This was a few weeks ago when we had dinner with Christina, ET, TS and JS at Mis Trucos.
During the dinner, Christina told us that there is a Ramen Instant Noodle that tastes just exactly like what you would get at Kintaro’s. I find that hard to believe to tell the truth. Would you?
But I think Christina is a super sales woman in her past life or something like that. She is like the salesman who can sell a comb to a monk. After the dinner, the next thing she did was to send us an email with a picture of that packaging!
She was so convincing and persuasive that I felt like that monk. I just got to check that out!
The problem is the packaging is all in Japanese and we don’t even know what it is called. So, I printed the picture of the packaging (above) and went to look for it in T&T. Christina said that this could only be bought from T&T or Osaka supermarket. She even said that it is “located near the end of the aisle that is closest to the cashier and that it is on the 2nd rack from the bottom”. Aren’t you just amazed with that? LOL!
So, with the picture in hand, I went to look for it in the T&T in Metrotown after work. It was not easy looking for this because every other instant noodles bowl looked the same.
After like eternity, I finally located one that looked like it. But the box is different from the picture that Christina sent me. You know how I confirmed this is the right one? I cross checked the bar code.
I can’t read Japanese … can anyone tell how this is pronounced?
This ramen is expensive. It is $3.80 a bowl. And there was only one bowl remaining on the shelf. Despite the price, I think this particular brand must be popular.
On the way home, I deliberately stopped by the roast pork shop in Parker Place to buy a pound of roast pork. I wanted to make that ramen a bit more like Kintaro’s ramen which has char su too!
I like the roast pork from Parker Place the best. They are consistently good. Often there is a line of people waiting to buy from their roast pork. Last Chinese New Year, we waited in line for one hour (!).
Peeling back the lid, it looked just like any instant noodle bowl except that there are some dehydrated vegetables pieces (wood ear) and some kind of dehydrated meat like stuff (perhaps vegetarian meat) in it.
For flavoring, there are three sachets … one for the soup base, one with more dehydrated garnishings (green onion and sesame seed) and another with oil.
Since we could not read the Japanese instructions, we figured we just pour boiling water and then cover for 2-3 minutes.
And this is what it looked like …
… when we peeled the cover.
A quick stir and a few pieces of roast pork added, the broth does actually taste very decent. The broth has that richness and cloudiness that one expect from a good bowl of pork bone broth.
It is a stretch to say that this rivals Kintaro’s ramen. However, this will be a really good bowl to keep in the drawer in the office for the times when I have a craving for ramen.
Suanne added some fried shallots to the bowl. It was awesome!
Too bad we ran out of sambal or else we would added that too to make it a bit spicier.
The noodles were nothing great. This is just instant noodles … just like any good instant noodles.
A bowl of this is 600 calories which is quite OK for a meal — not too high.
So, now I have a bowl of this stashed in the drawer at work.
This ramen is good … but no, it is not equivalent to Kintaro’s.
I have to chuckle the whole time when reading this post. There is no way instant ramen noodle will taste like fresh-made noodle. Your friend is truly a super sales person. =)
I believe she said the BROTH was like Kintaro’s, not the noodles.
Maybe Christina also sells waterfront properties in Arizona …..
Oh … all of the sudden I am worried that I might have overly teased Christina. I hope she is not angry with me for saying she is a great salesman. I meant that as a compliment. LOL!
Ben
I’ve never truly had an appreciation for ramen, restaurant or packaged quality. I’m indifferent;;
The big black characters with the white outline say “De ka”
The two white characters within the underline under de ka say “i chi”
: )
Gosh. Yen, you are the first person I know who openly does not appreciate ramen. Have you tried any of the good places like Kintaro, Benkei, G-Men and Santouka yet?
Ben
I looked for these noodles last week when I went to Osaka Supermarket. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it. It’s quite expensive! My upper limit for instant noodles usually is $1.50. 😉
Ben, I believe you meant to say “siu yook” (roast pork) which is what you bought, and not char siu ?
It’s called Dekaichi Negigoma Tonkotsu Ramen from the brand, Maruchan. “Negi” meaning green onion and “goma” is sesame. Dekaichi is the the name given to refer to the amount of noodles you get in the bowl (in this case, 100g). It also comes in other sizes as well… and those are called something else.
The photo with the roast pork looks so much better than the one of the ramen just being finished cooked :). This is certainly some pricey ramen! Probably the priciest that I have ever seen. The highest I’ve seen so far is just around 2.50 and that is for udon noodles.
If you use the bbq pork jowl from that bbq meat place inside Richmond Centre, then you will have something similar to Toroniku ramen from Santouka. 🙂
is it not too salty for your palate?
