3 Filipinos Try Instant Noodles From Southeast Asia

Indo-mie or Indo-no?

Filipinos looooove instant noodles.

YouTube: Ricky Farinas / Via youtube.com

Just take a trip to any local grocery store and you'll see packs and packs of instant noodles in a ton of different flavors and creative packaging.

And remember that time when the most popular pancit canton brand changed its noodles? It broke every single Filipino heart.

lip lacquer @tinytushy

Honestly Lucky Me's new pancit canton doesn't taste good They said they just changed the shape but the flavor has changed too

03:39 PM - 22 May 2016

Twitter: @tinytushy / Via Twitter: @tinytushy

Tragic.

But then again, it's not only us Filipinos who adore instant noodles. Our brother and sisters in the rest of Southeast Asia are obsessed with them too.

YouTube: Seven Stories / Via youtube.com

Indonesia's Indomie may be the most popular brand because it's exported around the world, but there are also other brands like Thailand's Mama and Singapore's Koka.

The question is, how do they taste? Can they hold up to our absolute favorite pancit canton? Let's find out.

For this review, I asked help from two people. First is my friend Kevin, who is a fan of Lucky Me! instant pancit canton, except for the spicy variants. Second is my Mom, who loves noodles as long as they are not too salty.

1. Indomie Mi Goreng from Indonesia

Mark Angelo Ching

The first pack we opened was Indomie Mi Goreng fried noodles. The number of sauce and seasoning packs made us curious because there's five of them. There's the usual soy sauce, oil and powdered seasoning, then the ones we were unfamiliar with: thick chili sauce and fried garlic.

Mark Angelo Ching

Kevin tried Mi Goreng first. He liked the consistency of the noodles, because he can pull it up without breaking. He thought the color is a little weak though. He's not a fan of the spice; he said it's a weird taste that he had a hard time describing.

Mom said a different thing. She liked it because it was a little sweet and not too spicy.

But I agreed with Kevin. For me, the taste was too weak, and it actually just tasted like unseasoned noodles. I could taste the fried garlic more, and they left a bitter taste in the mouth.

2. Koka Stir Fry Original from Singapore

Mark Angelo Ching

This one is a little simpler: the noodles plus the seasoning oil and powder.

Mark Angelo Ching

Kevin thought Koka was a joy to prepare (and eat). He liked its visually-striking color, and it smelled nice, too. He liked the taste because it's not too salty and a little sweet.

Mom did not agree again. She thought it did not taste special because it reminded her of noodles already available in the Philippines.

I concurred with mom this time. Koka tasted a little bland for me, despite its strong color.

3. Oh! Ricey Pho Ga from Vietnam

Mark Angelo Ching

The noodles were different this time because they are flat noodles made from rice, not flour.

Mark Angelo Ching

Kevin liked Oh! Ricey's clear broth because it was very tasty, but he did not like the noodles.

Mom, meanwhile, was surprised at the unfamiliar taste. She said it was like there was too much star anise in the broth.

This was my favorite among all the noodles that we tasted. I liked that both the noodles and soup were light, but they were packed full of flavor.

4. MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle from Malaysia

Mark Angelo Ching

This one was a bit strange. Aside from the seasoning, there's a pack of thick red paste and pure white creamer.

Mark Angelo Ching

The end result is this one: round noodles in a soupy red broth. Kevin, who cannot eat any spicy food, tried it a little bit and stopped immediately. It was too hot for him.

Mark Angelo Ching

Mom also tried it and agreed that it was very spicy. She said it could compare to the Korean Samyang spicy noodles, and kids could also try this if they want another challenge.

I agreed with both of them for the first time because this was also too spicy for me. I couldn't finish the serving that I prepared for myself. The red broth was too scary.

5. Mama Cup Seafood Flavor from Thailand

Mark Angelo Ching

The last one was Mama's instant noodles in seafood flavor. It was in an easy-to-prepare cup packaging.

Mark Angelo Ching

Inside the cup was this cute bendable fork, which as very handy if you're on the go.

Mark Angelo Ching

Sadly, only the folding fork was the highlight of this noodle cup. Kevin did not like that there was little broth in the cup, despite following the cooking instructions to the letter.

Mom agreed and said it tasted like flour and the little broth had no taste at all. Where was the seafood?

Mark Angelo Ching

I was also as disappointed by the lack of broth (my face was showing it haha). There was no flavoring whatsoever. I won't eat it again.

In conclusion...

Kevin liked Singapore's Koka Stir Fry Original and claimed it may be better than Lucky Me! pancit canton.

Mom liked Indonesia's Indomie Mi Goreng and wished I would give her a box of it.

And I liked Vietnam's Oh! Ricey Pho Ga. I should probably fit it in my diet.

Do you have a favorite foreign brand of instant noodles? How does it taste?