Mr. Noodle Spicy Beef Review

Noodles. Again. But a different brand for once. There should be another one coming soon.


Mr. Noodles Spice Beef Flavor Packaging

Overview
A package of dried noodles wrapped in a plastic wrapper. Inside the wrapper was a packet of powder to make the soup from. Unlike the Nissin Foods packages that usually contained a base powder and a seasoning oil, this one only had the powder. There was no additional container for the dried noodles aside from the wrapper (e.g. plastic tray).

Cooking
I used the exact same method as I used with the Nissin Foods noodles that I reviewed previously because it looked so similar. Specifically, instructions were skipped and I just eyed everything -- this was kept in mind during tasting in case anything was off. All of this was done on a stove with a stainless steel pot. The only item used that was not included in the package was tap water. No spices, not even salt or pepper, were added.


The Soup Stock

Taste & Verdict
With the Nissin Foods noodles, I was usually welcomed "back to the family" by familiar tasting and smelling noodles. This was a Mr. Noodles package: everything was a bit different starting right from the noodles. The texture and stiffness of the noodles felt familiar, but they seemed slightly more stretchy and narrower -- not a big deal. On the taste front, the difference was huge. I thought this package had a sort of flour or grain-like taste that came through quite strongly. Was it because of my "do it by eye" cooking method? Possibly. I'll try to follow the instructions the next time I make a Mr. Noodles package. Cooking or washing that flavor out completely didn't seem like a possibility though. Regardless, the taste with this package wasn't off-putting, just not what I was used to.  My preference was for the more neutral flavored Nissin branded noodles.

Cooking the noodles in a pot

How did the soup fare? I actually liked it. The soup was supposed to be beef and spicy. I tasted and felt the spice hit my tongue when eating it with the noodles. It seemed to have more kick than the spicy flavor from Nissin I reviewed previously. The beef flavor played more of a background role in my view. There was some saltiness behind the spice, but it didn't really remind me of beef -- processed or real. One least thing I thought I tasted was a bit of sweetness after swallowing. Was that the spicy flavor playing with my taste buds? Not sure. After the noodles were finished, the soup was tasted on its own and I noticed that the flavor of the noodles got into it pretty well.


Finished Cooking and Served

Not a bad showing at the end of it all. I thought the Mr. Noodles Spicy Beef flavor was alright. The price was only about $0.80, which was pretty good. There was some nice flavoring to the soup and the noodles were acceptable. This was my first Mr. Noodles pack in a while, so it would be a good idea to try it or another flavor again soon to really get an idea of how the brand generally tastes -- and to see if my cooking method had a major impact on how this package came out.