I’m quite a fan of the brand ‘innocent‘, known for their healthy smoothies, so I was keen to try their new product – innocent noodle pot in Japanese ramen flavour (they also have noodle pots in other Asian flavours).
The first thing I noticed about this instant noodle offering was that despite being called ‘ramen’, the dish actually consisted of udon ( うどん) noodles rather than ramen (ラーメン) noodles. Udon noodles are thick wheat flour noodles from Japan, whereas ramen noodles are Chinese-style wheat noodles.
The packaging was fun, full of little comments to make noodle time a bit more interesting. For example, the cooking instructions end with “Hide the empty pot if you’re pretending you made it yourself“, and the noodle pot is apparently “suitable for vegetarians & vegans & vulcans (logically)“. There is also a gorgeous picture of a Japanese garden on the box, presumably to inspire thoughts of Japan whilst the noodles are cooling. We are invited to “Gaze upon these delicate blossoms and let the aroma of ginger and sesame waft up your nose as you feel yourself transported to this serene Japanese garden“.
For an instant dish, I have to say it did look and smell quite good once cooked:
Unfortunately, the taste did let it down a little bit though. The udon noodles didn’t work as well as ramen noodles would have done, and the flavour wasn’t quite strong enough for my liking. As instant dishes go though, this is quite a healthy choice and certainly doesn’t taste bad. There are other instant products on the market that I prefer though, and if possible I’d rather eat the real thing from Japan, of course!
