the Pearl Earring was no longer there, but there are a lot of collections worth noting. I don't have any artistic backgrounds and I probably am not the best critique when it comes to fine arts and painting, but I enjoyed looking at some of the works there.

There is a cafe inside the museum. The ambience was great and everything smelled really good but they are (obviously) a little overpriced.

This was one of the you-can-take-a-photo-of-it painting that I really like. It was a really good play on colors and textures, and it looks really lively to me.

Another section that roused my interest is De Draad van Alexander or Alexander's Wire exhibition.

It was done based on a storybook where a man creates things with wires. In this exhibition, we can form our own wire art and put it on display. For free, of course.

Most of the "artists" were very young, about 9-12 years old. Even then, some of the works were simply brilliant, like this one:

I decided to try it out and make a dog out of a wire. Well, it's a peeing dog if you see how one of its hind leg was raised. You can put your name on your artwork, and so I did. My friends did not want to put their names and ages because they thought it was embarrassing to have people in their twenties do this kind of thing. As for me, I don't see why I shouldn't put my real info on the card.

Other exhibitions include some architectural designs and contemporary works of fine art. I found some of them pleasing, and some of them mind-disturbing.

Looking at contemporary arts displayed at that museum made me feel a little depressed after a while.

Well, what else? Oh yes, the raw herring. It's one of the famous Dutch foods!

When you order one, they will ask if you want raw onions or pickled dill toppings on it. They actually taste great: kind of like a mix between salmon and tuna sashimi. A little fishy, but I could bear with it. And it's not slimy.

There's this man-made beach as well. The beach was pretty clean, and there were lots of seagulls. It was pretty windy and cold but I still saw some people in the water LOL.

What else? Classic-looking buildings (and I don't know their names).

Oh and I can't miss this: public transport. It seems to me that trams are the most commonly used means of public transportation. You see them everywhere.

But the most surprising element is the taxis.

It's an Audi, yes. And it's a taxi. I've seen Mercedes Benz used as a taxi as well. It's interesting. I kind of wanted to try riding them, but I didn't have any particular destination to go and I guess my friends didn't really want to ride them :/

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