Nope, not at all Sabrina. The broth was just nice.
I went to look for it in Osaka supermarket and T&T in Richmond and can’t find it there either. I guess Richmondites are too cheap (like me) to pay for $3.50 for instant noodle. LOL. Just like my observation that drivers with expensive BMW’s and Benzes would rather circle around the block several timex to look for free parking rather than pay a dollar for street pay parking.
He he he … I like your description of BMWs and Benzes. I am a cheapskate when it comes to cars but I too am the ones who would rather circle the block for free parking rather than paying for street parking. LOL!
Same here. LOL. Thats why I shake my head when I see the rich folks doing the same thing. They should just pay for parking and leave the free parking to poor folks like me. Hehehehe
It’s against my religion to pay for parking 😉
Glad to find kindred spirits here! I am philosophically opposed to paid parking. We should start a campaign and make this an ELECTION issue.
LOL
@JS Oh no! How did a post on instant noodles end up with paid parking first being made a religious issue and then now it becomes a political issue. What’s next? It is all Jonnek’s fault. LOL!
Sorry Ben, that was just out of my frustration this Sunday afternoon trying to find parking in Yaohan and T&T. I was on a mission to find the 3.50 dollar instant noodle. But I had no luck finding a parking spot even after circling the lot a few times. I ended up parking on the top floor of Aberdeen parking garage and walking to Yaohan. I was just lucky to get that spot. Aberdeen was crazy busy too. BTW, there was no line-up at Chef Hung. 🙂
The Yaohan lot is a zoo on weekends. Park at Cdn Tire!
Aberdeen isn’t much better. It drived me batty sometimes to see the manuevers that some drivers make to get into or out of a parking spot. Must asians remain cursed with the stereotype of being bad drivers??
I once read that the architects that designed Aberdeen Mall hired some feng shui expert to help design it. They obviously forgot about the parkade…it’s the worst parkade in the Western Hemisphere, I’m sure.
I am in search of good instant noodle to stock up at home. but is this really $6+? that is really too much i think. i stick to my indomie mee goreng for now….
i believe everything christine sells me. i mean tell me. she’s is that convincing. she is normally right. she prob meant the broth not the noodles, i am guessing.
the key to ramen is the noodles not broth according to the Italians and Japanese.
hence instant dry ramen never can compare to fresh noodles.
Almost all(98%) chinese mall/buildings hire feng shui master. most dont advertise that they do. but they all consult with one. nowadays even non chinese do consult with fs master. 😛 .
but yes horrible parking. at least it’s free, which means lottusrapper likes it a bit more.
Oh. That was a great line LotusRapper. Wish I had thought of that earlier. LOL!
I actually looked for these at (the madhouse on the weekends that is known as) T&T and they were $4.69! 🙁 I was all set to pay the ~$3 but that extra dollar made a difference I guess. :p I guess that’s my equivalent of circling the lot for free parking instead of paying for the first spot I see?
Hi Jessica:
What?!? The price went up by almost a dollar? Paying $4.69 is absolutely crazy for instant noodles if you ask me. A simple bowl without the meat will cost close to that eating the real thing in a restaurant.
Ben
Anyone try frozen ramen? I found a place that says they have it. Also, I have made my own makeshift broth. It consists of miso, wakame for added flavour infusion, instant dashi and a splash of soy. Of course, it never quite turns out the same and I musts say the first time I made it, it was probably my best variation.
Hi Nancy: I have never even heard of frozen ramen before. Where is this place that you found it? Ben
Hi Ben,
Osaka supermarket sells frozen ramen – packaged individually like the instant variety… but with non-instant noodles and non-powder broth. Sells for about $2 per package and comes in four flavours – shio, shoyu, tonkatsu and miso. DE-licious. They keep them in the freezers by the frozen dumplings – near the hot food. Give it a try!
Let me know if you want me to pull a Christina and send you a picture of the packaging 🙂 Hehe, just trying to spread the frozen ramen love!
Oh yeah, Janice … please send us a picture of the frozen ramen packaging!
Hey Ben,
I’ll send you a photo next time we buy a pack 🙂 They’re so good we don’t have a single pack left in the house!
Hi Ben, you should try the roast pork at below Superstore – No.3rd. It tastes better than Parker Place in my humble opinion.
Hi Jem:
We had tried the roast pork in the parkade of the No 3 Road Superstore before. It is a personal preference, I know, but I still prefer the one in Parker Place. I like leaner cuts and the Parker Place one had consistently given me the cut that I like. Anyway, both the siu mei spots are excellent. We sure are spoilt for choices in Richmond.
Ben
Pingback: Chow Times » Weekend Musings (July 10th, 2010)